Coral Long Distance Hurdle: guide and predicted finishing order

Day one of Newbury’s Coral Gold Cup meeting on Friday begins with the much-hyped Jeriko Du Reponet making his debut under Rules (12.10) plus Grade One winner Hermes Allen having his first start over fences (1.50).

The highlight, though, is the Coral Long Distance Hurdle (3.00) and if the Grade Two event is half as good as last year, when Champ and Paisley Park served up a fabulous finish, then we won’t be disappointed.

Paisley Park is back for more but it’s another horse with a Cheltenham Festival win on her CV, Marie’s Rock, who looks likely to go off a short-priced favourite. Here’s a guide to all the runners and the predicted finishing order.

1 PAISLEY PARK

Timeform rating: 168. Coral odds: 3/1.

An eighth season for a horse who has become part of the Jumps furniture begins in familiar fashion. Paisley Park will be lining up in this contest for a fifth successive time, winning it at the main expense of Thistlecrack in 2019 and being placed on the other three occasions – including when edged out by Champ in a memorable renewal last year. He followed that stirring battle with a game success at Kempton, confirming he still has plenty of fire in his belly, but then came successive subdued efforts at Cheltenham and more speculation about returement. Rising 12 and with a 6lb penalty to shoulder, it is probably asking a lot of him to repel younger rivals but a spin at Newbury’s gallops morning last week will have helped tune him up.

2 DASHEL DRASHER

Timeform rating: 177. Odds: 7/2.

He’s given his connections years of excitement, winning or being placed in 22 of his 28 races. He was as good as ever switched back to hurdling last term, putting up a career-best when beating all bar Sire Du Berlais in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, having also finished runner-up in the Relkeel Hurdle and Cleeve Hurdle en route to the Festival. Shaped well enough on his return when third at Wetherby, although he got an easyish time at the head of affairs and it was a little disappointing that lower-rated rivals brushed him aside in the closing stages. If he’s derived some benefit from that outing - and is back in the kind of form he showed in March - then he will take some pegging back.

3 FLIGHT DECK

Timeform rating: 161. Odds: 20/1.

This looks an ambitious roll of the dice given he’d get stacks of weight from Dashel Drasher, Marie’s Rock and Paisley Park if this were a handicap, but on the plus side he’s fit and in form, having finished a good third in a competitive handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in October. Sent off at 66/1 that day after changing hands/yards for just £5,000, it looked like he might have stolen the race under an enterprising ride only to be collared in the closing stages. He recouped about 60 per cent of the money paid for him that day and if he finishes fourth, or better, he will have recouped what was paid for him.

4 HUGOS NEW HORSE

Timeform rating: 150. Odds: 33/1.

He carries the colours of Big Buck’s, a brilliant four-time winner of this race for Paul Nicholls and the Stewart family. Hugos New Horse seems most unlikely to scale such great heights, although he won five of his seven races over hurdles as a novice last term (it took Big Buck’s eight attempts to lose his maiden status) and was almost certainly short of peak fitness when disappointing on his return in a 3m handicap hurdle at Cheltenham. Connections risk blowing his rating of 132 here but he looks all over a chaser, so I doubt that’s of much concern to them.

5 MAHONS GLORY

Timeform rating: 143. Odds: 66/1.

He’s won only one of his 16 races, got a mountain to climb on ratings and isn’t sure to stay this far. However, his connections are guaranteed a minimum of £800 provided he completes on what will be his first start for Patrick Neville.

6 MARIE’S ROCK

Timeform rating: 175. Odds: 5/6.

She’s a smart mare who has won half of her 14 races over hurdles, and a gallop at Newbury last week will have helped put her spot-on for this assignment. She thrived in the spring of 2022, winning the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham before following up at Punchestown, and resumed last season with a smooth six-length defeat of Dashel Drasher in the Relkeel Hurdle (they meet on the same terms here). The Stayers’ Hurdle loomed into view after that success but Marie’s Rock ended up defending her Mares’ Hurdle crown when the ground turned soft, surrendering it quite tamely as it transpired. She did get a chance to show what she could do over 3m on her final start of the season at Aintree, bouncing back to form to beat all bar Sire Du Berlais, and remains unexposed at the trip.

VERDICT

There’s been a few bumps in the road along the way for Marie’s Rock but she looks like being hard to beat. Dashel Drasher and Paisley Park are the obvious pair to chase her home.

1 MARIE’S ROCK. 2 DASHEL DRASHER. 3 PAISLEY PARK. 4 HUGOS NEW HORSE. 5 FLIGHT DECK. 6 MAHONS GLORY.