Star staying hurdler Paisley Park is settling well into his retirement after the curtain came down on his remarkable career earlier in the year.
The 12-year-old was the flagbearer for Emma Lavelle’s yard season after season, carrying the silks of owner Andrew Gemmell to 11 victories and earning nearly £750,000 in prize-money.
In 31 runs he was in the money 25 times, making him a perennial and much-loved name in National Hunt racing.
Among his victories were four at Cheltenham, including a famous success in the 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle and three editions of the Cleeve Hurdle.
He was also the dominant force in the Long Walk Hurdle in recent years, taking the Grade One title three times in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Paisley Park winning the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019 (Paul Harding/PA)
His final race was in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival this year, where he finished 10th and was immediately retired by connections grateful to have enjoyed so many successful seasons with him.
Paisley Park has remained at Lavelle’s base in Wiltshire since and has taken no time at all to adjust to retired life, though at the end of the summer he will embark on a new career and head off to be retrained.
“He thinks life is fantastic, he’s having a very relaxed time at the minute and he’s still with us,” said Lavelle.
“He won’t stay here forever, but everyone’s really enjoying having him around and he’s enjoying being here still.
“His waistline is definitely larger! He’s loving it, having an easy time, all is good.
Paisley Park with trainer Emma Lavelle (left) and owner Andrew Gemmell (second left) (Andrew Matthews/PA)
“He’s quite happy with being retired, he’s probably wondering why he tried so hard for so long when he could have been doing this instead!
“He’s been part of the fabric of the yard for so long here that it’s been nice for us to have a gradual release.
“There are a couple of places Andrew is looking at, I think we’re finally ready for him to leave us at the end of summer.
“It’s been great to watch him relax and have the rest he deserves, it’s going to be lovely to watch the second part of his career.”
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Aidan Coleman has announced his retirement from the saddle having failed to recover from a knee injury.
The 35-year-old suffered a fall at Worcester in June and has been battling to return ever since, undergoing several surgeries on his knee and a shattered tibia.
Coleman, who will possibly be best remembered for his association with the recently-retired Paisley Park, has undergone a lengthy rehabilitation process but has conceded he will not recover sufficiently to resume his riding career.
“The prognosis early was quite bleak about returning to ride,” he told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday.
“But around September when the rehab was early I was kidding myself that I could get back from this. In early December I had another operation and since that the progress has really plateaued.
“The gym is good because it’s a stable surface but I can’t run or jump. I can’t ride a horse really. A lot of people would say I couldn’t anyway so what’s the difference!
“Since Christmas, every time I’ve tried to ride a horse it’s not really gone well and I just can’t really do it and I definitely wouldn’t be able to ride in a race or anything like that.
“Speaking to Jerry Hill (the BHA’s chief medical adviser) and my surgeon, my chances of improving are negative now, so that’s it. My knee won’t stand the demands of being a jockey or get anywhere near it, so that’s it.”
Aidan Coleman with Paisley Park (John Walton/PA)
Coleman enjoyed a successful association early in his career with Venetia Williams but overlooked her 100-1 Grand National winner Mon Mome in favour of stablemate Stan.
There were many good days in a stellar career, though, with Emma Lavelle’s Paisley Park winning the Long Walk Hurdle three times and the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019.
Coleman also picked up the rides on Epatante, winning an Aintree Hurdle and two Fighting Fifths, and Jonbon, on whom he won multiple Grade Ones.
“I think the last few years I’ve been at my happiest, riding horses like Paisley Park has been a mainstay since 2019, we picked up Epatante, Jonbon, winning the Champion Chase on Put The Kettle On. I would have a good army of behind me when I got to September and they hit the board regularly,” said Coleman.
“I kind of gave up the idea of being champion jockey and being a slave to the game, that just wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the good horses so much I just wanted to focus on them rather than the numbers and since I did that I think I rode better.”
Emma Lavelle’s beloved staying hurdler Paisley Park has been retired after finishing down the field at the Cheltenham Festival.
The 12-year-old has been a constant presence in staying hurdle events over the past few seasons, going unbeaten in the 2018-19 season when his campaign culminated in success in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.
He has contested the race every season since, finishing third in 2021 and 2022, and alongside a superb record in that race he has three Long Walk Hurdles, three Cleeve Hurdles and a Long Distance Hurdle to his name.
Those victories, amongst 11 on his CV, make him one of the best and most consistent figures in the division and this season he showed he retained plenty of his ability when finishing second by the narrowest of distances in the Long Distance, the Long Walk and the Cleeve.
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 14, 2024
He lined up as a 14-1 chance in the Stayers’ Hurdle this time around but could only finish 10th, prompting connections to announce his immediate retirement after a stellar career for his loving owner Andrew Gemmell, who was born blind.
Lavelle said: “We have an awful lot to thank him for, we really do.
“I don’t know what is next for him, Andrew would like to keep him in his garden! He’d need to do something, but he’s the sort of horse who will do anything and he’s such a good ride.
“It’s definitely the right thing to do, we said this season would be on a race-by-race basis but he kept running his heart out, it was just a shame he couldn’t get his head in front for one last time.
“Today was the big test and he doesn’t have the same pace that he used to, that turbo button is missing and based on that, Andrew had a discussion as we crossed the line and as he’s done so much for us, he doesn’t need to do any more.
“It’s so emotional because he has done so much for us.”
Gemmell said: “That first win here when he made a ricket at the last and still won has to be my favourite memory.
“We’re retiring him, it was a great race and a great career but it’s time. It’s the right thing to do. He’s been marvellous.”
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Dual winner Flooring Porter, Grand National hero Noble Yeats and previous Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle victors Paisley Park and Sire Du Berlais are all set to line up in this year’s race.
Fergal O’Brien’s Long Walk winner Crambo, the Gordon Elliott-trained Teahupoo and the enigmatic duo of Asterion Forlonge and Champ have also been declared for what appears a fascinating renewal of the three-mile contest.
A total of 13 have been declared, with Willie Mullins’ Sir Gerhard another big player along with Dashel Drasher and Home By The Lee.
Janadil and Buddy One have also been declared.
Last year’s winner Envoi Allen leads 11 in the Ryanair Chase for Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned 10-year-old has not run since November but has a habit of reserving his best for the Festival.
Paul Nicholls’ Stage Star needs to bounce back from a poor run on New Year’s Day but previously won the Paddy Power Chase under top weight. Stablemate Hitman also runs.
Dan Skelton’s Protektorat drops back in trip having had a crack at the Gold Cup for the last two years, Elliott runs Conflated and Fil Dor while Willie Mullins is represented by Capodanno.
The one horse who will not be suited by Tuesday’s rain is Joseph O’Brien’s Banbridge, who was a non-runner at the Festival last year when the ground went soft.
Ahoy Senor, Fugitif and the supplemented Ga Law make up the field.
The third Grade One on the card is the Turners Novices’ Chase in which an open field of 11 has been declared.
Ginny’s Destiny is gaining a reputation as a course specialist while Grey Dawning, Iroko and Gary Moore’s Le Patron all feature in a strong home team.
Facile Vega will be looking to redeem his reputation for Mullins who also runs Sharjah.
Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead carries plenty of stable confidence in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle where she will face the promising Jade De Grugy and Dysart Enos.
A full field of 24 will go to post in the Pertemps Network Final in which Farouk D’Alene is top weight.
There are 21 in the Trustatrader Plate, in which Jonjo O’Neill’s Crebilly is well fancied while Angels Dawn will bid for back-to-back wins in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase
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Emma Lavelle is ready to let Paisley Park go out in a blaze of glory if he can win a second Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival next week.
It is five years since the veteran claimed the Grade One contest and while he disappointed when bidding for back-to-back wins 12 months later, he finished third in both 2021 and 2022.
It looked as though his best days were behind him when only seventh in last year’s renewal, but he has defied his advancing years with three excellent runs this winter, finishing second in the Long Distance Hurdle, the Long Walk and the Cleeve Hurdle, beaten a head, a short head and a head respectively.
There would be few more popular winners at this year’s Festival than Paisley Park if he can take back his crown on Thursday week and Lavelle could not be happier with his condition.
Emma Lavelle at Cheltenham (David Davies/PA)
“Touch wood he’s in very good form, everything has gone to plan with him. He’s in really good order and it’s all systems go for Cheltenham,” she told talkSPORT.
“It’s a massive ask for a 12-year-old, but he’s not your everyday 12-year-old, so who knows?
“I look through the race and I think there’s a lot of horses in there that we’ve met, that we’ve beaten or have just beaten us. There are a couple of new Irish pretenders, (but) I just kind of feel in that race anything can happen.
“It has leant itself over the years to the hardened professional, rather than it being the upcoming young gun that’s done it.
“It puts him there with chance and fingers crossed – he knows his way round there!”
While Lavelle feels Paisley Park is still loving life at a racehorse, she admits it would be a fitting way for him retire if he was to strike gold on return to Prestbury Park.
She added: “If he won it there’d be no question you’d say ‘that’s it’, because I think it would be an extraordinary beginning and end to his career that way having won it five years previous, to come back and do it again would be an extraordinary achievement.
“It seems funny to say you’d retire a horse if it won but you wouldn’t necessarily retire it if it didn’t, but the reality is you’re a long time retired in this game for a horse – he’s 12, but loving what he’s doing
“If it’s the right thing to stop we will and if it’s not and he’s still loving it and seems happy back in work at the start of next season then I’ll probably bring him back for another run, because no horse keeps going for the number of years that he has if it’s not something he enjoys doing.
“He writes his own script, he doesn’t let anyone else do it for him. We’ll let the horse make the decision, he’s the one out there doing it and we’re all just bowing to his greatness.”
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Emma Lavelle says it would be “pretty cool” if Paisley Park manages to get his head in front in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle next month.
The popular 12-year-old will be running in the race for an incredible sixth time, and it will be his seventh appearance in all at the Festival. He won the race back in 2019 and finished third behind Flooring Porter in both 2021 and 2022.
While his career looked to be coming to an end when unplaced last year, he has been beaten in three tight finishes this term, including when narrowly denied by Crambo, one of the favourites for the Stayers’, in bidding for a remarkable fourth win in Ascot’s Long Walk Hurdle.
Crambo (right) just got the better of Paisley Park in the Long Walk (Steven Paston/PA)
“Touch wood he’s in great form, he had an easy week after the Cleeve and he’s back cantering away now,” said Lavelle.
“He’s had a little stride along the last couple of days and he thinks he’s King Kong, which I suppose is a good thing!
“There’s been nothing between him and Crambo or him and Noble Yeats who we had to give 6lb to (in the Cleeve Hurdle), and they are much shorter than him in the betting.
“There’s a lot of horses we’ve come up against already that are in the race and there are a few new ones, but if he brings his A-game, you’d have to hope he’d be in the shake up anyway.
“We love him to bits, but he doesn’t half put you through the ringer! He builds you up then sometimes he thinks ‘OK’, then sometimes he just thinks ‘nah, it’s not working for me today’. He’s extraordinary.”
She went on: “People say to me ‘will this be his last run at Cheltenham?’, but at the end of the day only he will decide. Look at where we were after the Stayers’ last year, it’s hard to believe he’s had three runs in two Grade Twos and a Grade One and and the combined distance he’s been beaten is less than a neck.
“Some of the horses he’s running against weren’t even born when he won his first Long Walk, like Paul Nicholls’ (Blueking D’Oroux), it’s ridiculous.
“If he was to win it would be pretty cool, but that’s his problem at the moment, he’s going racing and everyone is cheering him and telling him they love him so he thinks he’s won, we have to remind him he’s finished second!”
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Emma Lavelle’s “extraordinary” Paisley Park is heading straight back to Cheltenham after another valiant run in defeat in the Cleeve Hurdle at the weekend.
The 12-year-old has been pipped to the post in all three starts so far this season, finishing second in the Long Distance Hurdle, the Long Walk Hurdle and then the Cleeve when never beaten by more than head.
The latter run was an epic battle with former Grand National winner Noble Yeats, after which Paisley Park was given a hero’s reception as he returned to the paddock.
He is an enduring fan favourite as he continues to shine in his eighth season, with the 11 victories on his CV including the 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
That race is again on the agenda, and the hugely-popular Andrew Gemmell-owned bay would undoubtedly raise the roof with the backing of an appreciative Cheltenham crowd in March.
Lavelle said: “He’s come out of the race really well, he gets all of the applause so he thinks he’s won the race regardless of whether he has!
“Based on how he’s come out of the race the plan would be to take him to the Stayers’ and just see what happens.”
Of his three incredibly near misses this season, the Wiltshire-based trainer added: “It’s not for a lack of trying from the racegoers that we haven’t been winning these races!
“They are just amazing with the support they have, they are just willing him to get over the line first.
“People are very emotional about him, he’s an extraordinary horse – how lucky are we to have him?”
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Grand National winner Noble Yeats denied Paisley Park a fourth victory in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle in a rousing finish at Cheltenham.
Trainer Emmet Mullins has proven time and again he is prepared to think outside the box and the 2022 Aintree hero was having just his third run over hurdles in this contest.
With regular jockey Sean Bowen currently on the sidelines, Harry Cobden stepped in for the ride and he looked to be going nowhere with half a mile to go as Dashel Drasher, Champ and Botox Has tried to run the finish out of the others.
A Grand National winner beats a Stayers Hurdle winner
The complexion of the race changed at the last though, as Noble Yeats (3-1), Paisley Park and Strong Leader, who was nearly detached at one point, came back into contention.
Noble Yeats found a few lengths after the last but Paisley Park was staying on relentlessly having been outpaced turning in.
However, despite the popular veteran’s best efforts, the line just came too soon and he went down by a head.
“It was a brilliant race with two, tough, genuine horses running right to the line – I think other people may have enjoyed it more than I did,” said Mullins.
“I’d imagine we’ll be back here in March and we had to come here and do that to lay down our claim. He will be in with a shout and all roads will lead back to the National again after that.
“Since we started back this year, this has kind of been the route (we were thinking). I said to Robert (Waley-Cohen, owner) before we ran this year, we would go for the Stayers’ first (before the National) and skip the Gold Cup. I think people were surprised when they saw he didn’t have an entry for the Gold Cup but the Stayers’ Hurdle has been the plan all season.
“He stays well and the New course here lends itself to that kind of running and galloping, it’s a thorough test on that track and that suits him.”
Noble Yeats has a National repeat as his ultimate aim (Nigel French/PA)
Noble Yeats had not got his head in front since winning the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree in December 2022 and Mullins was pleased to get a win on the board, feeling his charge’s limitations had been exposed at the top level over fences last term.
He added: “It’s great to see him get his head back in-front again and they were serious tests we asked him in the Gold Cup, Grand National and in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, he ran a great race there and picked up some more prize-money and he didn’t come home without a cheque all year. It’s great to give him some confidence.
“We’ve had our crack at the Gold Cup and got put in our place and we’re probably 10lb off the top in that bracket, so the Stayers’ is the next logical place to look and, fingers crossed, we’re in with a chance.
“There are no rules in this game and it is great to use all the great races.”
Paisley Park was registering his third narrow defeat of the campaign, having been beaten a head in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury and a short head in the Long Walk at Ascot last month.
Emma Lavelle’s pride in her charge was evident and she was touched by the reception Paisley Park received on returning to the unsaddling enclosure.
“The crowd lift him, but just not enough, we need them to shout louder,” she said.
“It’s the most emotional thing and the noise of the people calling for him and shouting for him, we just need him to try harder. He’s 12 years old and has just been beaten a head in his fifth Cleeve Hurdle and how am I ever going to have a horse like that.
“I was fine, then I walked in there (the winner’s enclosure) and people started shouting how much they love Paisley and now I just want to start crying. He is so special and he just tries his heart out.
“Maybe he’s just saving himself for the big one (Stayers’ Hurdle), but it will be a tough gig and I felt today might have been his real day this year.
“To consistently be coming out this season running like that means he’s still got it.
“They didn’t go much of a gallop and they were all sort of on top of each other and then quickened and he’s got caught for toe and then all he’s done is stay on again. He just needs an even gallop.
“I think all he’s done is stay on and just been done for a bit of toe.”
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Paisley Park is in rude health as he prepares to go in search of an unprecedented fourth success in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Emma Lavelle’s veteran 12-year-old has won the Grade Two three times, just like Lady Rebecca at the turn of the century.
Third behind the French Raider Gold Tweet last season, Paisley Park has run two huge races in defeat already this campaign when just touched off at Newbury and Ascot, most recently in the Long Walk.
When asked if Paisley Park was in the same form as for his two meritorious runs this season, Lavelle told Sky Sports Racing: “I think so.
“He seems very well at home, he schooled this morning. He’s jumped more hurdles than I’ve had hot dinners at home so he’s in great order.
“He’s his own man so it’s fingers crossed he brings to the table what he has in both races so far this season.
“He loves Cheltenham, he’s got a great record there and we’ve just got to keep everything crossed.”
Paisley Park’s old adversaries Champ and Dashel Drasher are likely to take him on again, with 2022 Grand National winner Noble Yeats and Marie’s Rock other notable entries.
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Paisley Park is on course to attempt a fourth win in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on January 27.
Big Buck’s won the race twice while Lady Rebecca won three in a row from 1999-2001, but a victory for Emma Lavelle’s stalwart would see him stand alone as a four-time winner.
In two outings this year the 12-year-old has been beaten a head by Dashel Drasher at Newbury and a short head by the young pretender Crambo in the Long Walk Hurdle – a race which Paisley Park has also won three times in his stellar career.
“He’s great. He’s come out of the race (Long Walk) so well, he cantering away and I just can’t believe he’s run two such fantastic races and just got beaten in both of them,” Lavelle told Sky Sports Racing.
“We’re so proud of him. He’s just turned 12 and we’ll head to the Cleeve, all things being equal.
“It would be nice if he could just get his head in front there, to win the Cleeve four times would be extraordinary.
“I’ve always said he’ll tell us when he’s had enough and clearly his first two runs this year have shown us he hasn’t had enough.
“If he keeps running the way he is then I don’t see why we would necessarily retire him at the end of the season.
“We’ll keep going with him as long as he is happy to keep going and quite clearly at the moment he is very happy.”
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Emma Lavelle was almost reduced to tears so proud was she of Paisley Park after he went down fighting in his bid for a record-equalling fourth victory in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle.
It is five years since the popular veteran first claimed the Ascot’s traditional pre-Christmas highlight and he has since added to his tally in 2020 and 2022.
The soon-to-be 12-year-old may not be the force he once was, but having shown the fire still burns bright when a fast-finishing second in last month’s Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, he was prominent in the market at 6-1 to match French great Baracouda’s four Long Walk wins.
It was a ding-dong battle at Ascot (Steven Paston/PA)
While Paisley Park has become renowned for hitting a flat spot before charging home late, on this occasion he travelled with real zest throughout, ensuring he was right on the coat tails of the leaders rounding the home turn.
As per usual he gave generously to Tom Bellamy when asked for maximum effort and even poked his head in front on the run-in, but was in the end denied by the five years younger Crambo after a titanic tussle.
“He’s just the most extraordinary horse and it is heartbreaking because he did everything right,” said Lavelle.
“He travelled so well today and he jumped brilliantly. He loves it, he absolutely loves his job.
“I just thought, ‘oh this is it’, and whereas at Newbury I was going, ‘oh my God, please don’t come any sooner the line, give us another length to beat Dashel Drasher’, today I was thinking, ‘where is the bloody line!’. I think he thought he’d done enough, but he’s galloped his heart out and we’re so proud of him.
“It’s tough as these races are so hard to win and it’s hard to have horses good enough to run in them even. For him to just keep turning up every year is so, so special.
“When he was travelling so well I thought, ‘my God, there is life in the old dog yet’, because at home he almost feels like he doesn’t quite have the speed he had as a young horse. But you see him at the races and he makes a fool of you every which way this horse because it looks like he is travelling better now than he ever has done.”
Emma Lavelle was thrilled with Paisley Park’s performance (David Davies/PA)
On future plans, Lavelle added: “I’ve always said this season is race by race and he’s been like, ‘well I’m not blinking retiring!’. I suppose we will go for the Cleeve (at Cheltenham in January) and see what happens after that.
“The reception he’s got today almost makes me cry and I’m walking in and I’m like, ‘oh my God’, and it’s not because I’m beaten. I stood out the front, not surrounded by friends or anything, but just the noise of people shouting for Paisley is just incredible.”
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Crambo came out on top in a breathtaking battle of the ages with Paisley Park to claim Howden Long Walk Hurdle glory at Ascot.
Paisley Park was bidding to match the brilliant Baracouda’s record of four wins in the Grade One contest over an extended three miles.
But the popular 11-year-old just had to give way to Crambo – five years his junior, who was providing trainer Fergal O’Brien with just his second elite-level success.
Dashel Drasher set off in his customary prominent position, but there was little more than a few lengths covering all 10 runners at the halfway stage.
With four flights left to jump, it was noticeable that Paisley Park was lying handier than has often been the case and Tom Bellamy threw down a challenge between the last couple of hurdles.
However, Jonathan Burke made his move at the exact same time and the pair jumped the final obstacle together before settling down for a ding-dong battle on the run-in.
It was impossible to predict the outcome until close home, when 5-1 chance Crambo edged in front by a short head to give O’Brien a first Grade One triumph since Poetic Rhythm in 2017.
“He never knows he’s beat,” said O’Brien. “The horse is still very young and I can’t believe he is here winning a Grade One – I could tell two furlongs out he was going to get there.
A big smile from winning jockey Jonathan Burke (Steven Paston/PA)
“He’s a bull of a horse, Noel Fehily bred him with Jared (Sullivan, co-owner) and Noel always has him home and pre-trains him and has done a great job with him.
“He’s unique, Noel was telling me today he was two weeks’ premature and the mum foaled herself and he is just one of those – you honestly wouldn’t know he was in the place at home, he’s so straightforward.
“We took him away a couple of weeks ago because I wanted Johnny to have a sit on him and because I didn’t want Johnny to get to the races and think, ‘I’m not getting much of a feel here’, because that is just Crambo.
“He said he didn’t give him much of a feel, but I said just trust him on the day and that is what he did – and I can’t thank Johnny enough, he’s given him a fantastic ride.”
O’Brien had taken the tough decision to choose Burke ahead of Crambo’s regular rider Connor Brace.
He added: “Johnny has been riding in Grade Ones since he was 18 years of age. It was my decision, I’ve never hidden behind the owners and I just felt coming here today, I needed to tick all the boxes.
“Connor has done a fantastic job and to be honest, Connor has made this horse over the years.
“This horse hasn’t arrived here today the finished article, this is down to what Connor and all the team at home have put into him, which is what you see today.”
Crambo was cut to 8-1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham by Betfair, Coral and Paddy Power.
“I’m very lucky that I have very good owners and I will speak to them when I get home, and speak to Neil (Jukes, race planner), who does our entries, and see where we go.
“I personally don’t think he needs another run before Cheltenham, but we will see.
“We’ll take it one race at a time and it’s only my second Grade One and I’ve been training 12 years. It’s been a long time between drinks and the first one was very important to me because it belonged to Chris Cooley, who I wouldn’t be here without and I’m absolutely delighted.”
Winning jockey Burke added: “The last time he tried Graded company, he finished about seventh, so it was obviously a big step up and he needed to step up and thankfully he did.
Runners and riders during the Howden Long Walk Hurdle (Steven Paston/PA)
“He travelled through the race great, jumped brilliant and his jumping was probably as slick as ever – and he battled well from the back of two out.
“It all went smoothly and I got a lovely position and his jumping kept me there. I was kind of wary of him hitting a flat spot but that never happened and as soon I straightened up, myself and Paisley had a great battle and it was kind of what the race was set up to be – those older horses against the young ones coming through.
“He’s definitely thrown his name into the staying hurdling division now. If he keeps improving on what he has done today, then he will surely be a force to be reckoned with.”
On replacing Brace, Burke said: “I’m there to do a job and get on the horse and ride him. You can get distracted by all the stuff beforehand but once you get on the horse’s back, it’s just another race.
“He travelled and jumped great and from the bottom of the straight he was always going to battle. It’s what we do it for, these Saturdays and the Graded races, so it is great.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/db8ee561-1e64-40e4-b23d-8e4a8263cf6d.jpg5121024Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-12-23 14:53:002023-12-23 15:55:06Crambo denies Paisley Park in pulsating Long Walk
Paisley Park will try to match the great Baracouda’s record with a fourth triumph in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.
The highly-popular 11-year-old first won the contest in 2018 and returned to the Berkshire track to reclaim his title in 2020 before landing a rescheduled 2022 running at Kempton last Christmas.
While Big Buck’s and Reve De Sivola were each three-time race winners, no horse has yet equalled the Francois Doumen-trained Baracouda, who won the race in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004, as well as being beaten just a length into second in 2002.
Though now a veteran with 28 runs and 11 wins under his belt, the Emma Lavelle-trained Paisley Park looked to have lost none of his vim when lining up for the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury first time out this season.
He was beaten just a head by Jeremy Scott’s equally likeable Dashel Drasher, who reopposes on Saturday.
Aidan Coleman and Paisley Park after winning the Long Walk Hurdle in 2020 (Alan Crowhurst/PA)
“He seems in great order at home and has done everything we have wanted since his last run and we’ll see,” said Lavelle.
“I was delighted with how he was at Newbury and these races take a lot of winning, so it is lovely to see so many of the old boys back again.
“He kept galloping, and that is what we wanted to see – and if he can keep doing that, and if his legs can go round fast enough, he will be giving it his all.
“We’re very much looking forward to running and seeing what happens. Hopefully, it can continue to be his favourite race.”
Paisley Park winning the Long Walk when it was relocated to Kempton last season (John Walton/PA)
On the prospect of matching Baracouda’s record, Lavelle added: “It would be an extraordinary achievement, it really would.
“All we can do is hope and he’s just been the most remarkable horse for us. He certainly seems to be enjoying his racing the same as ever.”
Dan Skelton’s West Balboa was a winner on her seasonal debut when taking a class two hurdle over two and a half miles at Aintree in November.
The race was only contested by three horses, but 12 lengths behind her was Olly Murphy’s Brewin’upastorm, a Grade Two winner, and 10 lengths behind him was Grade One-winning chaser Millers Bank.
This Ascot contest is a step up in grade and trip for the seven-year-old, but she is proven over the latter after winning the Village Hotels Handicap Hurdle at Aintree on her final start last term.
West Balboa and Harry Skelton at Aintree (Nigel French/PA)
“She’s in good form, she started off her season very well at Aintree,” said Skelton.
“She definitely deserves to be there and deserves her go at the top flight.
“It was a good run (at Aintree) and beating a good yardstick like Brewin’upastorm is a fine start to the season.
“With respect, this is harder and she’ll have to step up, but she’s a good mare.”
Nicky Henderson will be represented by Champ, the 2021 winner of the race who makes his seasonal debut in the contest after finishing fifth in the Liverpool Hurdle when last seen in spring.
Champ en route to winning the contest in 2021 (Nigel French/PA)
Champ runs in the silks of owner JP McManus, whose racing manager Frank Berry said: “He goes well fresh and Nicky and the team seem happy with him.
“He’s not getting any younger, but we’ll see how he goes.
“There’s a few younger ones coming along, but they’re very consistent those older horses and he’s in good form, so you’d be hoping for a good run.”
Paul Nicholls has a pair of contenders in Red Risk and the four-year-old Blueking D’Oroux.
Red Risk progressed from handicaps to finish second in the Grade Two bet365 Hurdle and will be ridden by Bryony Frost, with stable jockey Harry Cobden taking the ride on Coral Hurdle winner Blueking D’Oroux.
Red Risk and Harry Cobden (John Walton/PA)
“He is an interesting contender and it’s encouraging that two four-year-olds have won this race in the past,” Nicholls said of the latter horse via Betfair.
“Trying this trip of three miles is a bit of a shot in the dark at this stage of his career and I’d be happier if he was a year older. But who knows how good he might be?
“He’s improving all the time and galloped on strongly all the way to the line in winning the Grade Two Coral Hurdle over two miles, three and a half furlongs at this track a month ago.”
Of Red Risk, the trainer added: “He ran a cracker on his seasonal debut at Wetherby, where he kept on in determined style to finish a close second behind Botox Has in the bet365 Hurdle, with two classy types behind him.
“That’s really smart form. Red Risk was only just touched off in the Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton in January and has the ability to run into a place.
Fergal O’Brien has a live chance in Crambo, last seen finishing third in a valuable handicap hurdle at Haydock.
Crambo at Aintree (Tim Goode/PA)
Though he was unable to get his head in front on that occasion, he still ran with plenty of promise – enough to encourage connections to take the step up to Grade One level.
“He carried an awful lot of weight at Haydock and beat some good horses,” O’Brien said of the run.
“On another day and with a bit more luck, he maybe would have won and we’re very happy with him.
“He has to step up but he’s trained very well since Haydock and we felt it’d be foolish not to give it a go, it will tell us a lot about where we want to go with him next.”
The Gary Moore duo of Botox Has and Goshen and Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Gowel Road complete the line up.
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/240331705-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-12-22 14:10:032023-12-22 14:10:03Baracouda record in Paisley Park’s sights at Ascot
Dashel Drasher produced a gutsy display to hold off the fast-finishing Paisley Park in a thrilling conclusion to the Coral Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury.
Jeremy Scott’s Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up was sent off the 2-1 second favourite in the hands of Rex Dingle and showed huge improvement on his Wetherby reappearance, when only third in the West Yorkshire Hurdle.
It was Patrick Neville’s Mahons Glory who wasted no time in building up a hefty lead in the early stages, as the other five runners were well-grouped, content to bide their time.
"Two National Hunt warriors fighting out the finish!" 🫨
With the business end of the Grade Two event approaching, 20-1 shot Flight Deck led the field into the straight but Dashel Drasher was snapping at his heels and had taken over by the time the final flight approached.
The 10-year-old jumped the last with a narrow advantage, with Dingle soon in full flow searching for the line, as Tom Bellamy in his wing mirrors conjured up the customary end-of-race flourish from Paisley Park.
However, despite the petrol tank flashing red and Dashel Drasher’s lead narrowing with every stride, he was never headed by Paisley Park and showed plenty of heart to pull out extra and score by a head.
“I was worried to death when I saw Paisley Park there, because wasn’t he coming,” Scott told ITV Racing.
Dashel Drasher jumps a hurdle in the home straight at Newbury (David Davies/PA)
“It’s lovely to see the old boys going head-to-head and I thought Paisley Park ran a brilliant race there. A bit further and he might have done us. It was a great race to watch.
“You start to wonder whether Dashel Drasher had lost his spark. He was beaten so many times last year, but only into second, and you just think it must take its toll. You have to keep picking yourself up and go again.
“So, you do wonder whether or not he still had it and that fight, but he did fight today. It’s his kind of trademark and you are always terrified he might lose the trademark, but he keeps fighting, doesn’t he.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him and it’s lovely. It is such a roller-coaster ride having a horse as good as that and it’s just lovely to be a part of it.”
Paisley Park had to settle for second once again at Newbury (John Walton/PA)
It was a case of history repeating itself for the connections of Paisley Park, who has competed in the race now for five straight years and came off second best in a similar ding-dong battle with Champ 12 months ago.
Trainer Emma Lavelle was magnanimous in defeat and was thrilled to see the fire still burns bright in her popular 11-year-old.
She said: “It was a great run, it was just so near, yet so far.
“He’s run fantastic and given away 6lb to the winner and done everything in typical Paisley style, he just clearly hasn’t learnt where the winning post is at Newbury.
“Tom has given him a brilliant ride and had Barry (Fenton) in one ear and Aidan (Coleman) in the other telling him how to ride, so he’s had plenty of instruction and he carried it out fantastically.
“He’s run in that race so many times and he’s won it once, but it was like deja vu from last year. I was delighted with him.”
Lavelle also confirmed Ascot’s Howden Long Walk Hurdle on December 23 would be up next for Paisley Park, with Coral making him a 5-1 chance to defend the title he won for a third time when the race was switched to Kempton last Christmas.
She added: “Ascot is the plan, he’s been there plenty before and as I’ve said all along, each race will stand in isolation and we will see what happens going forward.
“He definitely deserves a crack at that and he’s a star, he completely is, and it was brilliant to see the same Paisley back in action.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/274731034-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-12-01 15:33:502023-12-01 16:15:07Dashel Drasher fends off late Paisley Park challenge
Emma Lavelle believes a quicker pace in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle is vital if Paisley Park is to reclaim the title.
Winner of the race back in 2019, he has finished third behind Gavin Cromwell’s Flooring Porter for the last two years.
Despite being 11, he showed he is still a force to be reckoned with when winning the rearranged Long Walk Hurdle at Kempton, but he was almost 10 lengths behind French raider Gold Tweet in the Cleeve Hurdle last time out.
“Paisley Park has come out of the Cleeve Hurdle well and seems in good order,” said Lavelle.
“He has had an easy time of it since, but we will start to build him back up for the Stayers’ Hurdle this week and roll into Cheltenham.
“I only feel he needs to step back up a little bit and if he does, then he won’t be far away in the Stayers’ Hurdle. They just didn’t go quick enough in the Cleeve.
“He hasn’t suddenly sprouted wings, the only reason he was in that position (handy) is that they hadn’t gone quick enough for him and then the quickening happened too late.
“When that happens he can’t then hit his flat spot and stay on while the others are coming back to him, which is what happened in the Cleeve.”
Lavelle also feels the form of her yard at the time may have played its part.
Emma Lavelle has her horses back in form (David Davies/PA)
“Our horses, until recently, haven’t been running great and we have had a number of them coughing and a few with snotty noses,” she said.
“I know he won a Grade One through all of that at Kempton Park over Christmas, but why wouldn’t he have something on him when everything else in the yard appears to have had it.
“He has been great for us for a good few seasons but we know it isn’t going to last forever as he is 11 years old now.
“He has been rated in the 160s for five seasons and there are not many horses, as the statistics show, that are rated above 150 in this country.
“When you look at how hard it is to get horses to be vaguely competitive at Cheltenham, we are lucky to have him.”
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/270762708-scaled.jpg12802560Geegeez Newshttps://www.geegeez.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/geegeez_banner_new_170x78.pngGeegeez News2023-02-13 11:50:062023-02-13 11:55:15Pace key to Paisley Park’s Festival hopes
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