Lavelle hopes Ma Shantou can follow in Paisley Park’s footsteps

Emma Lavelle ’s Ma Shantou will bid to emulate the great Paisley Park when he puts his Stayers’ Hurdle credentials to the test in the Pertemps Network Cleeve Hurdle on Cheltenham Festival Trials day.

Ma Shantou has grown fond of Prestbury Park this term, winning at the track in October before following up on New Year’s Day and his third outing of the season in the Cotswolds could determine what race he takes part in at the Festival in March.

Former Lavelle inmate Paisley Park won the Cleeve three times between 2019 and 2022 and also won the Stayers’ Hurdle itself in 2019.

Normally our specialists are around Fontwell and it’s quite nice to have one who is a specialist around Cheltenham.

Emma Lavelle

Cleeve run to decide Festival target

Lavelle said: “We’re going to run him in the Cleeve and that will make our decision for the Festival, as if he were to go and run an absolute belter in that, then I would imagine he would go straight to the Stayers’ Hurdle.

“If he doesn’t, then I would imagine he could come down a couple of pounds and he can go the Pertemps route.

“Normally our specialists are around Fontwell and it’s quite nice to have one who is a specialist around Cheltenham.”

Comparisons to the legendary Paisley Park

Like Ma Shantou has the opportunity to do, Paisley Park forced his way out of the handicap ranks before becoming a force on the graded stage and Lavelle does see similar hallmarks in her ever-improving seven-year-old.

When asked to compare the two, she added: “They have both done well handicapping and Paisley also ran in the Albert Bartlett as a novice and was a little disappointing, so there are similarities.

“However, it is how they race that is most how they are similar, and neither of them ever do too much in a race.

“If you are a genuine stayer, you cannot waste energy by being keen, and they are both slick jumpers who do what you want and that’s the main similarity between them.”