Buckley (and Nicky) still didn’t get over the Champion Hurdles he hasn’t won. It’s a bit arrogant to think that your horse and your horse only is entitled to win the race since there is no standout opponent in it.
I think Golden Ace stands out when it comes to slick and efficient hurdling. Something CH hast lost completely over the past two seasons. Why isn’t he talking about the other horses’ skills and strengths? He is just looking for excuses (horse’s mind, lung infection from two years ago) and thinks that one A.W. race has sorted out all of CH’s problems. It hasn’t quite, but the horse surely was a lot happier than after it’s previous four starts. It came home with a jockey aboard and didn’t experience painful falls. I’d love to see Mr. Buckley running at full speed and then stumble over some obstacle…..