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Asterion Forlonge…… ruined the entire race, brought down Elixir D’Ainay and Captain Guinness as well.
Jockey won’t get a ban, but in a G1 race you need a proper horse, I mean one whose jumping is pretty much to the task.
And I don’t think that Mark Walsh had much time to switch to the inside between the 3rd last and 2nd last.
What could the jockey do ? , they tried to run the finish out of everyone and he wasn’t talented enough to do
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Hmmm,
Do we ban any horse who jumps right-handed from Cheltenham?Poor old Desert Orchid.
Value Is EverythingQuestion is did they deliberately tell mark Walsh to ride on the outside of asterion forlonge in the hope having a horse there would make him jump straighter
Looking at the RTV replay Mark Walsh had plenty of time to switch his mount at the top of the hill. Only has himself to blame for keeping to the right of a a known right-handed jumper. Stable companion too!
So should Mark Walsh and Willie Mullins be banned, Ex-Ruby?Value Is EverythingLol Ex-Ruby i think this thread needs closed. Mad.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Come on, boys. It’s Cheltenham where you can expect some quality jumping, that’s what the game is all about. And it is not about Mark Walsh switching to the inside, it’s about everybody switching to the inside then. Asterion Forlonge would have taken any horse out of the race.
In the Arkle it was again the Townend horse jumping to it’s right and ruining it for a few.
Question is did they deliberately tell mark Walsh to ride on the outside of asterion forlonge in the hope having a horse there would make him jump straighter
That’s what I was wondering throughout the race- if so that is very poor, both from an “on merits” point of view and for the safety of Elixir especially when it became evident that it wasn’t working and the right jumping was becoming so marked that a horse ridden upside him on that side was in danger of being impeded. OK it could be argued that Elixir had to be up with the pace as he’s more of a stayer with less turn of foot than the others but if he was from a different yard to AF I do believe the jockey would have got a bit of a chewing from the trainer for putting him there and keeping him there.
I wouldn’t blame them for running AF- his tendency to adjust right in prep races was not all that much more marked than , for example, Apple’s Jade can do at times and only became severe under pressure which isn’t completely predictable (NJH reckons Altior adjusts right when he’s dossing and jumps straighter under pressure, so it can go either way).
Hmmmm… talking through your pocket, perhaps? Why else refer to a Grade One winning horse, or any other for that matter, as a “piece of ****”?
Hmmmm… talking through your pocket, perhaps? Why else refer to a Grade One winning horse, or any other for that matter, as a “piece of ****”?
A little bit, yes. But I’m not sure that Elixier D’ Ainay would have won.
Good of you to admit it, Ruby; many wouldn’t.
I fully understand your frustration and many of us have posted rubbish in the heat of the moment but no horse deserves to be labelled a “piece of ****”, although I very much doubt that Asterion Forlonge will be reading this!
I’m talking through my pocket as well. Heavily backed Captain Guiness and he was the trigger to all my multis as well. Even getting placed I would been quids in.
It’s not just Mark Walsh who didn’t heed the danger, Rachel Blackmore was almost brought down the hurdle prior to that yet remained in the same position at the next when brought down why?? I strongly believe he was going well and would have won that race today. Gutted.Unfortunately Rachel didn’t have any chance of avoiding the carnage, Jamie. Too many horses to her left – between Captain Guiness and Asteroin – that she was stuck out wide. Admittedly going well at the time, but with some way to go to the finish and… Way the first two came clear (putting up ratings that imo will be well up to previous renewals)… Difficult to think Rachel Blackmore would’ve been any better than third. Although come the end of the festival I may be complaining too – having backed her for top jockey.
Value Is EverythingToo far out I know but was the 2nd last when coming to grief. Was tanking as was Abracadabras. Given how he stayed in his previous eace and how Shiskin had to dig deep, who’s to say Captain Guiness would not have? If’s and buts I know, but I would have made plenty just for the place. Only my opinion but think he could have won. We will never know.
Having watched it back perhaps I was a bit harsh on Mark Walsh. He wasn’t upsides for as long as I thought; he was on AF’s quarters for most of the way. He couldn’t lead himself as there was a danger his horse would run too free. He couldn’t tuck in behind because the horse was hurdling well and taking him along, nothing else wanted to go forward and he would have had to really haul back to get tucked in. Plus there wasn’t any pace on at all- they were bunched most of the way- and if he tucked in he would have lacked the acceleration to get out of the pack and wasted energy trying.
AF wasn’t speeding up to tow him away from the pack and make use of both horses’ stamina or slowing down to allow a smooth, swift handover of the lead between hurdles. He had to try to get on faster at some point to make use of his horse- Shishkin and Aba would have left him for dead if he waited till he was safely over the last hurdle- so he made his move as fast as he dared between hurdles without pushing his horse out of its rhythm. But the next hurdle just came too soon for him to complete the takeover and he got splattered by AF.
Watching it back I can’t see a point where he could have easily crossed behind AF and stolen the rail on the landing side of a hurdle. If AF had been setting a ripping gallop he could have done it by sitting up a bit and stopping riding for a couple of strides and had space to do it, but off the slower pace he would’ve had to hold hard and cross in front of the bunch following which would have been dangerous riding.
I would really like to hear somebody like Ruby Walsh talk about any critical decision points in the race where Walsh could have changed the outcome. Big field 2 mile hurdles must be nightmarish to ride if it is tactically going all to cr*p.
So should Mark Walsh and Willie Mullins be banned, Ex-Ruby?
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