'We expected a big run' - Blazing Khal joint-favourite for Stayers' Hurdle after winning Navan return

After spending the winter in slumber, the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle has come alive in the last couple of weeks, with first Teahupoo and now Blazing Khal stating their case to be the new star of the three-mile division. 

The recent death of Baracouda evoked memories of the heady days when the Stayers' Hurdle was one of the highlights of the festival, and it could be this year too with a pair of unexposed Irish stayers now 3-1 joint-favourites with Coral and Ladbrokes. 

This was a terrific training performance from Charles Byrnes, made even sweeter by the fact the trainer's son Philip was in the saddle, Donal McInerney having been on board for Blazing Khal's three previous hurdles victories. 

The seven-year-old was last seen when he was a five-year-old, scooting away from subsequent Grade 1 winner Gelino Bello at Cheltenham in December 2021. He was made favourite for the Albert Bartlett at last year's festival, but never made it to the race because of injury. 

Off for 428 days, Blazing Khal belied that absence and a market drift to 5-1 with an emphatic victory in this Grade 2. He beat Christmas Hurdle third Meet And Greet by three lengths, the result never in doubt from the second-last. 

"Naturally we'll be thinking of Cheltenham," said the winning trainer. "We've had so many false dawns with him. It's just been little niggly problems, so it's a case of taking it day by day."

On the decisive comeback win, Byrnes added: "It's a relief really with Philip riding him and all that. I thought he gave him a lovely ride and he settled grand for him.

"He's definitely a very good horse. He's been working well over the last few weeks and we did expect a big run. He was fairly straight.

"The timing is not too bad, I suppose. We would have preferred to have had him out before now, but it is what it is. He was fairly fit, but naturally with race-fitness you'd hope he'd come on again.

"You always have the bounce factor and ideally you'd want a second run, but we're delighted to get him back."

Meet And Greet produced another fine effort in defeat to take second, while Beacon Edge returned to something like his old form to finish third. Even-money favourite Saint Sam was a well-beaten fifth. 

Byrnes won the Stayers' Hurdle in 2013 with Solwhit and now has a big chance of winning it again ten years later. This was the day Blazing Khal reminded everyone he has not gone away, and he heads to Cheltenham with leading claims in what is now shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of the entire festival.

Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle (Cheltenham, March 16)

Paddy Power: 5-2 Blazing Khal, Teahupoo, 4 Home By The Lee, 9-2 Marie’s Rock, 5 Flooring Porter, 6 Gold Tweet, 8 Klassical Dream, Sir Gerhard, 12 bar

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