Liverpool Hurdle Tips: Teahupoo To Make Amends For Cheltenham

A little under an hour before the Grand National, the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle (15:05) takes centre stage, with some of the best staying hurdlers Britain and Ireland have to offer attempting to land this illustrious race. 

Unlucky for some, a field of 13 has been declared for the race, and our expert has picked out a pair to follow.

Liverpool Hurdle Predictions

Selection: Teahupoo

Next Best: Hiddenvalley Lake

2025 Liverpool Hurdle 1-2-3

1. Teahupoo
2. Hiddenvalley Lake
3. Strong Leader

Murphy returns with last year’s winner

Strong Leader is looking to make it back-to-back wins in the race for Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen, a winner by more than four lengths 12 months ago.

He won well on reappearance at Newbury this season before disappointing at Ascot in December. He has since had a wind op and ran respectably in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham. They elected to miss the Cheltenham Festival and come here, where the course and going are more suited to him. It is the same route they took last year and he looks sure to give a good account of himself once again. 

Also opposing from the race last year are the second and third, Buddy One and Hiddenvalley Lake, along with Dashel Drasher.

Elliott looking for more success

Gordon Elliott won the Liverpool hurdle in 2022 and 2023 with Sire Du Berlais, but ended up without a runner in the race last year on account of a vet’s certificate. This year he sends two - the Stayers’ Hurdle second and third. 

Teahupoo is making the trip to Aintree for the first time having narrowly missed out on a second Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. On official ratings he is 2lb clear of the rest of the field and has by some way looked the best staying hurdler either side of the Irish Sea over the course of the past few seasons. He has yet to win a race this season but his second on reappearance behind Lossiemouth over an inadequate trip was a good showing, as was his second in the Stayer’s Hurdle, where there was a further eight lengths back to The Wallpark in third. 

For all good ground has been of slight concern for him, he definitely handled the quicker surface at Cheltenham last month and it shouldn’t pose a problem here. 

Hiddenvalley Lake can improve on last year’s third

Home By The Lee would be many people’s idea of his biggest danger having beaten Stayers’ Hurdle winner, Bob Olinger, twice this season. But on form with Teahupoo last season, he is likely to find this a tough ask. 

As we saw at Cheltenham it could be another for the same owners who can upset the favourite. Hiddenvalley Lake ran well in the race last year to finish third, and has a tendency to finish his races strongly as was evident 12 months ago, and more recently at Ascot in December. 

He was disappointing when well beaten in January, but the De Bromhead stable wasn’t having a good spell and I suspect the horse was certainly not 100% that day. The stable has been in much better form through March and April, including when landing the Stayers’ Hurdle with Bob Olinger. 

As he showed last year it is a race which suits him, and the lightly raced eight-year-old can feature prominently again this year.