Cheltenham Festival Tips 2019 – Stayers Hurdle

Looking for Cheltenham Festival Tips 2019? Niall Cronin talks to us about this year’s contenders for the Stayers Hurdle.

The Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham was billed as the ultimate trial for the Stayers Hurdle amongst the British contingent.

Paisley Park
The race didn’t disappointed and threw up an emphatic winner in Paisley Park but can Emma Lavelle’s first ever Grade 1 winner give her the ultimate glory in the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2019?

Willie Mullins won the Stayers Hurdle two years ago with Nichols Canyon and last year with Penhill. Ireland’s perennial Champion Trainer is going to attempt to work his magic with Penhill and win the Stayers with the eight-year-old on his first run of the season.

Paisley Park’s Cleeve Hurdle win usurped Penhill from market leader with the Cleeve Hurdle winner now 9/4 with BoyleSports and Penhill is a 5/1 shot.

It’s a real interesting betting race and maybe Paisley Park can keep holding off all comers in this division and prove worthy of the biggest crown for three mile hurdlers but Mullins has a sleeping giant in his ranks.

Supasundae is 8/1 with BoyleSports and unless the ground comes up really good at Cheltenham it looks like Jessica Harrington is going to go down the two mile route in March and Apple’s Jade will be left in the mix until the last minute.

Back Mullins to land Stayers Hurdle treble
Penhill’s stable companion Faugheen would raise the roof if he could win and his current odds are 10/1 but it is Bachasson at 16/1 who is the early tip for this race.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer but connections of the former chaser couldn’t have been more pleased with his comeback at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve.

The eight-year-old took a heavy fall in the Gold Cup last season and it was feared for a while that his racing career might even be over but it was a very pleasing return when beating Darasso by two and a quarter lengths.

Darasso didn’t really do a lot for the form in the Galmoy Hurdle last Thursday at Gowran but it was the way Mullins spoke about the improvement to come from Bachasson that made his Punchestown win most significant.

Bachasson ran in the Albert Bartlett as a novice and fell at the last in the renewal won by Unowhatimeanharry. He wasn’t going to trouble the winner that day but Bachasson is relatively lightly raced and if Mullins can find a suitable opportunity for him in the meantime for another run he could just prove to be a big each-way tip at 16/1 for a race that looks fairly wide open.

Presenting Percy
BoyleSports have put Presenting Percy in at 16/1 for the Stayers Hurdle following his win in the Galmoy in January. Naturally enough he’d be a much shorter price if running in this race but he doesn’t currently have an entry and will have to be supplemented.

Owner Philip Reynolds and jockey Davy Russell mentioned the Stayers Hurdle more than once in the aftermath of that Gowran Park success and if the weather does take a turn for the worse and Presenting Percy doesn’t get to run in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran next month anyone holding a voucher with 16/1 for the Stayers will be quite pleased with themselves.

Niall Cronin’s Cheltenham Festival Tips 2019 – Stayers Hurdle
Paisley Park 9/4
Bachasson 16/1

*Prices correct at time of publication.

Get the latest odds for the Stayers Hurdle here.

Check out more of our Cheltenham Festival Tips 2019 here.