Three reasons Klassical Dream can still win the Stayers’ Hurdle

With Cheltenham just around the corner, many horse racing fans are gearing up for one of the biggest weeks on the calendar, with a plethora of Grand One races to whet the appetites of punters and racing enthusiast alike. One of the more interesting races on the Festival’s itinerary is the Stayers’ Hurdle.

Won by Flooring Porter last year, many had fancied the Willie Mullins-trained Klassical Dream to take home first place this time around but a poor showing in his last race has led to some doubting his credentials. Read on, as we discuss why we think he can still go all the way in the Stayers’ Hurdle.

Hard to judge ante-post form

The Stayers’ Hurdle is always a close affair, but at the turn of the year, many who bet on horses on SkyBet were touting Klassical Dream as the favourite. Despite a poor showing in the John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle, where he finished fourth, it’s really hard to judge who to back now — largely down to the inconsistent number of times each horse will race before the big day. We haven’t seen current champion Flooring Porter since his seasonal reappearance at Leopardstown in December and Paisley Park won unexpectedly against Nicky Henderson’s Champ at Cheltenham late last month.

All in all, a fourth-place finish isn’t the end of the world for Klassical Dream. Admittedly, he started the race well, but burnt out and lacked fluency towards the end, giving chase to eventual winner Royal Kahala to no avail.

Obviously the result in Ireland wasn’t ideal, but trainer Mullins clearly has a lot of faith in the eight-year-old, even if it can be difficult at times, saying: “It wasn’t part of the plan, we were expecting pace in the race but obviously it wasn’t there.

Klassical Dream is hard to train, he has huge ability but doesn’t always give you confidence when he works. He has that under his belt and we’re very happy now that we probably don’t have to go to the well again before Cheltenham”

The Willie Mullins effect

Having traded French trainer Mlle I Gallorini for the experienced Mullins in 2018, you only need to see the effect the legendary trainer had, winning his four races and storming into unprecedented form. Despite his age, Mullins is still one of the best around and built cult status at Cheltenham for his reputation of working with champions.

The Stayers’ Hurdle will obviously be a tough task, but the performance at Gowran Park shouldn’t be too concerning for the Irishman. Alongside Paul Townend, a jockey who is in fine form himself, the duo certainly have the credentials to go all the way if things manage to fall into place.

The magic of Cheltenham

As mentioned before, the form guide is essentially tossed out the window when it comes to Cheltenham. The big Grade One races are influenced massively by the atmosphere on the day, and with spectators set to arrive in abundance, the intoxicating thrill of a big race day renders the race an open contest, with anyone capable of taking home the title.

You only need to look at the festive period of the National Hunt season to see the sheer volume of upsets, and what a difference a crowd can make to a race’s outcome compared to when it’s being ran behind closed doors. The likes of Tornando Flyer will inspire Mullins and Klassical Dream to believe despite any setbacks, they can still go on to be victorious come March.