Friday’s Long Distance Hurdle runners will see just four horses heading to post for this Newbury Grade 2 – with Strong Leader and Langer Dan making up half of the field.
Long Distance Hurdle Runners See Just FOUR Newbury Entries
Small fields have been on the horse racing menu a lot this year and the ‘main course’ event at Newbury on Friday – the Long Distance Hurdle – is the latest race to have attracted only a handful of runners.
Over the years, we’ve seen the likes of Big Buck’s, Inglis Drever and most recently Thistlecrack win the Long Distance Hurdle before going onto land the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival – but it will be big odds that this year’s Newbury winner is completing that famous double.
That said, at least 50% of the Long Distance Hurdle runners are 2024 Cheltenham Festival winners from last season – with Langer Dan winning his second Coral Cup and Monmiral bounced back to form to land the Pertemps. You can relive both these wins below.
Both, however, are headed in the market with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK by the Olly Murphy-trained Strong Leader – who was last seen bolting up in the Grade One Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree back in April (watch below).
The Deborah Cole-trained 10 year-old Flight Deck makes up the quartet of 2024 Long Distance Hurdle runners but being rated a massive 28lbs inferior to the top-rated Langer Dan (160), it would be a bigger shock than when 40/1 Beer Googles landed the drinks money back in 2017.
You can catch the race live on ITV4 – see the full ITV Racing weekend schedule here.
Long Distance Hurdle 2024 Race Details
📅Date: Friday 29th November 2024
⌚Time: 3:05pm
🏇Racecourse: Newbury
🔄Trip: 3m
💷Winning Purse: £34,638
📺 TV: ITV4 / Racing TV
Paul Nicholls Is The Winning-Most Long Distance Hurdle Trainer
No trainer has won the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury more times than Paul Nicholls.
Since the race was first run back in 1990, the Ditcheat handler has mopped up the prize five time. But with just two different horses.
Both were owned by Paul Stewart – the prolific Big Buck’s, who won the race four times between 2009 and 2012. With Celestial Halo the other Nicholls winner in 2013. He’ll be trying for another win on Friday with Monmiral.
Olly Murphy, who trains the likely favourite with the best betting sites in the UK – Strong Leader – has also won the Long Distance Hurdle before when his Thomas Darby took the pot in 2021 under jockey Sean Bowen
However, both Dan Skelton (Langer Dan) and Deborah Cole (Flight Deck) are looking for their first Long Distance Hurdle wins.
