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Cant see it. He’s too good a hurdler.
Personally i’m in the drop him back in trip camp. Given a fast pace over 2m in the champion hurdle the race would be set up for him. Hold on to him until the last then hope he stays (Which you would think he would). I think he will appreciate a quicker pace because he is such a good hurdler and normally demonstrates plenty of pace in his races.
Given all of that though, I don’t think he’ll win the champion hurdle.
Having backed BJK yesterday, I was a little disappointed that he did not win with the aurority I thought he would. It ended up a hard fought struggle when it seemed that for most of the race he’d win like Nijinsky.
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but with the World Hurdle field looking possibly weaker (Inglis Drever, Wichita Lineman & Blazing Bailey the only likely contenders),
Triple, do you not think Chief Dan George would have a chance in the World Hurdle ? Apart from Cheltenham where it pulled a muscle it improved all season culminating in a win at Aintree in a comparable time to Mighty Man. If CDG doesn’t go chasing and there is some give in the ground I think he is a viable contender
although I heard last year that Chief Dan George might go chasing there’s no mention of it this year, I’m sure he’s been aimed at the world hurdle – I don’t know why he hasn’t run yet this season, but I think he needs a bit of cut in the ground.Am definately going to put a small ew on him for the world hurdle…
Waste of time at his age. He’d run in the R&SA as a 10yo and the Gold Cup as an 11yo. With oldies like Like A Butterfly, Intersky Falcon and Hors La Loi all disappointing in recent years over fences, and given the ‘lottery’ status of the R&SA, I’d say nothing is further from their minds.
Hors La Loi is a slightly different case to the others named, as he came out of retirement fairly unexpectedly to see if he either had anything to offer, or would simply enjoy, chasing. Ultimately he did come up short at the highest level, of course; but the audacious leaps he put in when I saw his chasing debut at Taunton just under two years ago were enough to convince me that he wasn’t being sent out again against his will (and this was a horse with plenty of will, remember).
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
but with the World Hurdle field looking possibly weaker (Inglis Drever, Wichita Lineman & Blazing Bailey the only likely contenders),
One point that hasn’t knowingly been raised yet is whether Jonjo is in the habit of keeping his better horses from clashing in these big races, or whether in fact his owners would let themselves be talked round.
However, if a case could be argued by him that in sending BJK to the Champion Hurdle and keeping Wichita Lineman World Hurdle-bound each owner has the very best chance of winning a Championship race apiece, I wonder if it is worth him doing so.
For my money Wichita Lineman stands every chance of representing very little value on the day, especially if his seasonal reappearance is suitably up to scratch, and I’m seeing what price I can get on Blazing Bailey on both the high street and Betfair at present, as I think he stands every chance of being a bit forgotten in comparison to others. Don’t forget that this is a horse that improved his Racing Post Rating 22lb from the start of the season to the finish, and improved that rating with every run until falling at Aintree.
If his predilection to lose concentration slightly and make mistakes mid-race can be nipped in the bud, I genuinely think that there’s a little more to come.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
He’s always reminded me of a hurdling version of One man.
The way BJK emptied in races last season reminded me of One Man too. It might not have anything to do with staying a trip. One Man emptied in the King George (albeit on soft ground), which he had one twice before; he also did it (while still winning) in a 2m 4f race at Ascot. He won the Hennessy; I do not believe that the extra weight on his back was the reason he didn’t last the same trip in the Gold Cup.
Run BJK in a couple of ordinary novice chases over 2m 4f and then win the Ryanair. Sorted.
I might be wrong, but as well as BJK and Wichita Lineman, hasn’t Jonjo still got Refinement? He could be 3 pronged come the World Hurdle, and she seems to be a spring horse, or have I got it totally wrong and she’s been retired to Tabor’s paddocks?
She’s had a couple of spins on the Flat recently – if memory serves one was at Bath the other week.
I’d confess to being a little surprised at the prolonging of her career, given that she’s apparently been one race away from the paddocks about half a dozen times, at last count.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I might be wrong, but as well as BJK and Wichita Lineman, hasn’t Jonjo still got Refinement? He could be 3 pronged come the World Hurdle, and she seems to be a spring horse, or have I got it totally wrong and she’s been retired to Tabor’s paddocks?
She was supposed to retire after last season but I see from the RP from that she has had 2 spins in Mdns on the Flat in the last 2 months so it looks like she’s still in training.
For what it’s worth, I think there is enough evidence in the form book to suggest that BJK is a very good staying hurdler but just a little way off real top class. I’d forget trying to devise ways of turning him into a superstar.
I have just heard that Jonjo has said that Black Jack Ketchum will be dropped back in trip.
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