Cheltenham Festival: Buzz cut for Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle

*Odds quoted on the widget are Future Racing / Antepost prices which means that if your selection does not run in the race for whatever reason – you will lose your stake under traditional Antepost rules

Buzz has emerged as one of the leading contenders for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle 2022 after an impressive victory in the Ascot Hurdle.

The Cesarewitch winner switched back to hurdling in seamless fashion to comfortably score by 3¼l in the Grade 2 on Saturday. Nicky Henderson’s charge was immediately cut from 12/1 by our traders for the feature race on day three of next year’s Cheltenham Festival.

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Buzz has never been tried over the 3m trip – April’s 2m 4f Aintree Hurdle when finishing a close second to Abacadabras is the furthest of his runs to date – but Henderson is eager to give it a go.

Speaking after Saturday’s win, the Seven Barrows handler said: “I think we’ve got to try going up [in trip]. Nobody knows if he’ll stay, all we know is he loves soft ground so we’re not going to be worried about that. He’s perfectly happy on this [good ground], which is probably the same as what Newmarket was.”

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He added: “The idea was always to try him at three, you can always come back. I think if you never ask the question… we’ll see what Nico [De Boinville] says, he might say ‘that’s madness!’, but I can’t see him coming back and being a two-mile Champion Hurdler.”

Thyme Hill drifted from the head of our antepost market for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle after a disappointing display in the Grand Prix d’Automne at Auteuil earlier this month.

And it’s Klassical Dream – the 2019 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner – who heads the early betting. Willie Mullins’ charge returned from a 487-day break in April to win the Punchestown Festival Champion Stayers Hurdle and could make his seasonal reappearance in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle on Sunday.

Flooring Porter is expected to return to defend his title after a 3¼l victory at Cheltenham in March. Gavin Cromwell’s stayer fell two from home when leading the Lismullen Hurdle earlier this month.

Sporting John is back hurdling after a disappointing first season over fences which saw him in the Festival Novices’ Chase before pulling up in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase the following month. He scored well in the Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle at this month’s November Meeting to take his place as a prominent player in our antepost betting market for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle 2022.