The race was first run in 1949 and was originally titled the Oteley Hurdle, and it was contested over a length of 2 miles (3,219 metres).
The race often served as a trial for the Champion Hurdle, and the last horse to win both events in the same year was Buveur d'Air in 2017 and 2018.
Nicky Henderson who had won six of the last twelve runnings lamented the fact that it would be no longer an option for preparing his intended Champion Hurdle candidates saying "I had my favourite race at Sandown, it was worth nothing, but was perfect timing - but not surprisingly, it only had three or four runners (every year) and they've done away with it.
"[1] In April 2023 the British Horseracing Authority confirmed that the race had been removed from the jumps pattern programme in the 2022–23 season.
4 The 2013 race was run at Doncaster after the original meeting at Sandown became chase only due to the waterlogged state of the hurdle course[3]