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Cheltenham taster for leading Stayers’ Hurdle hope
Long Walk Hurdle winner Paisley Park is set to test his Cheltenham Festival claims further in the galliardhomes.com Cleeve Hurdle at Prestbury Park on Saturday.
The Emma Lavelle-trained seven-year-old is a best-priced 12-1 for the Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle after going unbeaten in three starts to date this season, hitting the Grade One jackpot at Ascot last time out.
Lavelle said of the Andrew Gemmell-owned gelding: “Paisley Park is in good form and came out of the Long Walk very well.
“We have been very pleased with his work since and the Cleeve Hurdle is the target.
“We are keen to run as I think it’s a long wait for the Stayers’ Hurdle otherwise, plus we can get some more experience into him.
“We would not want a slog at Cheltenham, but provided it is genuine nice ground, we will look to run.”
In recent years, Inglis Drever (2008), Big Buck’s (2009 and 2012) and Thistlecrack (2016) have won both races in the same season.
