Long Walk Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Our preview of the Long Walk Hurdle, a race contested over 3m½f at Ascot, outlines the most significant winning records, details the accomplishments of leading trainers and jockeys and digs into the historical trends.
Long Walk Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2025 Long Walk Hurdle Preview

Scheduled to take place in December of each year at the Ascot racecourse is the Long Walk Hurdle. The race is a Grade 1 that is run over a distance of three miles and a half a furlong, where there will be twelve hurdles to jump.

The winners and leading contenders tend to go on to run in the Stayers Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, and in recent times Big Bucks, Thistlecrack and Paisley Park have all gone on to complete the double.

Long Walk Hurdle Information:

Our dedicated Ascot tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the Long Walk Hurdle, but will also have predictions for each meeting at Ascot throughout the season, so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Ascot Racecourse section for links to these.

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
ALSO READ

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025

How competitive is the Long Walk Hurdle market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 105%. The race in 2024 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 118%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Long Walk Hurdle, the over-round has been 113%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £113 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2025 Long Walk Hurdle Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Long Walk Hurdle Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Long Walk Hurdle races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Unowhatimeanharry (5:54.30) in 2016
  2. My Way De Solzen (5:55.60) in 2005
  3. Lough Derg (5:57.30) in 2007

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Long Walk Hurdle next time out, then you would have backed a total of 8 winners. Backing all 20 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +2.91. Ahead of the 2025 Long Walk Hurdle, why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Unowhatimeanharry, trained by Harry Fry and ridden by Barry Geraghty, who set the fastest winning time in the Long Walk Hurdle. That runner won the race in a time of 5:54.30 in 2016. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Nick Williams and jockey Richard Johnson with Reve De Sivola who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 6:38.00 in the 2012 renewal.

What the expert says...
Ten of the last sixteen winners came here having run in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury last time out, and five of those eleven did the double, winning both races, although the last to do so was Unowhatimeanharry back in 2016.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Long Walk Hurdle Past Winners

Here are the Long Walk Hurdle past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Long Walk Hurdle are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

Race Notes: The 2022 renewal was initially abandoned due to a frozen track but was rescheduled to run at Kempton on Boxing Day.

YearHorseInfo
2024
6:06.84
Crambo (GB)
7yo 11-7 9/1
Jonathan Burke
Fergal O'Brien (GB)
2023
5:59.41
Crambo (GB)
6yo 11-7 5/1
Jonathan Burke
Fergal O'Brien (GB)
2022
6:13.85
Paisley Park (IRE)
10yo 11-7 9/2
Aidan Coleman
Emma Lavelle (GB)
2021
6:08.45
Champ (IRE)
9yo 11-7 4/1
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
Nicky Henderson (GB)
2020
6:15.93
Paisley Park (IRE)
8yo 11-7 9/4
Aidan Coleman
Emma Lavelle (GB)
2019
6:20.44
The Worlds End (IRE)
8yo 11-7 15/8F
A P Heskin
Tom George (GB)
2018
6:03.70
Paisley Park (IRE)
6yo 11-7 8/1
Aidan Coleman
Emma Lavelle (GB)
2017
6:02.90
Sam Spinner (GB)
5yo 11-7 9/2
Joe Colliver
Jedd O'Keeffe (GB)
2016
5:54.30
Unowhatimeanharry (GB)
8yo 11-7 6/5F
Barry Geraghty
Harry Fry (GB)
2015
6:05.30
Thistlecrack (GB)
7yo 11-7 2/1F
Tom Scudamore
Colin Tizzard (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Long Walk Hurdle have been based:

  • GB: 20 winners with an additional 30 placings from 147 runners
  • IRE: 0 winners with an additional 2 placings from 7 runners
  • FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
  • GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2024 Long Walk Hurdle Replay


Long Walk Hurdle Trainer Statistics

There are multiple leading trainers in the Long Walk Hurdle over the last 20 renewals, with Paul Nicholls, Nick Williams, and Emma Lavelle having all won the race three times. Paul Nicholls' winners have been with Big Bucks (2009, 2010 & 2011). Nick Williams' winners have been with Reve De Sivola (2012, 2013 & 2014). Emma Lavelle winners have been with Paisley Park (2018, 2020 & 2022). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Long Walk Hurdle are Nicky Henderson (2 wins) and Fergal O'Brien (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the Long Walk Hurdle; Nigel Twiston-Davies has sent a total of 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.

Here are some of the top Long Walk Hurdle trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Paul Nicholls18-3-8-14.05-1.44
Nick Williams9-3-5+7.25+4.82
Emma Lavelle5-3-5+12.75+9.11
Nicky Henderson16-2-6-7.00-1.50
Fergal O'Brien2-2-2+14.00+8.40
David Pipe10-1-4+5.00+12.50
Alan King7-1-3+6.00+3.83
Harry Fry3-1-2-0.80-0.63
Jedd O'Keeffe2-1-1+3.50+1.70
Tom George2-1-1+0.88-1.00

Long Walk Hurdle Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Long Walk Hurdle over the last 20 renewals is Jonathan Burke, who has won the race two times, with those two winners coming from Crambo (2023 & 2024).

Here are some of the top Long Walk Hurdle jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
Jonathan Burke4-2-2+12.00+6.40
Jonjo O'Neill Jr4-1-1+1.00-0.60
Joe Colliver2-1-1+3.50+1.70
Sam Twiston-Davies6-0-2-6.00-3.32
Harry Cobden4-0-1-4.00+0.50
Harry Skelton4-0-1-4.00-2.95
Nico de Boinville4-0-0-4.00-3.00
Tom Bellamy2-0-2-2.00+0.15
Caoilin Quinn2-0-0-2.00-2.00
Gavin Sheehan2-0-0-2.00-2.00

Long Walk Hurdle Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +12.93, is when runners had a FR bred dam.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 2 career wins in Non-Handicap races, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-30.

The course which has produced the most winners of the Long Walk Hurdle is Newbury; there have been a total of 10 winners of this race who ran at Newbury last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is Haydock; there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Haydock last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 147 runners, while female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 11 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Long Walk Hurdle:

  • Assessor (4 Wins)
  • Cadoudal (3 Wins)
  • Oscar (3 Wins)
  • Saddler Maker (2 Wins)
  • Sir Harry Lewis (2 Wins)

Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Long Walk Hurdle; that stallion is Martaline, who has failed to produce a winner from 6 runners.

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Lough Derg in 2007, winning for David Pipe at odds of 14/1 under the guidance of Tom Scudamore. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Before placing your bet on the 2025 Long Walk Hurdle, head over to see which runners the best racing tipsters are tipping today.

Route to the Long Walk Hurdle

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Long Walk Hurdle. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2024 - Crambo
Aintree - 8th of 10 (13/2)
Liverpool Hurdle
2023 - Crambo
Haydock - 3rd of 15 (5/1)
Betfair Stayers Handicap Hurdle
2022 - Paisley Park
Newbury - 2nd of 5 (6/1)
Long Distance Hurdle
2021 - Champ
Cheltenham - PU of 12 (13/2)
Cheltenham Gold Cup
2020 - Paisley Park
Newbury - 2nd of 10 (11/4)
Long Distance Hurdle
2019 - The Worlds End
Newbury - 3rd of 5 (7/1)
Long Distance Hurdle
2018 - Paisley Park
Haydock - 1st of 7 (4/1)
Betfair Stayers Handicap Hurdle
2017 - Sam Spinner
Haydock - 1st of 16 (6/1)
Betfair Stayers Handicap Hurdle
2016 - Unowhatimeanharry
Newbury - 1st of 9 (7/2)
Long Distance Hurdle
2015 - Thistlecrack
Newbury - 1st of 5 (7/2)
Long Distance Hurdle

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Long Walk Hurdle Preview are Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team, looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.

Darren Brett

Darren Brett

Expert Guide

Darren has worked in the horse racing industry for decades bringing to OLBG for the last 20 years a wealth of knowledge, creating much of our content on these sports. Darren also manages our Grand National Guide and is the go-to font of knowledge for the world's greatest steeplechase.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for jump racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful national hunt racing blogs for OLBG.

No Comments

There are no comments here. Be the first to comment...

Please login or register to reply to this news article
KEEP READING
Horse Racing Trainers to Follow in December

Horse Racing Trainers to Follow in December

Horse racing trainer form by month, highlighting the yards that hit form around the same time each year for NH, Flat and all-weather horse racing.
Continue Reading
Rehearsal Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Rehearsal Chase Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Our preview of the Rehearsal Chase, a race contested over 2m7½f at Newcastle, outlines the most significant winning records, details the accomplishments of leading trainers and jockeys and digs into the historical trends.
Continue Reading
Fighting Fifth Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

Fighting Fifth Hurdle Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends

If you are a fan of horse racing trends, then this preview of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle will be perfect for you! Not only do we look at the trends, but we look at past winners as well as trainer and jockey records for the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, a race run over 2m at Newcastle.
Continue Reading