PAISLEY PARK CLAIMED his third successive victory in the Cleeve Hurdle with an astonishing run that saw him almost left at the start.
The Emma Lavelle-trained gelding won the staying feature in both 2019 and 2020 before his 2021 bid for a treble was scuppered due to waterlogging – and this latest tilt looked well and truly blighted, too, as he spun round and lost lengths on the field.
Gradually eased back into it by Aidan Coleman, the 5-1 chance – winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019 – jumped the last level with 8-15 favourite Champ and powered up the hill to register a three-and-a-quarter-length success that had at one stage looked an impossibility.
Nicky Henderson’s Champ was the eventual runner-up, with Rebecca Curtis’ Lisnagar Oscar the third-placed horse at 14-1.
Elsewhere, North Lodge is unbeaten in two runs after triumphing in a dramatic renewal of the Grade Two Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The race was incident-strewn from the off, with hurdles missed out due to the low sun and Harpers Brook coming down early on and hampering Henry Daly’s 4-5 favourite Hillcrest, who jinked and unseated Richard Patrick.
Joined by Nicky Henderson’s Balco Coastal up the hill, the Alan King-trained North Lodge then drifted across the track on the run to the line, slightly impeding the Seven Barrows runner, who was eventually beaten by two and a half lengths.
After a stewards’ inquiry the placings remained unaltered and King’s 7-1 chance added a Cheltenham success to his prior hurdle win at Aintree in early December.
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Paisley Park records astonishing Cleeve Hurdle triumph
LAST UPDATE | 29 Jan 2022
PAISLEY PARK CLAIMED his third successive victory in the Cleeve Hurdle with an astonishing run that saw him almost left at the start.
The Emma Lavelle-trained gelding won the staying feature in both 2019 and 2020 before his 2021 bid for a treble was scuppered due to waterlogging – and this latest tilt looked well and truly blighted, too, as he spun round and lost lengths on the field.
Gradually eased back into it by Aidan Coleman, the 5-1 chance – winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle in 2019 – jumped the last level with 8-15 favourite Champ and powered up the hill to register a three-and-a-quarter-length success that had at one stage looked an impossibility.
Nicky Henderson’s Champ was the eventual runner-up, with Rebecca Curtis’ Lisnagar Oscar the third-placed horse at 14-1.
Elsewhere, North Lodge is unbeaten in two runs after triumphing in a dramatic renewal of the Grade Two Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The race was incident-strewn from the off, with hurdles missed out due to the low sun and Harpers Brook coming down early on and hampering Henry Daly’s 4-5 favourite Hillcrest, who jinked and unseated Richard Patrick.
Joined by Nicky Henderson’s Balco Coastal up the hill, the Alan King-trained North Lodge then drifted across the track on the run to the line, slightly impeding the Seven Barrows runner, who was eventually beaten by two and a half lengths.
After a stewards’ inquiry the placings remained unaltered and King’s 7-1 chance added a Cheltenham success to his prior hurdle win at Aintree in early December.
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Cheltenham paisley park Strong Finish The42 Racing