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Lesson as ever is that fragile short price big Girls blouses are not match for gutsy mates. No bet myself but a lovely winner. Shishkin will have few difficulties though
Well done winner, PUT THE KETTLE ON , but the biggest congratulation goes to Paul Nicholls for pulling POLITOLOGUE out of the race after a nose bleed. Better to be safe than sorry
after all the welfare of the horse comes first. CHACUN POUR SOI managed to hang on to third place which was a relieve for me as I had him in a placepot, but much better was my Ante Post bet on the winner. THE FESTIVAL HAS STARTED FOR ME 
Now I’m going to put the kettle on and have a quite cuppa You've got to accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative.
Don't mess with mister in between.Will Shishkin become Henderson’s new Altior? Win a couple of CCs and then the excuses will start
I suggested on about page 3 or 4 of this thread Henderson ought to have had a go at this with Shiskin if Altior didn’t make it and was laughed off…enjoyed reading it all back though to be fair!
Obviously the Altior withdrawal came much too late but does anyone seriously think, now with the benefit of hindsight, that Shiskin wouldn’t have played a major part if lining up today?
I already backed him for next years straight after the Arkle at 3/1 and think that’s gone now…clear difference with this and the favourite this year is he’s rock solid at Cheltenham with two consecutive festival wins…he’ll only have to get there for on the day to win it…
And for all the stick Henderson gets he did win with Altior at four consecutive festivals…which is no mean feat…
If Henderson was Nicholls and Altior was Politolouge it would be another fairy tale on here
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
WD winners + Zam for sticking to his guns.
I’d say Chacun was a fair wack below his best there. Possibly the track undulations but “the hill” is not the reason IMO.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Chacun wasn’t good enough , no excuses he just didn’t deliver , on first watching I thought Skelton should have went earlier but watching it a few times again I still don’t think it affected the result , I can’t see anything laying a glove on shiskin at this point ….unless envoi was to run in the champion next year ….I doubt very much he will
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Beware the outstanding 7yo novice when they step up into open company as it’s often proven they were just more developed as a novice and never go onto achieve anything.
Presenting Percy being a strong recent example. Devastatingly good as a 7yo novice and considered by many a certainty to win the gold cup the following year, went onto win just 1 more chase at lowly listed level from 8 chase runs.That’s not to say Shiskin can’t or won’t go on and win next years champion chase but to suggest he is unbeatable in next years champion chase is laughable at this stage.
Yeah zam, you where still incorrect about shiskin running in this though, he shouldnt have, just because in hindsight it looks like he may have run well, a novice against battle hardened CC horses is a different story from a saunter round and to this point, shiskin still hasnt beaten anything to show hed have won this
Now, with another year under his belt hes a worthy fav, but theres nothing to suggest he would have won factoring in the most important thing a novice straight into open, royale pagaille another example of how it very rarely ever works.
This myth about the cheltenham hill is laughable
And yes tat, i most definitely do disagree, sceau royal would have won with a clear round, that cost a hell of alot more than 4 lengths.
That goes without saying zam, wd with ptko, it worked out well in the end, but assuming shiskin is as solid a fav as CPS at this point because he won a weak supreme and an even weaker arkle is most certainly pure opinion and a half fact, CPS deservedly carries the same rating as a peak altior, his formline backed it up, he was the correct fav at the correct price…
Hindsight….
Ham while you can knock the Arkle but he won in it second gear , as for saying the supreme was weak last year what did the horse in 3rd do this year ? envoi now has a jumping question , monkfish was messy but dug it out , appreciate it looked a monster but again not the strangest renewal , there,s also the question mark on the Henderson yard which makes Shiskin run even more impressive , personally I’d say Shiskin is the best NH horse in training
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Shiskin better than the CH or GC winners? Both more competitive and lucrative than 2-mile chasing
Shiskin is more than paying his way , Indo has been beat plenty times so the argument would be between him and honeysuckle , to each there own but I expect shiskin to have the longer more successful career , there both great horses
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Sprinter Sacre won two mile chases perhaps his legendary status should be degraded as not a Champion hurdle winner or Gold Cup winner??
If Shishkin stays sound he should be able to emulate Sprinter and Altior
Energumene looks a potential fly in the soup (couldn’t spell ointment
) but with the Champion Chase being on the Wednesday unless it is raining it may reduce his chances slightly compared to say the Arkle as the ground tends to dry throughout the week after the initial wateringGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I loved SS, but the GC and the CH are more competitive and lucrative; there is a reason Kauto Star ran in GCs rather than 2 mile CCs
Captain Robbo…
That’s some strange comparison to make? Presenting Percy and Shishkin!
Yes, PP was a two time festival winner but took the handicap route first and in amongst were some lesser efforts. His preparation for his gold cup effort was one run in a hurdle race! Not sure who was thinking he was a certainty because I certainly wasn’t…I’m sure if the thread was dug back up more than the majority would have been saying he was an awful favourite and so it proved to be…think too many got carried away with the small yard story and talking up Pat Kelly as some sort of genius…
On the other side you’ve Shishkin…unbeaten in all completed starts and in the hands of a trainer who’s won double figure amounts of Arkles and Champion Chases combined…the route will be mapped out already and he looks totally different class!
Ham…
You say he’s beat nothing, but as is the case in all races you can only beat the horses you’re put up against and he’s doing that with ease. The other clue to how good he is and the other thing he’s continually beating is the clock and that doesn’t lie!
At Kempton he posted a figure about 20lbs better than Nube Negra did when beating Altior and again confirmed that was no fluke when winning his Arkle in a quicker time than PTKO did in the champion chase. Simon Rowlands who I’ve a lot of time for calculated it to be about an 11lb better performance when taking everything into account with them being run on different days. The champion chase saw two horses battling all the way to the line after the last with 3 or 4 running on just in behind. Shishkin on the other hand coasted home in glorious isolation and was eased down to a near walk over the line so it reads even more impressive.
He (Rowlands) is now leaving the comparison with Altior and started to liken him to Sprinter Sacre! I can see why too…he’s got so many gears…on the odd occasion he can appear to be racing lazily but the second Nico shakes the reigns he can make up 3 or 4 lengths in seconds and that’s what all the great two milers have, that injection of pace that can leave rivals for dead…a bit like when Sprinter regained his crown when sauntering passed Un De Sceaux who appeared to be travelling the better but had absolutely no answer when Sprinter went passed him….I firmly believe Shishkin has all that in his locker too.
Lets be honest…if he gets there on the day in one piece there’s not a horse in training at present to touch him…I don’t say that lightly either because I’ve had a right festival thanks to PTKO…one of my best ever antepost pick ups…I love her to bits and her attitude…the way she jumps and digs in for a battle but if coming back to defend her crown she’ll be playing for 2nd place for me…
I loved SS, but the GC and the CH are more competitive and lucrative; there is a reason Kauto Star ran in GCs rather than 2 mile CCsI think you will find Kauto Star did run in the champion chase.
Zamorston- Presenting Percy is merely one example and many people thought he was a gold cup good thing (not myself).
It’s pure fact that sometimes 7yo novices can be more developed than the 5/6yo novices but not progress when they go into open company. The Presenting Percy example is a good one because he was superior to Al Boum Photo as a novice but it was ABP who went on to win 2 gold cups. Shiskin is clearly a very good horse who may well go on to become a great horse but to call him a certainty for next years chase is quite simply ridiculous.
Joint lowest CC winner in the last 10 years, given 160, 167 with allowance. I suggest that’s right given the proximity of the others. No doubt Zam she’s game and might have battled on, but everyone and their dog must’ve seen the unlucky circumstances Sceau Royal found himself in, if he’s a 163 horse and was running close even with the trouble, then this is one heck of a weak race!
For whatever reason people want to put against it CPS was not very good, and has it to prove at Cheltenham now, there’s no doubt. As to me, he should be beating a field with the highest rating of 167 pretty comfortably.
Next year with Shishkin about, he’ll have it all to do and more!
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!
after all the welfare of the horse comes first. CHACUN POUR SOI managed to hang on to third place which was a relieve for me as I had him in a placepot, but much better was my Ante Post bet on the winner. THE FESTIVAL HAS STARTED FOR ME 
Now I’m going to put the kettle on and have a quite cuppa 
) but with the Champion Chase being on the Wednesday unless it is raining it may reduce his chances slightly compared to say the Arkle as the ground tends to dry throughout the week after the initial watering- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.