• REGISTER NOW!! Why? Because you can't do much without having been registered!

    At the moment you have limited access to view all discussions - and most importantly, you haven't joined our community. What are you waiting for? Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join Join Talking Horses here!

The 2025 Long Walk Hurdle

Will be very interested in this market. Would expect Inpose Toi and Strong Leader to be the top two but Crambo might be a nice price - I have no idea why he was in the Ascot Hurdle last time over 2 and a half and the way he was positioned in the race suggested to me he was just there to blow the cobwebs away. Strong Leader is best on a flat lh track, Nemean Lion isn't a 3 miler, Potters Charm is trained by a bellend - could be a juicy market.
 
If Doddiethegreat (14/1) can put a clean round of jumping together, he won’t be far away. The horse has a knack of getting hampered or letting his hind legs into the hurdle. His form over his last five runs is ultra-consistent, though. It’s a very weak, shallow race and he hasn’t much to find with the top of the market.
 
Love putting these Big-Race threads up at an ante-post stage, but no bet for me until I see the final declarations on Thursday. #justbackfuckingrunners
 
11 declared.

Altobelli Bryan Carver
Beauport Tom Bellamy
Colonel Mustard John Shinnick
Crambo Jonathan Burke
Doddiethegreat James Bowen
Gwennie May Boy Charlie Deutsch
Honesty Policy Mark Walsh
Impose Toi Nico de Boinville
Jet Blue Harry Cobden
Potters Charm Sam Twiston-Davies
Strong Leader Sean Bowen

Betting: https://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing/2025-12-20-ascot/14:25/winner
 
Last edited:
Ian_Davies said:
11 declared.

Altobelli Bryan Carver
Beauport Tom Bellamy
Colonel Mustard John Shinnick
Crambo Jonathan Burke
Doddiethegreat James Bowen
Gwennie May Boy Charlie Deutsch
Honesty Policy Mark Walsh
Impose Toi Nico de Boinville
Jet Blue Harry Cobden
Potters Charm Sam Twiston-Davies
Strong Leader Sean Bowen

Betting: https://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing/2025-12-20-ascot/14:25/winner
Click to expand...
I agree with Slim inasmuch as I think 22/1 Doddiethegreat is too big - every chance of getting in the frame and I'd have him half that - but, for me, 11/2 Strong Leader (or 5/1 four places) is "the wrong price" one in this.

He's no certainty, but I'd have him favourite.
 
I love this race -the ultimate test of stamina for a staying hurdler.The betfair market should be very interesting in the 2 or 3minutes before the off.I thought Crambo could barely raise a gallop last time out and would expect his betfair sp to be closer to 20/1 than 8/1.Colonel Mustard won't get the distance in my opinion.
 
Colonel Mustard arguably ran the race of his life to win the Lismullen Hurdle over 2m4f at Navan last time out.

If he's equally effective over 3m110yds round Ascot after a bit of rain, he won't be out of the frame on Saturday.

If he's isn't, it will be a Hell of a long way home from two out.
 
Ian_Davies said:
Ifor me, 11/2 Strong Leader (or 5/1 four places) is "the wrong price" one in this.

He's no certainty, but I'd have him favourite.
Click to expand...
I organised getting 60% of my max on that each-way @ 11/2 and 5/1 (four places - gutless) as I couldn't have him out of the frame.

Great ride by Sean Bowen, IMO, as all Strong Leader does is stay.

But Impose Toi, despite being worse off at the weights, has done him again under the much-maligned Nico De Boinville, as cool a big-race jockey as you'll ever see, who has again given the "Stone Hands" social media mob the finger.
 
Last edited:
Slim said:
Out of interest, were you aware it was my saying?
Click to expand...
No, I wasn't.

I first heard it on Barstewards (they must have nicked it off you) a few years ago and tbh I regard that Pod as an echo chamber and if the host trashes anyone they nearly always all get on the bandwagon.

Hayley Turner was another target for them - she wasn't great, but she's wasn't as bad as they made out IMO, and she got the job done at a price often enough when I bet her rides.

I feel the same way about De Boinville - I'm a bit biased as I've met him, he's nothing like some people think he is (he's very professional and spends his life in the gym when he's not riding work and race riding) and I've bet plenty of winners at prices he's ridden.

Game of opinions and I respect yours, but you said the other day Nicky Henderson is one of the best Jumps trainers in the last 50 years, I agree, Henderson is no fool and he would have got rid of De Boinville by now if he was as bad as some make out.
 
Slim said:
Wonderful to see how far reaching I am.
Click to expand...
I stopped listening to it a fair while ago - it got to be like Groundhog Day - but I did listen when they had you on and what struck me about it was that they seemed a bit on edge, obviously thought you were a loose cannon (and they'd have got that right if they did) and that you might disagree and take the whole lot of them on any minute.

I actually used to agree with a fair amount of what they said, but even so, I don't want to listen to the same thing literally every week.
 

Recent Blog Posts

Back
Top