Olly Murphy feels Strong Leader retains all his old ability having watched him win Wetherby’s West Yorkshire Hurdle for a second time on Saturday.
Strong Leader will turn 10 on New Year’s Day, but has been the flag bearer for staying hurdlers in the UK for some time.
Due to his dislike of Cheltenham he may not have got the credit he deserves, but with one Grade One and three Grade Twos under his belt, there are few in the division with a better record.
“He came out of Wetherby actually as well as he ever has believe it or not. He’s a horse who can usually be stiff and sore for a day or two, but he’s really well and I’d imagine all routes lead to Newbury for the Long Distance Hurdle,” said Murphy.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but because he’s a little inconsistent, plenty of people love to knock him.
“He’s won over £400,000 in prize-money now and he’s a long way off being done yet. He’s in good nick, he had to give a lot of weight to two good mares (Lavida Adiva and Take No Chances) on Saturday and he was well on top at the line. I thought it was a good performance.”
Strong Leader won Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle in 2024 and having been narrowly denied by Impose Toi when defending his crown last season, Murphy is looking forward to sending his stable star back to Berkshire on November 27.
He added: “People might say it was an uncompetitive Grade Two on Saturday, but one of the mares nearly won a Pertemps Final (Lavida Adiva) and the other was second in a Grade One at Aintree and had already had a run.
“I was nervous about the fact Dan (Skelton) had given Take No Chances a run because a few of mine had been blowing up, but all roads lead to Newbury now and he’s still in fine fettle.”
He went on: “The last thing he wants to do now is pop out and make the running as he did at Wetherby because he races so idle and he wants something to aim at, but he got a good ride off Sean (Bowen) and I very much enjoyed that.
“I think the first half of the season will mirror last year, there aren’t great options if we don’t do Newbury and the Long Walk (at Ascot). Whether we look at the Rendlesham Hurdle (at Haydock) or Ireland for something at Christmas we could do, but he’s still running right up to his mark and retains a lot of ability.”
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