Cheltenham Stayers Hurdle Preview
The high-quality jumping action continues on St. Patricks Thursday at the Cheltenham Festival, with Day 3 serving up another trio of Grade 1 contests for our punting pleasure. The Turners Chase and Ryanair Chase have plenty to recommend them, but the traditional highlight of the day is the Stayers Hurdle, which sees the best of the stamina-laden performers locking horns over three miles.
Barring the Champion Hurdle, none of the week's major events looks easy to call on paper, but possibly the toughest to predict of all is this event. Here we take a look at the likely contenders for glory in one of the most wide-open Grade 1 contests of the meeting.
All prices quoted are with William Hill
Former Champions Back For More: Flooring Porter 6/1 & Paisley Park 14/1
This race is no stranger to a repeat winner, and this year we have two former champs in the field. Of that duo, the most likely to have his name up in lights once more is the Gavin Cromwell-trained Flooring Porter. Successful in 2021 and 2022, if he wins again this year, he will join the legendary Big Bucks as the only horse to land three consecutive editions. He has been beaten in his two prep races, but that was also the case 12 months ago, and it didn’t stop him from roaring to a 2¾l success.
It was back in 2019 that the Emma Lavelle trained Paisley Park bagged this prize. He has tried and failed to reclaim the title three times since, but if judged on the best of his efforts this season, he may not be done with quite yet. Too good for the field in the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle at Kempton in December, he may not be far away if in the same sort of form here.
New Contenders in the Mix: Blazing Khal 3/1 & Teahupoo 4/1
The Charles Byrnes-trained Blazing Khal hasn’t enjoyed the most conventional of preparations, having run just once in the previous 460 days. However, that hasn’t prevented the seven-year-old from making his way to the top of the market. Now a perfect four from four over hurdles, his comeback win in the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle at Navan was an impressive effort following such a prolonged absence from the track. A course and distance winner here back in December of 2021, this classy operator looks to boast strong claims.
In what looks like a strong race for the Irish, another runner not to be underestimated is the Gordon Elliott representative Teahupoo. A talented performer over 2m, with wins at Grade 2 and Grade 3 level, the son of Masked Marvel nevertheless proved just shy of top class over the minimum trip. However, it seems that stamina may be his forte. Stepped up to 2m3½f for the first time in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, he promptly bagged the first Grade 1 of his career. Pushed out further to 3m½f last time out at Gowran Park, he thrust his hat firmly into the ring for this with a resounding 15-length romp. A soft ground lover, his chance increases with every drop of rain that falls.
Others to Consider
Nicky Henderson’s Marie’s Rock (4/1 BetUK) would rate an interesting contender if taking up this assignment ahead of a defence of her Mares Hurdle crown. The trip provides a slight question mark, but this mare possesses a potent turn of foot and would receive a useful 7lb from the boys.
Or how about a win for the French? Gabriel Leenders’ Gold Tweet (14/1 William Hill) caused a shock when travelling over to land the Cleeve Hurdle at this track in January – with Paisley Park amongst those in behind. There didn’t look to be any fluke about that display as he travelled smoothly unto contention before pulling clear after the last. Likely to be supplemented for the race, he may hand our Gallic cousins a first success in the race since Baracouda in 2003.
Race Prediction
- 1st - Blazing Khal
- 2nd - Marie’s Rock
- 3rd - Flooring Porter
More Cheltenham Festival Articles
Cheltenham Gold Cup Preview 2023
Cheltenham Champion Hurdle Preview
Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase Preview
Top 20 Betting Offers
|
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New UK+ROI Customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stake not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
New customers: Deposit £10+ and place a sports bet within 7 days from registration. Get 4 x £10 Free Bets - 2 x Football Accas (4+) & 2 x Sports Multiples (2+), valid 7 days. Min odds apply. Excludes virtual sports, esports and non-UK/IE horse racing. Opt-in required. 18+. T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Opt in, deposit & bet £10 (odds 2.00+) within 7 days of registration. Get £30 in Free Bets for selected markets, 7 days expiry. T&Cs apply, see below. gambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly |
|||||
|
18+ | New players only. Opt-in. Min deposit is £20. Offer: Place a £20 sports cash bet at minimum odds of 3/4 (1.75) or higher and receive a £20 Free Bet. Free bet credited upon settlement of all qualifying bets. Full terms apply. | BeGambleAware.org. |
|||||
|
18+. New customers only. Opt in required. Minimum bet of £20 on any selections. Min odds of evens (2.00). Pre-game only. Free bet awarded upon settlement. Free bet split into 4 x £5 Free Bets. Free bet expiry 24 hours. Other free bet terms apply. Maximum pay-outs apply. GamCare.org.uk | UK only. Full T&Cs apply. #ad |
|||||
|
New customers online only. Register and bet a min £/€5 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £/€10 Tote Credit, £/€10 Free Sports Bet within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to bet slip. Voided/non-runner bets will not qualify; subsequent bet will be qualifying bet. 7-day expiry. 18+. One per customer. Selected customers only. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New UK + ROI customers only. Certain deposit methods & bet types excl. Min first £/€5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 to get 6 x £/€5 free bets (selected sportsbook markets only, valid 7 days, stakes not returned). Restrictions + T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Place a £10+ bet at min odds 1/1 (2.0) within 14 days of sign-up. Get £30 in Free Bets, valid for 7 days on selected bets only. Free stake not returned with winnings. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org |
|||||
|
18+ New customers only. Opt in, deposit and bet £10 on any sports market at 1/1+ odds within 7 days of sign up. Get 3x£10 in Free Bets for set sports markets. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Scroll for T&Cs. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly |
|||||
|
*New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. Virtuals) 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accept in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
New members only. £10+ bet on sports (ex. virtuals) at 1.5 min odds, settled within 14 days. Free Bets: accepted in 7 days, valid 7 days; £20 use on sportsbook, £10 on Bet Builder. Stake not returned. T&Cs + deposit exclusions apply. Bet Responsibly. GambleAware.org. 18+ |
|||||
|
*New customers only. Place a min £10 pre-event bet at min odds of 2.0. £40 worth of Free Bet Tokens awarded on bet settlement. 4 x £10 each with betting restrictions. 7 day expiry. Debit Card deposits only (exclusions apply). 18+ GambleAware.org. Bet The Responsible Way Full Terms apply |
|||||
|
Place a £10 fixed odds single or £10 each-way bet at minimum odds of 1/2 and get 3 x £10 free fixed odds bets, 3 x £5 Total Goals football spread bets and 3 x £5 Winning Favourites spread bets and a £1 racing Race Index spread bet. 18+ www.gambleaware.org. |
|||||
|
New customers. Bet £40+ at odds 2.0 (evens) or greater, with code BET40GET20, get 2×£10 Free Bets. Free Bets must be placed at min odds 4/1 (5.0) or greater, paid after settlement and 24h later, expire in 24h. Full T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org |
|||||
|
New UK customers. Place a £10 real money bet at min. 2.0 odds within 5 days of deposit. Get 4 x £10 Free Bets: 1 Single, 2 Accas & 1 Bet Builder (min. 3 selections each). Excludes cashout, E/W, Multis, Ineligible Markets & Odds Boosts. Credited after bet settlement. 7-day expiry. T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
18+| GambleAware.org. New GB customers only. Opt in, deposit and Bet £20+ on sports at min odds of 2.0+ (1/1) for £40 in Free Bets within 7 days of registration. Debit cards or instant bank transfers only. Free bets expire within 7 days of issue. Geographical restrictions and T&C’s apply. |
|||||
|
New customers only. Min £20 bet at minimum odds of 1/1 (2.0). Max reward: Two £10 Bet Builder Free Bets. Each Bet Builder Free Bet requires a minimum of 4 legs at combined minimum odds of 3/1 (4.0). Free Bets expire 7 days after credit. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. |
|||||
|
Offer valid for new Betgoodwin customers aged 18 years and over. Min qualifying stake £10 at odds of 6/4+. Excludes horse & greyhound racing. Min 4 legs at odds of 2/5+ for £10 free acca. Full Terms apply. begambleaware |
|||||
|
New customers only. To qualify for free bets, the new user must place and settle £20 on easyBet markets. The user must bet on at least 2 different events to qualify. The user must place and settle bets at odds of 2.0 or more. An event is classed as two different sporting events. Bets can be placed on singles, multiples and Bet Builders. The user must place and settle bets before the closing date of the promotion to qualify. Users making their first deposit by Skrill, Neteller or PaySafe card will not qualify for this promotion. T's and C's Apply. Be Gamble Aware. 18+ |
