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With a few to come out and a chance of State Man trying to beat C H and falling in a hole im going to keep playing Pied Piper at huge prices , Vauban is 12s , Pied is 66s ( also played 80s ) last time there was a length between them , theres value there in my eyes
Backed Sharjah at 50’s. Okay he’s now ten and won’t be improving but twice placed and hopefully he can get in the frame.
Only 7 runners; poor turnout. Crikey, that is cr@p for one of the main races.
I’d also backed Sharjah e/w at 50s NRNB.
Only 7 left here. Friday will see the highest quality County hurdle field ever for sure.
I’m on CH at 100/30 so glad there will hopefully be less to get in his way. I’m praying Not so Sleepy stays well out of it as he’s a nutcase.
The week’s ‘Reading the Programme Book Prize’ has to go to Phil Kirby. Jason The Militant presumably won’t live with the other six, but only has to pootle round to collect a minimum of £2970, and if one of the others over race then there’s always the chance of a bit more.
I know we expected it but all four mares entered for the Champion Hurdle, taken out and running in the Mares. It is what it is I suppose but I don’t like it.
I don’t mind it, in the olden days they’d probably have been mooching round a field with a belly full of baby by now. Flakey Dove didn’t try to defend her Champion Hurdle crown- she was second in the Bula and the Relkeel but had retired to the paddocks by the Cheltenham Festival. Most good mares probably never stayed in training as long as that back then.
If I owned Honeysuckle or Epatante I’d be quite happy that there is another race that is more winnable i could go for.
For me think it’s more a case of having the last three winners of the Champion Hurdle running in the Mares; doesn’t sit easy with me.
Both those mares are 9 years old. Hurricane Fly ran in, and won, the Champion Hurdle at 9 but he’d still been winning grade 1s all round him that season and only had Rock on Ruby and Countrywide Flame to fill the places. Binocular, also aged 9, ran in that race and was walloped.
Jezki was running (and getting walloped) in the Stayers at that age; Faugheen was injured, then got walloped in the Champion Hurdle at 10, finished a respectable 3rd in the Stayers at 11 then went novice chasing.
Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca both placed in the Champion Hurdle at the age of 9 and contributed to the excitement of the race but I don’t think Honey or Epatante would do that this year.
The Cheltenham Festival should not be about creating more opportunities for multimillionaire owners to stand in the winner’s enclosure and say “Look at me. I have had yet another Cheltenham Festival winner!” It should be about the best horses racing against each other.
The simple solution is to make the Mares Hurdle a 0-150 handicap. Anything rated above has to run in either the Champion or the Stayers. They receive a 7lb allowance, so what’s the problem?
Even better: scrap the Mares Hurdle and go back to a 3 day festival. But I am realistic enough to recognise that ship sailed long ago.
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