Donn McClean previews the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham

The Stayers’ Hurdle on day three of the Cheltenham Festival might not be everyone’s favourite race but this year it looks wide open as former winners Bob Olinger and Teahupoo head back into battle. Honestly Policy, Kabral Du Mathan and Ma Shantou are also towards the top of the market and add plenty of quality to an interesting contest.

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Donn McClean spoke to irishracing.com and gave his thoughts and selection in the race.

It’s great that the two Robcour horses, Teahupoo and Bob Olinger, are taking each other on again.

Henry de Bromhead, of course, trains Bob Olinger, and Gordon Elliott trains Teahupoo, and they finished 1st and 2nd last year.

Bob Olinger showed a really good turn of foot to win the race last year off a slow pace, given a fantastic ride by Rachel Blackmore.

Teahupoo is such a likable horse. He's won a Stayers' Hurdle, he's finished placed in two others, and he ran a big race last year.

Bob Olinger in fine form

Again this year, he's kind of proven that he doesn't need the ground to be really soft to be at his best, so he's a big player in the race again.

Bob Olinger ran really well in the Christmas Hurdle the last time we saw him, and probably ran a little bit better than I expected him to. He's 11 years old now, but he won it last year as a 10-year-old.

Before Sire de Berlais won it a couple of years ago as an 11-year-old, you had to go back to Crimson Embers in the 1980s for the last horse in double figures to win the Stayers' Hurdle.

So Sire de Berlais proved that you can do it, Bob Olinger proved it again last year, and now he's back as an 11-year-old, but Henry de Bromhead seems to be really positive about him, so I'm looking forward to seeing how he gets on.

Emma Lavelle the one to follow

Of the British horses, I think Ma Shantou is interesting. He goes well here, Emma Lavelle's horse. She did it with Paisley Park, brought him through the handicap ranks to go and win a Stayers' Hurdle, and Ma Shantou has gone through that route as well.

He won the Cleeve Hurdle last time, a Grade 2 race, and to me that was his best performance.

It wasn't a great pace, but we know that he stays, and he showed the last day that he has pace as well. He's won his last three at Cheltenham. He beat Inothewayurthinkin the last day, which is a high level of form.

He has to improve again to get up to the level that Bob Olinger and Teahupoo are already at and have proven that they're at. But I think he's a young, improving horse, and there's every chance that he can get up to that level.