Cheltenham Festival: Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle Tips

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In recent years the paddy power stayers hurdle has started to become a race where anyone who lines up can win it, and this year seems to be no different. Three favourites have won this race in the last ten years, and amongst the rest, the shortest odds to win have come at 17/2, so it goes to show how wide open it normally is. For me, I won’t be touching the horses towards the front of the market.

I’ll start off with the 2^nd favourite KLASSICAL DREAM. This horse is a complete nutter, who showed this when he won the Supreme back in 2019 when he originally blew the start, and then made the running under Ruby Walsh and hosed up. He has immense ability on a going day but is quirky and has had problems in the past. Not in my lifetime did I think he would be a stayers’ hurdle horse after winning the Supreme in the manner he did, but fair play to Willie, who got him winning at the back end of last season over 3m after a 487-day break. He confirmed that form when beating Flooring Porter at Leopardstown in December but ran below par the time after. I think you can give him another chance and look past that run at Gowran Park. My main concern for this lad if I was a backer, is the prelims and the fact he can boil over. With a large crowd at Cheltenham that could cause him problems.

FLOORING PORTER is the previous winner of this race last year and is a horse who likes to get on with things and lead from the front. He didn’t manage to get that when he met Klassical Dream at the end of last year, as the starter allowed the latter to get an easy lead. Danny Mullins’ was livid that day at the starter, and he was only beaten by a couple of lengths, which was arguable because of the start. He is another horse who might not handle the large crowd and boil over, as well as being taken on for the lead. He is the favourite, but no horse has repeated a win in this race since Big Bucks back in 2012.

My play in this race will also have to go against history, as no Mare has won this for as far back as I can see (if you know, then leave it in the comments), but stats like that are going to beat as some point, and in an open race like this, I can’t see why this mare can’t win. ROYAL KAHALA is clearly a talented horse, and though the form needs to be taken to the next level I think she is decent value in this race. She’ll handle the ground, she stays well, and is only a 7yo with seven runs over hurdles, which has yielded 4 wins and 2 runner-ups, with her blip coming in the Mares’ Novice race at Cheltenham last year where she finished lame. Connections seem confident on a big run, and I can see why. She was ahead of Klassical Dream last time out, but you have to forgive KD, but you can’t put a downer on the mares’ performance as she was very good.

A horse who could outrun his odds is KOSHARI. He’s won a few nice races, including when being previously trained by Willie Mullins. He won a Galway handicap hurdle at odds of 25/1, looking like a strong stayer that day, and he won at 80/1 on stable debut at Aintree for D M Christie. He’s not been seen since, so this race has been in mind for some time, and at the prices, he could run well. D M Christie doesn’t train many horses and doesn’t send many over to England, so the fact he has means he shouldn’t be overlooked. Maybe one of the extra places market.

Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle Tips

• Royal Kahala 6/1 (Each Way) @ The Pools
• Koshari 66/1 (Small Each Way bet) @ The Pools

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No

Silks

Runner

Jockey/Trainer

Odds

4

Klassical Dream
135/1-14

J: P Townend
T: W P Mullins

1/4

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9

Thyme Hill
4/121-52

J: T J O'Brien
T: P J Hobbs

7/4

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2

Flooring Porter
111P-F2

J: D E Mullins
T: G P Cromwell

3/1

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3

Home By The Lee
10-0P22

J: J J Slevin
T: J P O'Brien

4/1

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7

Paisley Park
3P-3331

J: Aidan Coleman
T: Miss E C Lavelle

5/1

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10

Royal Kahala
129-211

J: K C Sexton
T: Peter Fahey

5/1

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1

Champ
F1/2P-12

J: Jonjo O'Neill Jr.
T: N J Henderson

6/1

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6

Lisnagar Oscar
F8-35P3

J: Adam Wedge
T: Miss R Curtis

14/1

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5

Koshari
1-65031

J: Jonathan Moore
T: D M Christie

25/1

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8

Song For Someone
12P-224

J: Nico de Boinville
T: T Symonds

33/1

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