Stan James new sponsor for Champion Hurdle Stan James are the new sponsors of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. In addition the company will also support the StanJames.com Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in November, The Grade 2 StanJames.com International at Cheltenham in December and The Grade 2 StanJames.com Champion Hurdle Trial at Haydock Park in January. Making the announcement, Cheltenham's Managing Director, Edward Gillespie, said: "This is great news for Cheltenham, for Newcastle, for Haydock Park and for British racing at a commercially challenging time. "It has long been an ambition of ours to strengthen the narrative running through the Jump racing season and, having a single sponsor backing four of the most important two-mile hurdle races, will enable a continuity to the promotion of that category. "On behalf of Cheltenham and also the teams at Newcastle and Haydock Park, I'd like to express our enormous gratitude to Stan James for having the vision to back some of the most important races of the season in such a joined-up way." Denis Kelly, Chief Executive of Stan James, added: "We have always looked to support racing through key events and high-profile sponsorships so we are delighted to be backing The Stan James Champion Hurdle, the biggest and most valuable hurdle race of the entire season. "We share the goal of the industry, through Racing For Change, to bring racing back into the public's line of vision and I hope that our sponsorship of three of the races on 'The Road to Cheltenham', including major races at Newcastle and Haydock Park, will help to achieve that aim. "This is a significant investment for us and demonstrates our commitment to racing for the long term."
