Legendary staying hurdler Paisley Park retired after Cheltenham Festival defeat

Paisley Park's sixth run in the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle was his last, with trainer Emma Lavelle and owner Andrew Gemmell bringing down the curtain on a career that included four Grade 1 wins, a Stayers' Hurdle triumph and countless heart-in-mouth finishes.

The winner of 11 of his 31 races and £729,426 in prize-money, Paisley Park could manage only tenth behind Teahupoo in Thursday's Grade 1, with connections deciding afterwards it was time to send him into a well-earned retirement.

"He's had a great career and this is his time to bid farewell," Gemmell said. "He's been marvellous."

The star of Lavelle's stable in Wiltshire, Paisley Park landed the Stayers' Hurdle at the first attempt in 2019 and had been the one constant in the same race every year since.

His other Grade 1 triumphs all came in the Long Walk Hurdle, while his big-race collection also includes three wins in the Grade 2 Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham and victory in the 2019 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury.

His last Grade 1 triumph came in last season's Long Walk but in three runs before the festival this season he was beaten no more than a head and failed in a photo-finish to land a fourth Long Walk at Ascot in December.

Trainer Emma Lavelle and owner Andrew Gemmell savour Cheltenham Festival success in 2019Credit: Getty Images

"I've always had such immense pride in him and we've always wanted to do what was right by him," an emotional Lavelle said. "He has taken us on the most unbelievable journey and his performances this season have been extraordinary for a 12-year-old.

"He couldn’t quite get his head in front, we thought the Cleeve was probably his last real chance of doing it. It was one last throw of the dice today and he has run fantastically well, but he just hasn’t got the turbo anymore. The time has come to retire him."

Paisley Park's crowning moment came in the 2019 Stayers' Hurdle when he came steaming up the Cheltenham hill to justify 11-8 favouritism.

"He's so special and you could set your clock by him," Lavelle added. "You knew watching the racing, he'd travel, he'd have his flat spot, he's not going to win and then, suddenly, he is going to win! He's such a hard horse to describe, he's meant so much to all of us.

"The journey he's taken Andrew on; the journey he's taken us all on. It was easier to get an audience with the Pope then speak to Andrew today, there's been that many people wanting to talk to him.

"I'm so grateful to the public that have taken him to their heart as well, because it's made it even more special for us."

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