Horse racing betting: The Long Walk Hurdle

The Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot at 1.40pm this Saturday will always invoke the memories of a young Tony McCoy taking on the great Richard Dunwoody in an epic encounter that saw Dunwoody assert his then superiority over the current champion.

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Dunwoody rode Princeful to a half-length defeat of McCoy on Deeno's Beeno in 1998 and the two were locked in a punishing battle up the straight in one of the greatest races of all time.

McCoy rides top-weight Black Jack Ketchum this time around on going that clearly suits Jonjo O'Neill's star. Blue Square are clearly looking to get the hyped-up hurdler beaten and are going out of their way to lay 7/2 to anyone who is interested.

Black Jack Ketchum confirmed his wellbeing 49 days ago when accounting for the enigmatic Faasel at Wetherby in a contest run on similar going to Ascot's good to firm. Paddock judges remarked how well the gelding looked on his comeback and his battling victory by a neck showed that the eight-year-old still holds an appetite for the game.

McCoy's mount will need to be at his most enthusiastic though, because potentially he faces his toughest task to date. Dual champion hurdler Hardy Eustace is the big-race favourite at 2/1 with Paddy Power, despite not having run over three miles for four years.

He had an inauspicious performance back in April 2003 too, as Hardy Eustace trailed in 72 lengths behind Iris's Gift at Aintree, but he had undertaken a very busy season then and should be primed for this race.

The first time Hardy Eustace won the Champion Hurdle in 2004 he was a 33/1 chance. He was such a ludicrous price because observers suggested that he was too slow for the minimum distance because he had won the Sun Alliance hurdle over 2m 5f previously, and was considered more of a stayer.

These same observers have been out in force this week, claiming that he might not stay the 3m 1f course at Ascot – an easier track to cover than Cheltenham. It is a ridiculous suggestion, and if punters feel that his current form is good enough to win this, there is no question about whether he will stay this trip and they should feel no hesitation in backing him.

This race is really a shoot-out between Black Jack Ketchum and Hardy Eustace, but those who don't like such cramped odds should forget all the other runners and zero in on Kasbah Bliss.

The French raider has been brought over by that canny operator Francois Doumen, and although the five-year-old gelding finished very tired earlier this month when third to Inglis Drever at Sandown, he looks much better suited to this course and going.

Kasbah Bliss has a defeat of the smart Blazing Bailey on his CV, and although a quick glance of his form will show that he almost exclusively races on soft ground, his better performances have come on better going. At 15/2 with William Hill, Doumen's raider looks attractively priced for a small each-way sporting wager and looks easily the best of the outsiders.

Verdict: 1pt E/W Kasbah Bliss @ 15/2 (William Hill)

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