Murphy rates Strong Leader ‘worthy favourite’ for Long Walk win

A hopeful Olly Murphy “wouldn’t swap” Strong Leader for any of his rivals in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.

The seven-year-old has really come of age since being stepped up to three miles, finishing third in last season’s Cleeve Hurdle on his first start at the distance before rounding off his campaign with a Grade One victory in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.

He picked up where he left off when giving weight and a beating to three rivals in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury last month and while he is taking nothing for granted, Murphy is confident his stable star will prove hard to beat in this weekend’s traditional pre-Christmas feature.

“I’m looking forward to it, he’s trained really well,” said the Warwickshire-based handler.

“He hasn’t won going right-handed, but I don’t think that should be an issue. He’s got Grade One form, he’s got no penalty and I wouldn’t swap him, albeit it’s a very competitive race.

“I know he’s been a bit hit and miss during his career, but at the trip he hasn’t. I think he’s a worthy favourite, I’m under no illusions that it’s a very competitive race, but he’s in really good form and I’ve got no excuses – win, lose or draw.

“I’m not saying my lad’s a certainty, but if you said I could swap for another horse in the race, I don’t think I would.

“It’s very easy to make an excuse before you get going but he’s trained well, the horses are in good nick, he’s unexposed at the trip and we’re really looking forward to Saturday.”

Chief among Strong Leader’s rivals is Gordon Elliott’s prolific Irish raider The Wallpark.

The six-year-old was rated just 129 when lining up at Kilbeggan in July, but is now some 23lb higher in the weights after completing a four-timer in a Pertemps Qualifier at Cheltenham in October.

He has been snapped up by JP McManus ahead of a significant rise in grade this weekend, and the owner’s racing manager Frank Berry said: “He’s progressive and has had a good year. It’s going to be a step up in class, but Gordon’s happy with him and is hoping for a nice run.

“It’s a grand race and it’s nice to have one in there with some sort of chance.”

The Fergal O’Brien-trained Crambo got the better of popular veteran Paisley Park in a pulsating finish to last year’s Long Walk and is back to defend his crown.

However, he will return to Ascot with something to prove, having disappointed at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring, while he is also making his belated seasonal debut after an unsatisfactory scope ruled him out of an intended comeback at Newbury.

“Fingers crossed, he’s in great shape, we’re very happy with him. He schooled very well on Thursday morning and worked well on Tuesday and he’s in a great place,” said O’Brien.

“It’s a very tough race. I was hoping it was just going to be Olly’s horse (to beat), but there’s plenty of others in there, isn’t there?

“Crambo is ready and, touch wood, he usually runs well first time out. He’s fresh and well, he’s done a lot of work and we’re very happy with him, so hopefully he can go and do himself justice.”

If there is a silver lining to Crambo’s later than planned return, it could be that there will be more in the tank for the Festivals in the spring than was the case last season.

O’Brien added: “This race last year was his third run of the season. He had a nice run in Aintree, but then he had a hard race at Haydock and we rolled into Ascot, where he won again but had a very hard race – he went to places where he’d never been before.

“That probably left its mark a little bit and I probably should have pulled the plug after Cheltenham instead of going to Aintree, but hindsight’s a wonderful thing.”

Henry de Bromhead’s Hiddenvalley Lake makes his first appearance since finishing third behind Strong Leader at Aintree in April, while fellow Irish challenger Shoot First is an interesting contender, as he steps up in class four weeks on from a lucrative handicap success at Haydock for Charles Byrnes.

Other hopefuls include Dan Skelton’s high-class mare Kateira and the Paul Nicholls-trained Blueking d’Oroux, who finished second in the Ascot Hurdle over a shorter trip last month.