toteswinger Swinton Hurdle
When the toteswinger Swinton Handicap Hurdle, known then as the Royal Doulton Handicap, was first run on May Day in 1978, it was by far the most valuable race of its type ever staged in Britain. The winner collected just over £20,000 and, at that stage, only the Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle offered more prize money. 
In 2010 this race will be held on Saturday 8th May but back in 1978, due to the race's position in the calendar, coming only 6 weeks after the Champion Hurdle and at a time when the ground can be on the firm side, the sponsors were understandably concerned that their race would not attract the quality of field such a large pot warranted. But they needn't have been concerned, as a 20-strong line-up including the leading 4 in that year's Champion Hurdle (Monksfield, Sea Pigeon, Night Nurse and Beacon Light) plus the Bula winner, Bird's Nest and the Imperial Cup winner, Winter Melody, all exceeded everyone's expectations.
This period was described as the "Golden Age of Hurdling" and seldom before, or since, has a handicap attracted such an elite field and the Swinton Hurdle has undoubtedly maintained its tradition over the years for producing smart performances. The extremely tough Peter Bowen-trained Dreams End won the 1977 renewal and in the years since, the standard has reverted to something like that seen in hurdling's halcyon days.
The toteswinger Swinton Handicap Hurdle is now the first major prize of the season, as opposed to virtually the last one and more recently successes for Intersky Falcon (2002) and Macs Joy (2004) have shown this prestigious race acting as a valuable stepping stone to greater things.
Wednesday 24th March
Business Club Networking Raceday
2:10PM
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