Paisley Park has won the Long Walk Hurdle three times - in 2018, 2020 and 2022, while Champ triumphed in the Grade One race at Ascot in 2021; 10 entered in Saturday's race at five-day declaration stage; watch all the action from Ascot live on Sky Sports Racing
Monday 18 December 2023 17:00, UK
Paisley Park is in "great form" as he prepares to renew his rivalry with Champ in Ascot's Howden Long Walk Hurdle on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Racing.
The pair have dominated the 3m 0.5f Grade One contest in recent years, winning four of the last five runnings, with Paisley Park claiming his third victory in the race last year when it was staged at Kempton on Boxing Day after Ascot was abandoned before Christmas.
The Nicky Henderson-trained Champ finished third last year after winning the race in 2021 when his fellow 11-year-old Paisley Park, who also triumphed for Emma Lavelle in 2018 and 2020, was third.
The pair have crossed paths five times in all previously, with the score standing at 3-2 to Paisley Park in their head-to-head record.
Paisley Park was just edged out by Dashel Drasher, who is also entered for the Ascot race, on his return in Newbury's Long Distance Hurdle at the start of the month and Lavelle believes that has put him spot on for Saturday.
She told Sky Sports Racing: "He's in great form. He's done everything right since Newbury. He's an unbelievable horse. He's been fantastic for us and for whatever reason he does seem to struggle to remember exactly where the winning post is at Newbury, but over the years he seems to find the winning post a little easier to find at Ascot.
"Touch wood he is a horse that does probably improve for his first run and hopefully he will go and do the same again. He's a bit older, a bit wiser and knows the gallops like the back of his hand here, and I think he does just take that pipe opener to put him right.
"But it wasn't a bad effort [at Newbury]. To see those old warriors battling it out between them is what National Hunt racing is about. We couldn't have been happier with how he was and it was brilliant and frustrating in equal measures."
Champ was last seen finishing a well-held fifth behind Sire Du Berlais at Aintree in the spring but is also reported to be in good heart ahead of his belated return to the track.
"He's a great old horse, Nicky is happy with him and the plan is, all being well, to go there," said owner JP McManus' racing manager Frank Berry.
"He runs well fresh so you would hope he would run well. He enjoys Ascot and has run some good races around there and Nicky is happy with him at the minute."
Looking ahead to the rematch, Lavelle added: "Champ - what a star of a horse he is as well. He is one that is definitely better fresh and Paisley is one that is probably better on his second run.
"So it will be very interesting seeing the pair coming up against each other this time. Neither of them are getting any faster but they've still got the fire in their belly and that's what counts."
Last year's runner-up Goshen is also among the remaining 10 entries at the five-day stage, with the ante-post betting just headed by Champ ahead of Crambo, who leads the younger brigade after finishing third behind Slate Lane at Haydock for Fergal O'Brien last time out.
Dan Skelton's West Balboa, an impressive winner at Aintree on his first outing of the season, and Paul Nicholls' Blueking D'Oroux, who won the Coral Hurdle over half a mile shorter at Ascot last time, are other younger horses looking to make their mark.
As well as Goshen, Gary Moore could run Botox Has, the winner of the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby last month, while Red Risk may also represent Nicholls, with Nigel Twiston-Davies' Gowel Road the other possible runner.
Watch all the action from the Christmas Racing Weekend at Ascot on Friday and Saturday live on Sky Sports Racing, with the Long Walk Hurdle due off at 2.25pm on Saturday.
