Although Alderbrook's first attempt at jump racing had ended in failure a couple of years earlier, Kim Bailey had high hopes for his charge.
In the hands of stable jockey Norman Williamson, Alderbrook travelled easily in the race and won by 8 lengths.
Alderbrook started the Champion Hurdle at 11/2 behind the consistent Large Action and Irish punter favourite Danoli.
Also opposing were two talented but injury-prone horses, Fortune and Fame and dual Cheltenham Festival winner Montelado, as well as the front-running Triumph Hurdle-winning mare Mysilv.
Norman Williamson rode a waiting race, holding Alderbrook up at the back of the field and gradually working his way into contention 2 flights out.
Alderbrook jumped the last just behind Danoli and Large Action but quickened clear up the hill to win by 5 lengths.
[3] Given the ease of his win, the high quality of his opponents and the likelihood of further improvement due to his comparative inexperience with hurdling, Alderbrook was installed as a short-price favourite to follow up in 1996.
This form was boosted when the winner of the race, Freedom Cry, finished the season with a 2nd in one of Europe's top middle-distance races, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Group 1), only beaten by the unbeaten Epsom Derby winner - Lammtarra.
Other jockeys who rode him on the flat were Tony Clark, George Duffield, Nicky Carlisle and John Carroll.
However, Bradley was late for a schooling session one morning (due to an alarm clock not going off), and Bailey replaced him before a competitive ride.
Alderbrook had continued to suffer leg and feet problems and was proving difficult for Bailey to keep sound.
Alderbrook was the clear favourite at 10/11 for the 1996 Champion Hurdle and strongly expected to retain his title against a field thought to be inferior to that of 1995.
Bradley kept Collier Bay up with a comparatively slow pace and started to race for home 2 flights from the finish.
He spent the last years of his life as a breeding stallion in Anngrove Stud Farm, Mountmellick, County Laois.