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The Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle Grade 1 is the third Champion race of the week and is probably the toughest one to call so far, in what looks like one of the best renewals in a fair few years!
We have two previous winners in this race who will try and get their crown back, with Flooring Porter winning the last two renewals and Paisley Park winning it in 2019. You have some new faces this year, who will want to stamp their authority in the 3m world of national hunt racing. It looks like a great race and one I can't wait to watch.
Cheltenham 3:30 – Sire Du Berlais 50/1 (0.5pt EW)
Flooring Porter bids to make it three Stayers' Hurdle wins in a row and you've got to give him a good chance based on his festival form and the way he runs from the front. He hasn't had the best of preps for this race this year, reportedly having a small setback in January. Gavin Cromwell has been quoted saying he's in great form and that they're happy with him. This race is probably the toughest renewal of the Stayers' hurdle he's run in, so will need to be at his very best to win, but we all know what he's capable of, so I couldn't put anyone off from backing him. He's a good each-way price.
I've had my heart set on Home By The Lee for a while for this race, but I've changed my mind at the last minute. He is a strong stayer, so the soft ground will help, but I think he would need it bottomless for him to show his true stamina. He has improved this season, winning two races but the form doesn't look good enough to win this. He beat Ashdale Bob and Bob Olinger in those two races, and I don't think that's good enough to win this. Flooring Porter was behind him the last day but I don't think that was his true showing, so he might look flattered. HBTL was 6th in this race last year, was outpaced and did stay on well, but I fear the same will happen again.
Blazing Khal is the talk of the town, and has been for quite a while. He's well-fancied in this race, and I understand why. He is trained by the master trainer, Charles Byrnes, who loves to land a gamble, but he is a top-class trainer in his own rights. This horse looked like a nice prospect in 2021 when winning at Cheltenham at the November meeting beating Gelino Bello. He went missing, due to having problems but returned in the Boyne Hurdle at Navan where he returned with a win. That was a nice opener for his season and would've helped get him ready, but he suffered another minor setback, so you've got to have doubts. Also, I think the form of beating Gelino Bello isn't that strong, he's short enough in the market for what we've seen, but it wouldn't surprise me if he won, knowing how hyped up he is.
Teahupoo is far too short for what he has achieved, in my opinion. He is a Grade 1 winner, when winning over 2m 3f, beating Klassical Dream and Honeysuckle. He stayed on well that day, and then he won over 3m for the first time. It was an egg and spoon race, and they crawled round that day, so it didn't prove to me that he is a real stayer at the trip. He might be head and shoulders better than this field today, but he's too short for me for what he's shown, and I'm not sure he's a guaranteed stayer.
I don't have a real stand out fancy in this race, so I'll be having a small each-way play on Sire Du Berlais. As an 11yo he has it all to do, but he's the rank outsider and I think that's harsh. He comes alive at the festival and four of his five career wins have come between March and May, so I expect him to turn up and run a good race. He has finished in the places in a Stayers' hurdle in the past, and he won a Grade 1 at Aintree last year beating Flooring Porter, so he's not totally out of it. 50/1 seems overpriced and I'll be having a small each-way bet.
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