Long Walk Hurdle
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The Long Walk Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race in the United Kingdom for four-year-old and above horses run over a distance of 3 miles 1½ furlongs (5,130 metres) at Ascot Racecourse in December. There are fourteen hurdles to be jumped in the race.
Surprisingly not many winners of this race have gone on to win that season's World Hurdle. Only three times since 1971 has a horse won both races in the same season. These were Derring Rose in the 1980/81 season, Baracouda in the 2001/2002 season and My Way De Solzen in the 2005/06 season.
It was first run in 1965 as a handicap race, and became a conditions race in 1971. It attained Grade 1 status in 1990.
The race is named after an avenue of trees, one of the features of Windsor Great Park.
[edit] Winners since 1971
- Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr".
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
| 1971 | St Patrick's Blue | 6 | Bill Smith | David Tatlow |
| 1972 | Highland Abbe | 6 | Mr Richard Smith | Les Kennard |
| 1973 | Soloning | 8 | Richard Pitman | Fred Winter |
| 1974 | Go Bingo | 5 | David Munro | Sam Hall |
| 1975 | Lanzarote | 7 | John Francome | Fred Winter |
| 1976 abandoned due to frost | ||||
| 1977 | John Cherry | 6 | Steve Smith Eccles | Tom Jones |
| 1978 | Kelso Chant | 6 | Steve Charlton | Jumbo Wilkinson |
| 1979 | John Cherry | 8 | Steve Smith Eccles | Tom Jones |
| 1980 | Derring Rose | 5 | John Francome | Fred Winter |
| 1981 abandoned due to snow | ||||
| 1982 | Mayotte | 7 | Paul Richards | Richard Holder |
| 1983 | Crimson Embers | 8 | Stuart Shilston | Fulke Walwyn |
| 1984 | Kristenson | 7 | Michael Williams | Roger Fisher |
| 1985 | Misty Dale | 7 | Phil Tuck | Jenny Pitman |
| 1986 | Out of the Gloom | 5 | Peter Scudamore | Reg Hollinshead |
| 1987 | Bluff Cove | 5 | Richard Dunwoody | Reg Hollinshead |
| 1988 | French Goblin | 5 | Peter Hobbs | Josh Gifford |
| 1989 | Royal Athlete | 6 | Dean Gallagher | Jenny Pitman |
| 1990 | Floyd | 10 | Graham Bradley | David Elsworth |
| 1991 abandoned due to frost | ||||
| 1992 | Vagog | 7 | Martin Foster | Martin Pipe |
| 1993 | Sweet Duke | 6 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 1994 | Hebridean | 7 | Adrian Maguire | David Nicholson |
| 1995 | Silver Wedge | 4 | Jamie Osbourne | Oliver Sherwood |
| 1996 | Ocean Hawk | 4 | Carl Llewellyn | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| 1997 | Paddy's Return | 5 | Norman Williamson | Ferdy Murphy |
| 1998 | Princeful | 7 | Richard Dunwoody | Jenny Pitman |
| 1999 | Anzum | 8 | Richard Johnson | Alan King |
| 2000 | Baracouda | 5 | Thierry Doumen | François Doumen |
| 2001 | Baracouda | 6 | Thierry Doumen | François Doumen |
| 2002 | Deano's Beeno | 10 | A. P. McCoy | Martin Pipe |
| 2003 | Baracouda | 8 | Thierry Doumen | François Doumen |
| 2004 | Baracouda * | 9 | Thierry Doumen | François Doumen |
| 2005 | My Way de Solzen * | 5 | Robert Thornton | Alan King |
| 2006 | Mighty Man | 6 | Richard Johnson | Henry Daly |
* Due to the closure of Ascot Racecourse for re-development, the race took place in 2004 at Windsor, and 2005 at Chepstow.
