- This topic has 880 replies, 116 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 2 months ago by
.
- Posts
- Total Posts 17716
Won’t get me abandoning Binocular but I am thinking more Solwhit every day.
Can’t totally agree about stayers in the Champion though. Hardy Eustace was that type but there wasn’t any Sea Pigeons or Istabraqs around.
Different ball game now with the likes of Punjabi, Binocular, Celestial Halo Kyber King and Solwhit having a lot of toe. Hurricane Fly if by any chance he makes it.
Zaynar would be a sitting duck, even if he could get into a situation to hit the front and use his stamina, which I sincerely doubt.
IMO Solwhit has just the little bit more speed attached to his stamina than Zaynar looks to have and that is a cruical in a Champion Hurdle.
The somewhat forgotten horse in my opinion who people don’t seem to mention, is last years winner, Punjabi.
10s is a great price for him i think.
Seems another under-rated horse.
Go Native has done nothing but improve this season, his most recent defeat of Starluck showed he had guts and strived to put his head over the line. Goes on any ground and was hugely impressive in the SNH last year, will take a good horse to beat him IMO. But looks a very competitive and exciting renewal, can see around 4 or 5 involved in the last furlong.
At this stage, in the absence of any real standout performances and with doubts over most of the main contenders I wouldn’t be at all suprised to see last years 1-2-3 fill the places again.
I have major doubts whether Go Native will prove good enough on the day, he was anihilated twice last year by HF and it’s unlikely the race will be teed up for him like his last couple of runs have been. Khyber Kim could well figure but there has to be a doubt whether he will even run his race before considering whether he’s actually good enough. Solwhit is a horse I like but I think he falls just short of the standard required to win this. His narrow beating of Punjabi at Leopardstown on his favoured ground and the fact NH before the race said everything possible to put you off Punjabi means I would be very suprised if that result wasn’t turned around on all but the softest of grounds. Zaynar could be anything but at present he’s done nothing to prove he’s up to winning this and has been campaigned very much as the stables third string.
Go Native has kept improving this season and could go right to the top of the hurdling game. He has won three Grade 1’s, two Grade 2’s and when twice beaten by HF it was on ground far from ideal (although he’s won on most types of ground good to soft seems to suit best) and the ground at C will more than likely be good to soft. His win in the Fighting Fifth was in my view, breathtaking; the way he quickened and destroyed Sublimity (grade 1 winner), Solwhit (grade 1 winner) and Binocular (grade 1 winner) has to be the best piece of form going into the Champion Hurdle. Solwhit beat HF hands down at Punchestown which further bolsters GN’s form – he has everything going for him.
Punjabi’s win last year looked a bit of a flash in the pan for me, his form apart from that isn’t top class and probably overachieved that day.
Binocular flatters to deceive, been disappointing so far this season.
Celestial Halo probably has the best chance of the three that were placed last season, think he’s an improving type and was unlucky in the International.
Go Native ticks all the right boxes for the CH IMO.
I’ve felt all along that he’d end up in The Champion Hurdle, why wait a year with a horse like that? A lot can go wrong in 12 months
Phipip Fenton is going to upset a lot of folk with AP vouchers for The Supreme but Dunguib looks to me the best novice since Golden Cygnet and I’m sure with hindsight Eddie O’Grady wishes he’d run Golden Cygnet in the 1978 Champion Hurdle instead of the novice.
My advice to those who fancied Dunguib for the Supreme should either plunge now at 4-1 with a run for the CH or wait to the day and hammer the bookies
He’s still top of my list for Cheltenham wherever he runs.
I always have a (big) EW Yankee at Cheltenham as my major bet of the season, so far I’ve three bankers
1. Dunguib
2. Garde Champetre
3. Denman……any suggestions for the fourth? Big Bucks is too short a price
Phipip Fenton is going to upset a lot of folk with AP vouchers for The Supreme but Dunguib looks to me the best novice since Golden Cygnet and I’m sure with hindsight Eddie O’Grady wishes he’d run Golden Cygnet in the 1978 Champion Hurdle instead of the novice.
That was my thought too.
Fenton has always outlined that Dunguib will go for the Supreme Novices, so many people have backed him AP for the race. Seems like they may have to tear their tickets up.
Go Native has kept improving this season and could go right to the top of the hurdling game. He has won three Grade 1’s, two Grade 2’s and when twice beaten by HF it was on ground far from ideal (although he’s won on most types of ground good to soft seems to suit best) and the ground at C will more than likely be good to soft. His win in the Fighting Fifth was in my view, breathtaking; the way he quickened and destroyed Sublimity (grade 1 winner), Solwhit (grade 1 winner) and Binocular (grade 1 winner) has to be the best piece of form going into the Champion Hurdle. Solwhit beat HF hands down at Punchestown which further bolsters GN’s form – he has everything going for him.
Punjabi’s win last year looked a bit of a flash in the pan for me, his form apart from that isn’t top class and probably overachieved that day.
Binocular flatters to deceive, been disappointing so far this season.
Celestial Halo probably has the best chance of the three that were placed last season, think he’s an improving type and was unlucky in the International.
Go Native ticks all the right boxes for the CH IMO.
Rich I’d be extremely concerned if I was using the Fighting Fifth as a guide to the outcome of the CH this year. I don’t think you could find a more polar opposite kind of race to the CH, it was a farcical crawl for a mile, moving through the gears for half a mile and then a sprint for the last furlong….do people really think the Champion Hurdle will be run in this way? The eyecatcher of the race was Solwhit, who did remarkably well to run on into 3rd when apparently "not himself".
Also, with regards to Go Native, ticks every box? Nope.
Xmas hurdle winners have a shockingly poor record in the CH, run on a speed track that makes them look good and flashy….he’s also not having a prep this year, the last winner of the CH not to prep in the year of the race was the 1993 winner, who beat a 50/1 shot in a poor race.Go Native will drift in price as the race approaches imo.
Not sure also how Punjabi can be "a flash in the pan"? I think you need to follow his career through given he was a Grade 1 novice winner, 3rd in a CH, won 2 more Grade 1s before winning the CH on merit, his 4th Grade 1 – not bad for "a flash in the pan" I suppose!
Agree with the sentiments on Dunguib.
Big Bucks, these are my opinions, last I heard was that this forum was created to share views such as this, I don’t think you could be more disparaging of them if you tried – please don’t knock my views in such a condescending way.
We’ll see who’s right come March.
Rich, put the toys back in the pram.
I thought your views on Go Native and Punjabi were naive at best and I expressed this with clear reasoning and purely on a racing basis.If you can’t handle that and if you can’t reply with racing talk, then jog on.
Thanks.
Dunguib holding an entry is no surprise. Fenton has said all along that the horse would probably get a speculative entry in case the race cut up. He is still long odds on to stay in novice company until Punchestown at least though. Anyone holding antepost vouchers for the Supreme (like meself
) should have covered themselves for the Champion Hurdle anyway.There’s disagreeing with someone and then there’s being just plain rude and patronising. I am relatively young and new to racing and obviously don’t have the same knowledge and experience, but nevertheless these were my views based on this season’s racing and there was no need to be so belittling of them – perhaps just offer "constructive criticism" as most people do?
So you obviously don’t think Go Native stands a chance – who do you make your main hope for the CH then?
Age and experience don’t show on people’s posts man!!
Constructive? Read what I’ve said again fella, I’ve given you 2 major negatives for GN – the record of Xmas Hurdle winners for which there are specific reasons and the date of his prep. That allied to his style of running not generally being suited to a strongly run CH.
Same with Punjabi, left binocular standing mid-race in last year’s event and then grinded past Halo with a huge heart, beat Mad Rush on the flat, has class stamped all over him.
Just my opinion. I like Solwhit and Punjabi but am yet to have a bet.
I’d recommend Wetherby’s Cheltenham Festival Guide by the way, it’s a cracking read of trends, profiles and the types of horse that win each race at Cheltenham, not the be all and end all, but a useful insight and hell we’re all learning it never ends!
Ok ok, maybe it’s because I don’t like people disgreeing with me
You were a bit short and patronising though, at least you can admit that much.Trends and statistics can aid and look for pointers, but records can obviously be broken – of course the FF was a completely different race entirely to a typical Championship race at Cheltenham. But that said, GN has won against market rivals and that’s important in my view. He also has course form which Solwhit doesn’t, another factor that I hold crucial. From what I’ve seen of him, GN can travel well and jumps his hurdles well, and can be versatile if required and I think he’ll be on the premises at least come March.
Punjabi won at 22/1 in the CH last year; wasn’t expected to come anywhere close and I just feel that that day was his day and his overall record and profile just falls of top class (has been beaten by Ashkazar, Wingman, Khyber Kim) – I’m probably reading that wrong but this is just the feeling I get.
I would be tempted to go for the Champion Hurdle if i was the trainer of Dunguib.
There are so many horses that you could give merit to, but then also a few that you can put question marks against.
The thing to remember about Dunguib is that he is 7, so he isn’t a young horse.
If he didn’t go down the Champion Hurdle route this year, he would be 8 when he had a go at it next year, which isn’t very young.
) should have covered themselves for the Champion Hurdle anyway.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.