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There’s no getting away from it there’s some very average horses getting in here , surely makes the horses at the top of the handicap more appealing , not surprised Battleoverdoyen out , Topham it is
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Not sure if its been mentioned here or not but Brian Hughes is down to ride Ahoy Senor in the Bowl on Thursday according to the BHA site, Derek Fox an injury doubt for Saturday. He does expect to be fit but obviously not ideal he’s got a shoulder problem. The horse is very talented but he’s got his quirks and I’d be against him on the day if his usual jockey can’t be there.
Echoing what HDLG says, there’s some absolute camels running in it this year.
It’s a further indictment of NH racing. But the BHA will be delighted because there’s unlikely to be any fallers, all horses will come back safe and sound and little chance of an actual horse race taking place.
I don’t want to see fallers in the grand national, but if it was a fair test of horse and jockey then it would be expected that there was some.
A lot of national hunt racing now is about as exciting to watch as a knitting club.
The Grand National always has a mix of good ones and average ones and likely no-hopers. Not sure what the moaning is about :o)
Back in the day, a good number of runners were out of the handicap proper.
Looks like a quality staying handicap chase to me with a top weight off 167, last year’s winner who made the frame in the Cheltenham Gold Cup off 166, and the favourite who is only 26th in the list is a Cheltenham Festival winner last time out off 146 (and worth 156 now).
If the bottom weight is 10st2lb, there’s only eight out of the weights and nothing by more than 6lb.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"That’s a 1/5th of the field Ian. A not insignificant amount.
My point about NH racing being a snooze fest was a more broad point in terms of the modifications made to fences at all tracks.
I don’t get the same enjoyment from watching a race with hardly any jeopardy involved for horse and rider. That may make me sound insensitive or even stupid and that’s fine.
Galopin Des Champs should never be winning gold cups the way he jumps! There are horses at every track every day absolutely destroying the fence and staying up.
When I’m watching the grand national I shouldn’t be seeing 40 horses clear Beecher’s like skipping over a park bench!
“That’s a 1/5th of the field Ian. A not insignificant amount.”
Fair comment, TC – hopefully it might make it easier to back the winner!
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"@Tizaards Cider may I interest you in timber racing? Fences aren’t as high overall but they haven’t gotten any easier in the last century and don’t have any brush that horses can plow through. The first of the big three Maryland timber stakes (the My Lady’s Manor) is this Saturday and post time is 5:30 GMT so you can watch it immediately after the Grand National on https://nationalsteeplechase.com/ Short field this year but Vintage Vinnie vs Mystic Strike should be a good battle of two veterans.
Miss Woodford there’s probably a lot you could interest me in!
Timber racing may not have been the first thing that sprung to mind but I’m willing to give it a go!
Derek Fox looks set to be fit in time for Saturday and “will be declared” according to Lucinda Russell via the Racing Post.
I imagine Brian Hughes will switch back to Minella Trump.
Plenty of rain about, but nothing Biblical. I expect it will be soft, good to soft in places come the day.
I saw somewhere, possible that article in the RP, that Theo Gillard has the ride on Minella Trump and the decision was made a while back.
Edit:
From Tuesdays ATR.
Hughes will available to ride Corach Rambler if needed as he will not be required aboard Minella Trump for Donald McCain, for whom he is stable jockey.It does add a question to rambler chance , he,s not exactly a bridle horse and I’d ref want a 100% match fit jockey
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Now the final field been confirmed, with most of the riders I think these have a chance
Noble Yeats
Galvin
Lifetime Ambition
Delta Work
Coko BeachYou've got to accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative.
Don't mess with mister in between.Where did I read that no recent National winner had had a wind op? I’m sure I mentioned it but not sure where I’d read it. That rules out Le Milos and The Big Breakaway.I haven’t looked at all the horses yet, though. Irish horses don’t seem to have wind ops the way that English horses do. Looking for horses outside the box I’ve backed Minella Trump ( although he doesn’t seem to be the horse that he was and his only run this year was awful): Sam Brown and Francky du Berlais ( who I have a soft spot for in the way I have a soft spot for Defi Bleu). Given that the National needs a story it would be good if Nicky Henderson or Jessica Harrington could win it, and Jessie’s horse has got the right name for such a win. Other than that I’m even more clueless than usual. Still have a preference for first time runners, though.
Have they had a proper wind op or just an ‘adjustment’ been made moe? Also I read in a forum that Irish horses may have had their wind done/adjusted and don’t have to tell the BHA like the English ones but don’t know how accurate that is.
I don’t know Mike. I thought it was a good angle to look at until it looked as though hardly any horses had a wind op. Going by Nicholls and Henderson’s horses I got the feeling that all horses had it done all the time. I also read on here years ago that there was a breeder who made a point of breeding horses with good wind ( is that the correct technical term?). I might ask the guys on WHill racing.
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