Long Walk Hurdle Tips, Odds & Runners 2024

The only Grade 1 hurdle at Ascot, the Long Walk Hurdle is the last top tier contest prior to Christmas Day. The 3m race is highly sought by trainers of staying hurdlers in Britain and Ireland, and GG’s team of tipsters have their best bets for the race below.

Tips to follow

Who are the Top Three Favourites to Win this Year’s Long Walk Hurdle?

Among the 12 runners for the 2024 Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot, three are standing out as favourites for the race.

Strong Leader

The progress made by Strong Leader during the 2023/24 National Hunt season may have been gradual, but Olly Murphy’s seven-year-old is now established at the head of the staying ranks over hurdles. He had spent the majority of his career over 2m, before gradually stepping up in trip, culminating in a close third in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham when first tried over 3m.

He has subsequently won two races in a row, the first coming in the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree. Having accomplished that success, he made light work of a routine opportunity in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, winning by 3½ lengths when conceding weight all round. We now know he excels at the trip and he will be a tough horse to beat if maintaining his progress.

The Wallpark

On a longer winning run than Strong Leader, The Wallpark has claimed four races in a row across Britain and Ireland since July. He has demonstrated rapid improvement, emerging from the left field to be a serious Stayers’ Hurdle contender, with this Grade 1 in his sights too.

He won his first handicap of a mark of 129 at Kilbeggan, and has followed that with two successes at Galway and a win at Cheltenham off 145. That was a serious performance on his first run over 3m, so he has to be taken very seriously stepping up in class, although connections will surely want any rain to stay away.

Crambo

Last year’s winner of the Long Walk Hurdle, Crambo was the story of the race given the support he received in the build-up. Despite having been beaten off a mark of 139 on his previous outing, he was a huge eye-catcher and was well found in the market, going off at 5/1.

He gamely denied Paisley Park a fourth win in the race, which would have equalled a record, but that win did not springboard him to better things. He was only seventh in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham before finishing a distant eighth at Aintree to Strong Leader. He does go well fresh, but will need to refind his form.

Who Are This Year’s Long Walk Hurdle Underdogs?

Shoot First is another Irish raider who won the same Haydock handicap last time out that Crambo had finished third in prior to winning this. Both horses were running off the same mark, so Charles Byrnes’ star has to be feared on a going day.

Langer Dan does not usually find his best until the turn of the year, but his form is up there with the best of these if he can find his mojo, while the five-year-old Blueking d’Oroux and Hiddenvalley Lake are potential underdogs who could be decent outside bets.

Last Year’s Long Walk Hurdle Odds

Crambo was a well backed 5/1 shot when downing Paisley Park in 2023, and may be available at even more generous odds to repeat the trick.

Long Walk Hurdle Racecourse 

Ascot is one of the best known racecourses in the country, making the Long Walk Hurdle a prized possession for those competing. The track is often known to favour prominent racers, with the hurdles course generally galloping. The straight opens up for competitors to challenge on all sides of the track, although for the majority of the race, sticking to the inside rail can be an advantage as it is quite a tight course on which saving ground can be important to preserve stamina.

Are There Any Specific Long Walk Hurdle Betting Offers?

As the final Grade 1 before Christmas, you can take advantage of numerous free bet offers for the Long Walk Hurdle on GG’s dedicated page.

Long Walk Hurdle Trends & Historic Data

There have not been too many pointers in terms of winners from a specific age group in the Long Walk Hurdle; six of the last ten winners have been eight or above though, so maybe there is a slight preference for experience over youth.

However, of much greater note, the Long Walk Hurdle has not been a race for outsiders. Paisley Park was 8/1 when winning his first running of this race in 2018, but that was the biggest price within the last decade among the winners, albeit only three favourites have been victorious in the same timespan.

Which Trainers Have Historically Had the Most Success in the Long Walk Hurdle?

Courtesy of the great Paisley Park, Emma Lavelle has had a superb recent record with three wins in the last six Long Walk Hurdles. Indeed, most trainers who have had significant success in the race owe it to one horse: France’s François Doumen has the most wins in the race’s history with four, all of them courtesy of Baracouda, while alongside Lavelle are Paul Nicholls and Nick Williams, both of whom saw all of their Long Walks claimed by the same horse (Big Buck’s and Reve De Sivola respectively).

Fred Winter and Jenny Pitman also sit alongside those on three wins, although they enjoyed their glories with three different horses each. 

Runners & Riders Past Winners

Year	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
2023	Crambo	Fergal O’Brien	Jonathan Burke	5/1
2022	Paisley Park	Emma Lavelle	Aidan Coleman	9/2
2021	Champ	Nicky Henderson	Jonjo O’Neill Jr	4/1
2020	Paisley Park	Emma Lavelle	Aidan Coleman	9/4
2019	The Worlds End	Tom George	Adrian Heskin	15/8F
2018	Paisley Park	Emma Lavelle	Aidan Coleman	8/1
2017	Sam Spinner	Jedd O’Keeffe	Joe Colliver	9/2
2016	Unowhatimeanharry	Harry Fry	Barry Geraghty	6/5F
2015	Thistlecrack	Colin Tizzard	Tom Scudamore	2/1F
2014	Reve De Sivola	Nick Williams	Daryl Jacob	13/2