The Aidan Coleman column: Paisley Park faces another tough test

Paisley Park has not stopped improving all season and he might need to again as the galliardhomes.com Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham looks another tough test.

He provided me and Emma Lavelle with our first success at Grade One level when he won the JLT Hurdle at Ascot in December and this looks a very similar type of race.

There are four rated higher than Paisley Park after all. They include multiple Grade One winner Unowhatimeanharry and last season’s Long Walk Hurdle winner, Sam Spinner.

Wholestone, who always runs well at Cheltenham, and Midnight Shadow, who won the Relkeel Hurdle impressively last time out, are also among his rivals.

However, Paisley Park has been a revelation this season and has showed great improvement from Aintree to Haydock before improving again at Ascot. It is anyone’s guess as to when he will stop progressing and that is what makes him so exciting.

It will be interesting to see how he gets on back at Cheltenham as that was the venue for his one disappointing run when he finished down the field in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle last season.

I am sure there is nothing in that, but this will be good experience for him ahead of his Festival target in March.

The race will be very informative as to who is going to figure in the Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival in March.

Midnight Shadow and Paisley Park are currently vying for being Britain’s best hope in the Stayers’ - according to the bookmakers - and I think he looks the main danger.

Sue Smith’s six-year-old took his form to a new level at Cheltenham last time and, like Paisley Park, looks to have plenty more improvement in him.

That said, I am very excited about Paisley Park, and what he could still achieve, so have no hesitation in nailing my colours to his mast.

My other ride is Equus Amadeus in the Steel Plate And Sections Handicap Hurdle. He is a top-of-the-ground horse so the less rain there is, the better chance he will have.

He won really nicely at Doncaster last time and this looks a good opportunity in what is a very competitive race, but any rain would be a negative.

Daryl Jacob faced tough choice in Cotswold Chase:

I will be watching the BetBright Trial Cotswold Chase with interest on Saturday. I can imagine Daryl Jacob would have had a very tough choice in choosing Terrefort over stablemate Valtor.

Of all the runners, you would think if one of those two won impressively, then they could go on to take a hand in the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Valtor has come over from France and won a valuable handicap at Ascot on his only British start, so could be anything, while Terrefort was only beaten once last season – when second in the JLT – and I think you can write off his disappointing seasonal reappearance at Sandown.

Brewin’Upastorm can give Birchdale a race:

I will be watching the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle very closely to see how Brewin’Upastorm gets on.

He was only beaten four lengths by Champ in the Challow Hurdle at Newbury in December on only his second start over hurdles.

He will have learned a lot from that race, and I think he could give the favourite, Birchdale, plenty to think about.

More conditions races are needed:

Finally, I talked about what great prize-money Taunton offer in last week’s column, and the race I won on Royal Vacation was a £50,000 race, which illustrates the point.

That was a three-and-a-half mile conditions race and the line-up was very eye-catching with The Last Samuri, Vicente, Present Man, Tea For Two, Regal Flow and Thomas Patrick in the line-up.

All those horses have won or been placed in the nationals and big-staying handicaps over the years, but a conditions race like that gives them all another option rather than turning up for those races, which can often turn into real slogs and are ultra-competitive.

These are the type of horses who are not quite top-class but are top-level handicappers. More races like this would offer the public the chance to see their old favourites in a competitive conditions race, rather than seeing them end up in hunter chases.