Strong Leader to kick off campaign in bet365 Hurdle

Olly Murphy “wouldn’t swap” Strong Leader for any of his four rivals in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby on Saturday.

The eight-year-old has proved himself as one of the best Britain has to offer in the staying division, winning the Liverpool Hurdle in the spring of 2024 and making a successful start to last season in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury.

He has not been seen in competitive action since finishing second to Hiddenvalley Lake when defending his Liverpool Hurdle crown at Aintree in April, but Murphy feels his stable star has plenty in his favour ahead of his reappearance in a Grade Two contest better known as the West Yorkshire Hurdle.

“I’m looking forward to starting him out. He’s trained well and has had a racecourse gallop,” said the Warren Chase handler.

“He obviously hasn’t been to Wetherby, but a flat left-handed track on good ground is right up his street.

“I have plenty of respect for the Twiston-Davies horse, Dan (Skelton) has got a good mare in there and Willie (Mullins) has got a 150-rated hurdler (Winter Fog) in there as well so it’s not a given, but I wouldn’t swap him.”

The Twiston-Davies horse in question is Potters Charm, who impressed in winning his first four starts over hurdles last season, but he was a beaten odds-on favourite on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham and could only finish fifth at the Festival itself in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.

With the six-year-old having undergone wind surgery over the summer, he steps up to three miles on his return and Willy Twiston-Davies, who trains Potters Charm in partnership with his father Nigel, said: “We had earmarked this race a while ago and, provided the ground is on the easy side, he is ready to get started.

“We decided to keep him over hurdles this season because the staying hurdle division does not look the strongest. He was a high-class novice and can always go chasing next season.

“This will be his first go over three miles but I can’t see why he would not stay. He won well over two-and-a-half and two-five around Cheltenham last season. Both times he switched off well and was not stopping up the hill.”

Dan and Harry Skelton are represented by Take No Chances, who won the Mares’ Hurdle on this card 12 months ago, with the small but select field completed by Doddiethegreat, who won the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham in March for Nicky Henderson.