Paisley Park in fine fettle ahead of Stayers' Hurdle task Emma Lavelle hopes Paisley Park will be benefited by a full crowd at Cheltenham as he prepares for an attempt to regain his crown in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle. The much-loved bay has been a constant presence in the division since the 2018-19 season, when he was unbeaten in five runs and capped a superb term with victory at the Festival in the long-distance hurdle highlight. The following campaign he was unable to hold on to his title after finishing seventh behind Lisnagar Oscar when suffering from a later-diagnosed heart issue, but he recovered the season after to tussle with Philip Hobbs’ top stayer Thyme Hill in Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle and Ascot’s Long Walk Hurdle — with each horse taking a race apiece. His 2021 Festival run ended in a third-placed finish behind Flooring Porter and he began the current campaign with a string of further third-placed runs in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby, the Long Distance Hurdle and the Long Walk Hurdle. A return to Cheltenham for the Cleeve Hurdle, an event he had won twice previously, ended in a dramatic triumph as he looked ready to refuse to start as the tapes went up but was eventually cajoled by Aidan Coleman and remarkably inched his way into the race to prevail by three and a quarter lengths. Next week he will head back to his favourite track in a bid reassert himself at the head of the staying hierarchy, and is reportedly in fine fettle ahead of the meeting. “Touch wood he’s in really good form, he’s done everything we could have wanted from him up until this point,” said Lavelle. “Aidan’s in tomorrow (Tuesday) to give him a pop over a hurdle and everything’s gone well, we’ll just keep all of our fingers crossed that he can continue in that vein all the way to Cheltenham.” Paisley Park has started as the favourite for the past three runnings of the Grade One feature, but this time around he looks unlikely to head the market as Flooring Porter, Klassical Dream, Thyme Hill and Champ are all at shorter prices. “It’s lovely to have a favourite because they’re the favourite on their form going in to it, but at the same time now we can just go there and enjoy it,” Lavelle said. “He’s been such a star and his last run proved he still has the ability, we go there hopeful and just wanting to enjoy it.” Lavelle’s stable star is owned by Andrew Gemmell, a popular and dedicated figure in the sport who was, like all owners, unable to follow his horse in action last season due to Covid-enforced restrictions at the track. Gemmell will be in attendance this time, however, along with a full-strength crowd that Lavelle hopes will boost the chances of Paisley Park. “I think for Paisley it’s a positive, he loves the crowds and it gets his blood up,” she said. “The fact that the crowds are there again will be a big plus for him.”
