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I’d be surprised if anything that lost in yesterday’s gold cup went on to be a GC winner.
Next year’s race has surely got to be between KK, WoA, Trabolgan, one of this year’s novices and anything the French can rustle up (Cyrlight?).
Steve
Take The Stand ran well for much of the race but didn’t seem to find much. Thought it looked a winner 5 out travelling behind the leaders but maybe age has caught up with it?
(Edited by FlatSeasonLover at 9:07 pm on Mar. 18, 2006)
BoS was my lay of the meeting.<br>We learnt nothing new. His performance confirmed what we know from previous GC efforts- that he can mop up small field events on yielding going in Eire but is not a force when he doesn’t get his ideal conditions.<br>Clearly from trainer’s post race remarks we will not be seeing him on this side of the Irish Sea ever again.
Iris’s Gift. I expected him to be on the floor and thankfully that didn’t happen. He was in the wrong race. Connections must be back to the drawing board.
War of Attrition- full marks to the winner. At least he demonstrated quality and further possibilities to improve in amongst a field of h’cappers and plodders
Bowen’s horse travelled very well for a long way Flatseasonlover, in fact he looked like taking a hand rounding the turn, but didn’t jump a fence throughout the entire race.
And I’d hold Tony Dobbin more than partially accountable.
Take The Stand is a horse who likes to have a good look at this fences, and appreciates racing up with the pace (he led Kicking King into the second last last season if memory serves).
But, for some reason, Dobbin held him back, right against the rail, and constantly ran up the backend of the less-than-fluent Iris’s Gift. Also take into account that he was never driven to attack his fences, and consequently missed his stride time after time, and his fifth place doesn’t look all that bad.
He’s still got races in him.
Regardless of whether this thread was a joke or not, this horse is cut above anything on soft ground. WoA clearly likes soft groumd, but doesn’t get 3m on it. With the very quick conditions, I think KK would certainly have beaten WoA, but we’ll never know. I’ve only actually just seen the race, and beating Hedgehunter by only a couple of lengths i think is really pretty poor form.
No horse deserves a GC more than BoS, and I really hope owners bring him back one last time next year, and if they do, i’ll be praying for soft ground. BoS is simply amazing – a machine.
I think Beefy is amazing 2 i’ve followed him from the start sometimes to be blinded by facts and i think it’s time to stay away from Cheltenham. He’s clearly as good or better than anything on his perferred conditions but he’ll never get that in Cheltenham. Let him enjoy his racing and race in the conditions he loves
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Regarding BoS, Paul Carberry’s terse post-mortem said it all, imo.
" He was never travelling, as the ground just did not suit him"
That doesn’t make him a bad horse, just a slow one!
<br>Jackane
"WoA clearly likes soft groumd, but doesn’t get 3m on it.
Whatever weird and wonderful interpretation of the form book led you to the above conclusion, it seriously needs more work.;) ÂÂÂ
Mouse is pretty clear that WOA prefers good not soft
No horse deserves a GC more than BoS
Why? For turning up and getting stuffed every year? Hardly been unlucky (despite "excuses") has he. Not exactly a wayward lad say is he?
Quote: from Grasshopper on 12:50 pm on Mar. 18, 2006[br]L’Ami is an open book form-wise, and probably ran about bang-on his handicap mark yesterday, for the umpteenth time in a row.
He’s run in 20-odd chases now, and is unlikley to improve further, imo.
You might be right about his future prospects, Grasshopper, but I disagree with your interpretation of his past runs. The horse was second in a big-field handicap in November off a mark of 144, beaten two and a half lengths. He was second in a big-field handicap in February off a mark of 155, again beaten two and a half lengths. On the face of it, he’s improved about eleven pounds. You can argue about the relative strength of the respective fields but I don’t think it can be argued that he’s shown no improvement at all.
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Quote: from Grasshopper on 12:50 pm on Mar. 18, 2006[br]No.
L’Ami is an open book form-wise, and probably ran about bang-on his handicap mark yesterday, for the umpteenth time in a row.
He’s run in 20-odd chases now, and is unlikley to improve further, imo.<br>
I’m with Gus on this one.<br>  He has markedly improved his OR,his RPR, and his speed rating in his last few runs, ran the race of his life, (considering the ground was against him), in the Gold Cup, and his trainer also thinks so, acccording to his quote after his penultimate race:<br> ""He is an improving horse. What he did may not be enough but he grows up all the time."<br>
Gus and Reethard what level do you think L’Ami can improve to and what would you aim at?
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Quote: from FlatSeasonLover on 8:03 pm on Mar. 19, 2006[br]Gus and Reethard what level do you think L’Ami can improve to and what would you aim at?
Fsl<br> The answer to the first question is who knows?.<br> He could well be a force in the better staying chases next season, but has already shown that a stiff 3m on softish ground would be his minimum, which rather limits his options off a projected OR of about 158/160.<br> The Betfair Bowl at Aintree is a possibility at the moment, but would hardly be his ideal circumstance?
Regardless of whether this thread was a joke or not, this horse is cut above anything on soft ground. WoA clearly likes soft groumd, but doesn’t get 3m on it. With the very quick conditions, I think KK would certainly have beaten WoA, but we’ll never know. I’ve only actually just seen the race, and beating Hedgehunter by only a couple of lengths i think is really pretty poor form.
Jackane,
How do you explain that one, WoA is a much better horse on good ground, just look at his performance in the Supreme novices of 2004.
Johnj<br>
and beating Hedgehunter by only a couple of lengths i think is really pretty poor form.
I never understand comments like this!
If it was a struggling neck then fair enough but so often at Cheltenham, true staying animals witha touch of class (rather than being drenched in it) do run into positions. Speedier contenders often fade away pretty quickly
But again…by far did he have to beat HH?
Two lengths is fair enough. May not be stunning, but is hardly "poor"
It was the GC
Just catching up with a few of the threads now.<br>LGR, I was really hoping that this festival would stop this incredible fascination with French horses by quite a few members on here. Their form simply doesnt hold up over in the UK (obvious most recent past exceptions being Bara and at one stage, but not for long, First Gold)
Yes they do have decent horses, that can raid throughout the season on favoured going, but to talk them up as Cheltenham horses is crazy. They would be much better off aiming their horses at the Leopardstown chrsitams meeting imo.
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