We are well on the way towards the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Among those races within which the markets are being shaken is the Stayers’ Hurdle, and we review the performances to have inspired any updates so far.
Saturday, 26th October – Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle @ Cheltenham
This would not be a traditional starting point for a championship race, and there is only one horse of note, but The Wallpark could prove up to Grade 1 quality come March. It was the six-year-old’s fourth successive victory. Which included a Listed handicap success at Galway too. His rating has risen 23lb since the first success at Kilbeggan in July.
Now rated 152, he is on the borderline of Stayers’ Hurdle quality; Buddy One was rated 153 when fourth in the race earlier this year. It took two weeks post-victory for The Wallpark to be introduced to the Stayers’ Hurdle market, but Paddy Power and Betfair eventually did so, quoting him at 33/1 with SkyBet following suit the following week.
Saturday, 16th November – Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle (Grade 2)
The Lismullen Hurdle has toed and froed between winners in the past three seasons with Home By The Lee reclaiming a title he won in 2022. That year, he beat Bob Olinger who overturned that form by winning in 2023. This year, Home By The Lee beat…Bob Olinger, so there is both a consistency and inconsistency to the form.
Joseph O’Brien may be focusing more on the flat nowadays, but his charge here has been an admirably consistent operator in recent years. He was third in the Stayers’ Hurdle earlier this year, as well as in the Punchestown equivalent, and was trimmed from 25/1 to 16/1 for the 2025 renewal.
By filling the runner-up spot, this was a solid return to action from Bob Olinger, whose trainer Henry De Bromhead mentioned the Stayers’ Hurdle as a possibility. He will be ten by the time of the next Festival though and layers are happy to offer odds of 66/1 about his chances, unchanged from his pre-race price.
Further down the field, only the mare Jetara is available in ante-post markets for the Stayers’. Her peak form last term saw her finish a runner-up to Ballyburn in open novice company at Punchestown, but this proved a step beyond her despite having a pair of recent run outs at Limerick and the Curragh, the latter on the flat. She was initially put into the market at 50/1, with those odds cooling to 66/1 shortly afterwards.
Stayers’ Hurdle Ante-Post Movers
Home By The Lee ↑ 16/1 from 25/1
The Wallpark → 33/1 (New Entry)
Bob Olinger → 66/1
Jetara ↓ 66/1 from 50/1
Looking For More Racing Info? Check Out Our Racecards & Top Tips Sections
Make sure you’re following us on all our social media platforms to keep up to date with all the latest horse racing news and the best tips.