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I don’t think there’s any way that Burdett Road could beat an on song Constitution Hill, Rob, but if he goes hell for leather he might see off enough of the others to land the each way bet…
They might run Lossiemouth here now to avoid her…
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
There might be a Brighterdaysahead v State Man part 3 in the Irish Champion Hurdle. Gordon Elliott hinted that race as a possible next race.
The Hill, Lossie’ and Brighter’ all in the Champion would be great for Racing.
Not great to have all my Ten To Follow hurdlers in the same race though.
Value Is EverythingDidn’t we have this before in the year Espoir D’allen won? Apples Jade was smashing everything out of sight and would have been in the mares but they had no choice because of how good she’d looked. Willie had nothing so stuck Laurina in and there was the defending champ Buveur D’air and then something else won by miles lol. What a shame we never saw Espoir D’allen again. This is mostly in jest by the way I know the Hill is miles better than Buveur D’Air although he’s also not the defending champ. I think the mares parallels might not be so wide of the mark though.
Imagine you are a racehorse owner who has two horses that both look top class 2 mile hurdlers and yet one of them runs in a novice chase and the other in a handicap hurdle at Cheltenham. This is the case with Mrs Donnelly who has both Sir Gino and Anzadam as well as last years CH winner Stateman. Both are entered in the Champion Hurdle and it seems that Sir Gino would only run if Constitution Hill was a non runner or maybe even if Stateman fails to recover his form. Anzadam is entered in the Irish Champion Hurdle and if he were to win or run well he would ruin his handicap mark in the County Hurdle. On his current handicap which would likely to be in the low to mid 150s he would look a good thing for the County Hurdle. So if it looks like Anzadam is going to miss the Irish Champion Hurdle then it seems likely he will run in the County Hurdle as his current odds of 12/1 will shrink. It’s also interesting that the most likely target for Mystical Power will be the County Hurdle if the betting is anything to go by as he is also vying for fav at 12/1. As for the big race itself I took some of the 8/1 on Lossiemouth following the over-reaction to her defeat in the Christmas Hurdle. I cannot see Paul Townend riding anything other than Lossiemouth unless Anzadam wins the Irish Champion Hurdle. Anything can happen in racing but it would not surprise me if Anzadam lines up for the 2026 CH as favourite and it may be wise to get a bet on the 2026 race as soon as odds are available and the 10/1 NRNB with Hills for this years CH and the 12/1 for the County look a no brainer to me.. Here is the video of him winning his most recent race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3twbyRym3AM
Anzadam now shorter in the market than State Man.
I take from that State Man is not going well at home.
I would not be surprised if he’s run his last race.Value Is EverythingAnzadam can’t run in the County hurdle, he needs 2 more runs to qualify for a mark and there isn’t enough time.
If he wins the Irish champion then he’ll be going to the Champion , he’s a could be anything and looks in my eyes the value play , I’ll be honest I’m just wanting to know what happens if the hill comes off the bridle …. I’m just not convinced there is going to be a lot … however he doesn’t come off the bridle , if Anzadam wins the Irish in convincing fashion then we could have race
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Is Brighterdaysahead going to run in the Irish Champion?
If so I hope connections don’t run her so hard as they did last time. I know if they don’t then the others will have a greater chance of beating her. Especially Anzadam who has a great turn of speed for a slower run race. But if she goes a very strong pace then a harder race results in a longer recovery time needed. Reducing her chance of running to form / winning at Cheltenham. So I suspect if BDA does run in the Irish Champion it won’t be an all guns blazing ride.That said, the improvement in BDA’s jumping last time was noticeable too. Will she jump as well with horses around her?
Value Is EverythingAnzadam is not a novice, the four runs requirement for County Hurdle is for novices. Owners and Trainers are reminded that from October 1st, a novice horse shall only be qualified to run in a Class 1 or Class 2 Handicap Hurdle Race if it has run a minimum of four times in Hurdle races in Great Britain, Ireland or France in accordance with paragraph 15 of the Weights and Handicapping Code
The thing about Anzadam is that he’s open to so much improvement having
only run, and won, the race at Fairyhouse. Townend rode him like he
couldn’t be beat. He moved up when he wanted and left them for dead
after the last hurdle. He has a big stride, I remember the first time
I saw Mr Mulligan race, and Anzadam reminded me of him.If he goes to the Irish Champion Hurdle and wins, and I think he will,
his price for Champion Hurdle will half. I’ve been trying to hold on to
see if there is any word that he will ride here, but Willie never lets
the cat out the bag. Brighterdaysahead will go for the Mares’ Hurdle I
reckon and I don’t think Willie will want to run Lossiemouth against
Constitution Hill so Anzadam could end up 2nd fav.I’m taking the 12s whilst they are still available.
Anzadam 12/1 Paddy Power
“Anzadam is not a novice, the four runs requirement for County Hurdle is for novices”
I thought they had to have 5 hurdle runs for all the handicap hurdles except the Fred Winter (3) and the handicap chasers all had to have 4 runs except the NH chase and the …2.5m novices handicap chase (dunno if they will transfer the Golden Miller name. The handicappified Turners. Not the new Turners Binghamy Neptune. The old JLTMarshTurners. The Jewson. Well actually it is effectively the old Jewson. The Close Brothers. Thing. But unlimited. I think. ) Anyway, 3 runs for those two novice handicap chases I think.
Willie Mullins when interviewed after Lossiemouth ran at Kempton said she may well run at Cheltenham at the end of January in the International Hurdle. Running his best two hurdlers (Lossiemouth and Anzadam) in the Irish Champion Hurdle in February could result in them having a hard race and damaging their CH prospects. Brighterdayahead may also miss the Irish Champion Hurdle as she would not beat Anzadam for speed so would have to make it a test of stamina by front running and taking the edge off her for Cheltenham. So I think Anzadam will run in the Irish race and 6/1 is a great price. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyk442RNkvQ&t=145s
SP,
The “two best hurdlers” Willie was talking about at Kempton were I presume Lossiemouth and State Man… Before State Man disappointed in the Neville Hotels. ie When saying about keeping his best apart he knew who his best two were. Right now Anzadam is some way behind on literal form. I suspect Willie wants to know who are his best hurdlers for Cheltenham. Whether State Man can come back to his best, whether Lossie has the speed and whether Anzadam has the class. So it makes sense to run them against each other and take the chance they don’t damage their Champion prospects of having a hard race.With Mullins seemingly not having as much fire power as other years (especially compared to last year) there is also less of a need to go to England.
Value Is Everything
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