Out with the old? Paisley Park camp hope not as Jonbon bids to justify the hype

As a launchpad to greater things, Newbury's card on Friday does a pretty good job, but it is all about the here and now for the popular Paisley Park – the headline act on the bill but one whose status as a leading character in the story of staying hurdlers could be under threat.

His trainer Emma Lavelle prays not, even if she does have the back-up option of a novice chase campaign for her leading light should he disappoint in the Ladbrokes Long Distance Hurdle (3.00).

There is little flashy about the type of horse who competes in the staying hurdle division and, believe it or not, Ruby Walsh had to at times dispense with his acclaimed poise in the saddle aboard Big Buck's, a record four-time Long Distance winner who hit a customary flat spot that afforded his polished partner a full body workout.