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I don’t think he has the 140+ hurdles rating that he needs to win the race which is why I’m thinking more in terms od a place. That stat seems bompproof in the Arkle.
I’d backed French Opera at huge prices for this but he’s not been declared
Looks like it will be the Grand Annual, but that’s going to be tough off top weight
Tataniano not even going for the Arkle now.
See my comment three days ago!
The horse hasn’t suddenly got worse since Newbury and the ground has moved in his favour. Complete disregard for the punters by Nicholls/Stewart just to keep Walsh happy.
- Total Posts 17716
Nicholls has gone down in my estimation, very very poor show from him and i hope he has a potless cheltenham.
Nicholls has gone down in my estimation, very very poor show from him and i hope he has a potless cheltenham.
Absolutely gutted about this, got it at 20s on betfair couple of weeks ago, thought was a cracking bet. Do we know why it was taken out?
I have just read the comments of Stewart on ATR and it is absolute tosh. States he feels Tataniano might have been placed in the Arkle but couldn’t win? Surely if you think you can be placed you must think you have some chance of winning? Wouldn’t a third in the Arkle be a better achievement than winning a Grand Annual?
Now you either believe Stewart or speculate that in last couple of weeks Walsh has suggested he wanted to ride Sports Line and Stewart has thrown his toys out of the pram on the basis it is Walsh or nothing.
Laughably he is still contemplating running Nomecheki – that’s got a great chance hasn’t it? If anything that is the horse who should be running in the Grand Annual.
- Total Posts 17716
Nicholls has gone down in my estimation, very very poor show from him and i hope he has a potless cheltenham.
Absolutely gutted about this, got it at 20s on betfair couple of weeks ago, thought was a cracking bet. Do we know why it was taken out?
Take a read of this mate.
http://www.attheraces.com/article.aspx? … b=&day=Wed
STILVI
I agree pal, its absolutely disgusting and stinks considering it was Nicholls error of running him at Newbury yet Stewart is using that as an excuse, if he was so worried about that run then why wait untill now to remove him.
How much would you get for a 2nd or 3rd in Arkle compared to a Grand Annual win?
Though Nicholls wanted to take on the best, thats what he is about.
No doubt others would argue that is ante-post betting for you but this decision and the expected defection of Quantitativeeasing from the Neptune leave an extremely sour taste.
Tataniano’s Arkle participation has surely been in some doubt ever since he appeared in the Grand Annual decs. I fail therefore to see why this is such a big surprise, or that Nicholls/Stewart are in anyway being unfair to punters.
And as for winning the Grand Annual versus third in the Arkle, given how long Andy Stewart had to wait for a Festival winner, I expect he has every motivation to see his horses run in the race in which they have the best form chance. In Tataniano’s case, that probably is the Grand Annual, as he could be well handicapped.
Bit of pocket-talking going on here.
Wouldn’t a third in the Arkle be a better achievement than winning a Grand Annual?
I’d rather own the winner of any race at Cheltenham than be placed elsewhere. A winner is a winner at The Festival, whether it be the Gold Cup or a County Hurdle.
I really can’t see the problem here. Connections (Nicholls / Stewart) don’t think Tataniano can win an Arkle, so they place him in a race where he has a great chance off a nice weight. Nicholls has a good yardstick entered in the race (Free World, 153) and probably considers Tataniano a ‘good thing’.
Tataniano was considered by Nicholls to be his top novice at the start of the season, if memory serves me well. The horse is probably a good deal better than what we’ve seen thus far, so why ruin a potentially nice horse by running him in what is probably the biggest minefield of the meeting when his horse isn’t good enough at this stage of his career.
If I were in Ruby’s boots, I would also choose Sports Line over Tataniano and perhaps he only made such a decision in the past day, or so. That is why some horse have numerous entries at The Festival, isn’t it? Walsh may have even advised connections to go for the Grand Annual (I won’t ride the horse in an Arkle, but I think he’d have a great chance in the Grand Annual *hint, hint*).
I have little doubt Ruby will ride the horse in the Grand Annual and Paul Nicholls will say he is one of his main fancies at the meeting.
Hard luck to anyone who backed the horse, but that’s the risk you take with antepost gambling. You took a chance on a horse that wasn’t considered good enough when the time came. No complaints.
- Total Posts 17716
When was Tataniano ever a confirmed starter in the Arkle?
If memory serves Paul Nicholls made it clear in more than one stable tour that the Grand Annual was a realistic target, so whilst Andy Stewart’s reasoning may be questionable the decision not to go for the Arkle is hardly a surprise.
The same is true of French Opera, who Nicky Henderson has been aiming at his father’s race for quite some time.
When was Tataniano ever a confirmed starter in the Arkle?
If memory serves Paul Nicholls made it clear in more than one stable tour that the Grand Annual was a realistic target, so whilst Andy Stewart’s reasoning may be questionable the decision not to go for the Arkle is hardly a surprise.
The same is true of French Opera, who Nicky Henderson has been aiming at his father’s race for quite some time.
No horse in any ante-post list is a confirmed starter – we all know that – so that comment is pretty meaningless. Unfortunately, punters have to rely on information that trainers/owners provide.
The key question is what changed between the Newbury run and the defection. After the defeat Nicholls blamed himself and definitely stated the horse was on target for the Arkle and would improve on better ground. If Tataniano wasn’t good enough he wasn’t good enough immediately after the Newbury race. His chances have actually improved since then because the ground has dried up.
When were these stable tours? Clearly the decision to jump ship was only made in the last few days when all those ‘in the know’ got on for the Grand Annual. Prior to myself flagging the market move up on here I read nothing at all in the press to query his participation in the Arkle. That isn’t to suggest that there were not people who knew but did not publish.
The comparison with French Opera is a strange one. He has never been anything other than an outsider whereas Tataniano was at one stage disputing favouritism. You would have expected French Opera to run in the Grand Annual.
If Stewart was worried about the damage the Arkle may do to the horse why enter in first place? Obviously, he is not too worried about damaging the less experienced and seemingly more accident prone Nomecheki.
Clearly connections don’t have to give out any information but is that the way to make the sport more attractive. If I was casual observer and had backed Tataniano post Newbury I have a feeling I would think twice about doing something similar again.
Plans change, stilvi.
Perhaps on reflection Nicholls failed to convince himself that he was quite good enough to win the Arkle, but took a look at his handicap mark, and said "Well I know he’s better than that".
Improvement for better going would also apply equally to the Grand Annual, as it would the Arkle, and all that has happened here, is logic has taken over.
Nicholls was quoted at least a week ago, saying that the Grand Annual was definitely under consideration, and this seems to be a clear case of you rolling the dice, and ultimately busting out.
You have to roll with the punches.
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