Paisley Park Set for Step Up to Graded Company

Paisley Park come with a flying late dash to win the £100,000 Betfair handicap hurdle at Haydock on Saturday, something that means we are now likely to see him compete in graded company. The winner of this race last year was Sam Spinner, and Paisley Park is a horse that could be about to head in the same direction.

There is a lot to like about Paisley Park, and he is even more exciting when you consider that he is still improving and still a little green, as we saw on Saturday. He will have to improve if he wants to take part in the big staying hurdle races, but there is no ruling that out.

We are likely to get a feel for how good this horse is next time we see him. The Long Walk hurdle at Ascot has been mentioned as his next stop, a race that often brings together some of the best staying hurdlers, and those who intend to go to Cheltenham and run in the stayers hurdle. That is the dream for trainer Emma Lavelle and her team, the horse now has to show he can deliver.

Regardless of how things pan out going forward, it is unlikely we will see Paisley Park in a handicap again. He won the race off top weight at Haydock, and would be ineligible for pretty much every handicap going forward. How far he climbs the ladder will depend on how much more improvement there is to come from him. He is clearly a horse that will improve further, and he showed that he is still a green horse on Saturday.

The name Paisley Park is certainly one to remember, he is a young and exciting horse going places and he could eventually find himself going close to the top of the staying hurdling division.