Istabraq: first Irish winner of Champion Hurdle under the Smurfit banner

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker/racingpostpix.com  

Smurfit Kappa ends Cheltenham sponsorship

CHELTENHAM on Wednesday announced that this year's Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle, on March 16, will be the last under the sponsorship banner of the paper packaging group.

The companyhas sponsored the race since 1991 in an era that has included the career of Istabraq, one of the most dominant hurdlers of modern times.

Reflecting on two decades of sponsorship at Cheltenham, Gary McGann, group chief executive of Smurfit Kappa, said: "The Smurfit Kappa Group is pleased to have fully honoured its sponsorship commitment to the Champion Hurdle.

"We have enjoyed theexcellent working relationship with the Cheltenham management team and we wish them every success in finding a suitable future sponsor for this famous event."

Edward Gillespie: huge gratitude

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Edward Gillespie, Cheltenham's managing director, added: "It has been a joy to have the support of Smurfit Kappa for so many years. Sir Michael Smurfit, a great friend to racing, was initially the driving force behind the deal and it was appropriate that he had a runner in the first Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle in 1991.

"It wasn't until 1998 that the great Istabraq became the first Irish winner of the race under the Smurfit banner, and since then, Irish-trained horses have won on a further six occasions.

"On behalf of everyone at Cheltenham, I'd like to express our huge gratitude to Smurfit Kappa for everything the company has done to promote this great race."

Peter McNeile, director of sponsorship at Cheltenham, said: "Smurfit Kappa has been an excellent partner and will be difficult to replace, but we already have some interest from other parties and will begin theprocess of recruiting a new sponsor for what is one of the iconic races once the dust has settled on the 2010 festival."