Long Distance Hurdle

The Long Distance Hurdle is a Grade 2 race over three miles at Newbury in late November or early December.

The Long Distance Hurdle takes place on Friday 1st December 2023.

The race is an important trial for the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham. Big Buck’s rattled off four successive victories here from 2009 to 2012.

Other notable winners include Baracouda (2003, 2004), Inglis Drever (2005, 2006, 2007), Thistlecrack (2015) and Unowhatimeanharry (2016, 2018).

Find out more about the Long Distance Hurdle:

Race Overview

Horses must be four years of age or older to compete in the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle, a National Hunt hurdle contest in Great Britain.

Twelve hurdles must be cleared during the race, which is run at Newbury over a distance of around 3 miles (3 miles and 52 yards, or 4,876 metres). Every year, the race is planned for late November or early December.

Long Distance Hurdle 2023 Odds

The Long Distance Hurdle odds are listed below:

The odds for this race have not yet been released.

Long Distance Hurdle 2023 Tips

The Long Distance Hurdle tips are below:

2 points to win for TBC at odds of TBC
1 point each way for TBC at odds of TBC

Many Long Distance Hurdle horses will race in more races throughout the years. Stay updated on the horses and place ante-post bets if you want to wager on them.

Long Distance Hurdle Previous Winners

Long Distance Hurdle Previous Result

What a finish in the Long Distance Hurdle 😱

Champ just holds off the late charge from Paisley Park!pic.twitter.com/AerePgBvli

— FreeBets Racing 🏇 (@FreeBetsRacing) November 25, 2022

Famous Long Distance Hurdle Winners

The inaugural running was won by Irish raider Trapper John in 1990. Deano’s Beano became the first dual winner in 1999 and 2000, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Tony McCoy. His achievement was matched by French raider Baracouda in 2002 and 2003 who went on to win the Stayers Hurdle on both occasions.

Inglis Drever surpassed Baracouda with three successive victories from 2005 to 2007. He also claimed three Stayers Hurdle victories in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Big Buck’s then dominated both races, winning each of them for the next four seasons. He also won the Liverpool Hurdle four times during a record unbeaten 18-race sequence.

Thistlecrack won here impressively in 2015, following up in the Long Walk Hurdle and Cleeve Hurdle before a seven lengths victory at the festival. Unowhatimeanharry added his name to the list of multiple winners in 2016 and 2018.

Key Long Distance Hurdle Trials

This is often the first start of the season for leading stayers. Three winners of the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree have reappeared here over the past twelve seasons and all were successful. Eight of the last twelve winners went to Ascot in December for the Long Walk Hurdle and four of them won. Big Buck’s won both races for three consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2011. Thistlecrack and Unowhatimeanharry also won both races in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The Stayers Hurdle is the obvious target at the Cheltenham Festival for Long Distance Hurdle winners. Inglis Drever, Big Buck’s, Thistlecrack and Unowhatimeanharry all went on to win the big race at the Cheltenham Festival after winning here.

Long Distance Hurdle Betting Trends

There is no clear age bias in the Long Distance Hurdle with winners ranging from the age of five up to ten. Unowhatimeanharry became the oldest winner in the history of the race at the age of ten in 2018. Can on Target (1991) and Historic (2001) are the only two winning five-year-olds.

Big Buck’s won as the odds-on favourite in the Long Distance Hurdle for four consecutive years. Only Inglis Drever (2007) and Unowhatimeanharry (2018) have obliged as the market leader since. The biggest shock in the history of the race was the 40-1 success of Beer Goggles in 2017.

Previous course form is a key factor for your Long Distance Hurdle bets. Most recent winners had at least one previous victory at Newbury. An official rating of 150 or higher is usually required to win this race. Big Buck’s won as the highest rated stayer of all-time on a mark of 174.

Long Distance Hurdle – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Paul Nicholls won this race for five successive seasons with Big Buck’s (2009-2012) and Celestial Halo (2013). Inglis Drever registered three straight wins for Howard Johnson (2005 to 2007) with Baracouda (2003, 2004) and Unowhatimeanharry (2016, 2018) scoring twice for Francois Doumen and Harry Fry respectively. The last Irish-trained winner was What A Question in 1996 for Mouse Morris.

Tony McCoy leads the all-time jockey standings in this race with five victories; Deano’s Beano (1999, 2000), Baracouda (2004), Duc de Regniere (2008) and Big Buck’s (2010). Ruby Walsh and Richard Johnson both won the Long Distance Hurdle on three occasions.

Betting on the Long Distance Hurdle

The Long Distance Hurdle invariably provides valuable clues to the outcome of the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. The main protagonists here are very likely to clash again at Ascot, Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown later in the season.

Summary of the Long Distance Hurdle

Thank you for reading our Long Distance Hurdle guide.

Related December Articles

Resources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Distance_Hurdle