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Regulars here will know I used to have ‘a dog in this fight’, so I can’t claim that this post will be wholly unbiased.
Below is an extract from CT’s quote today:
How does the first sentence make any sense given what he says later? Effectively, he’s saying, ‘Don’t blame the trapped epiglottis for his poor form, then goes on to say the horse hasn’t been able to breathe since that dramatic stop in the King George.
Why the reporter did not ask him what he was doing running a horse time and again that he knew could not breathe? Anyone who knows the horse (and most with a few years experience watching any horse) could see he was packing it in as soon as he came under pressure (nowt to do with stamina).
How do connections (The New One was another example) convince themselves that all will come right if they just keep on running?
“A lot of people are making out that the trapped epiglottis was stopping him [before this season], but now he has got his confidence back he’s just very healthy at the moment and as they say class is permanent and form is temporary,” he said on Sunday morning.
“I think the horse was sheer class yesterday. Paddy is enjoying being on him and we’re enjoying having him riding too.
“Just watching it, it was unreal. He was supreme yesterday.
“I saw him here at 7 o’clock. The morning sun was shining in his stable and he was a happy boy. He trotted out fine. We’ll lead him out in a moment for a pick of grass and then he’ll have the day off.”
Tizzard was asked whether he felt that the track at Kempton might not play to his strengths.
“I don’t think I’ve ever thought that,” he said. “I don’t think he’s ever been like he is now. He looked all over the winner once at Kempton when he stopped [two years ago when second to Silviniaco Conti] and that was when we sort of spoke to Ben Brain who did the wind operation and it might just have been trapping him a little bit then. Last spring he was dreadful, he just couldn’t breathe. And it may then [in the 2013 race] have momentarily trapped for two strides and then released itself. That’s what we were thinking but we don’t know that. It’s just probably that he is right bang in the full health of his life – left or right, up or down I don’t think it makes a difference at the moment.”
I can’t see the excuse for a 20 length beating in 2012 in there? Right at a time where before and after Kempton he was right at the top of his game?
Would love to believe that after winning a Charlie Hall and Betfair Chase he’s now the top staying chaser in the game…I highly doubt it though…
This is what I’m trying to understand when looking at Cue Card and his March target(s). The way he ran yesterday left the impression that staying wouldn’t be a problem after all for him since his breathing has been fixed.
My question is now: By getting more oxygen into your lungs and body, does this make you a stayer at all?
The form yesterday (Lancashire Chase) was excellent. If you rate Dynaste’s usual non-staying performance at around 155 and give Conti the benefit of a slightly below-par run and therefore a rating of just around 165, then Cue Card would have performed at around 172/173. Now don’t expect anyone, with the exception of Coneygree, to get close to the 180 mark (in the GC). I don’t think Vautour is a 3m2f horse around Cheltenham, especially not when the going becomes soft.From what I saw yesterday and depending how Coneygree comes out of the Hennessy (if he runs in it) Cue Card would be my likely favorite for the King George and I would expect connections to run him in the Gold Gup instead of the Ryanair, even if he won’t be chasing the bonus.
I’m not saying that he could stay 3m2f at the Festival (no matter how good the ground might be), but he definitely would be my horse for the KG and I would prefer him to Vautour in any race over 3m+. But, just in case that Coneygree wouldn’t run in the GC (or I would be betting without him), what price should Cue Card be?
A mature, healthy Cue Card has always been capable of winning either a QM or Gold Cup imo – he’s that good.
There were so many posts about his ‘questionable’ stamina, I just stopped responding to them. He doesn’t have a stamina problem – never has had. It was pressure that caused him problems. Pressure tends to come toward the end of races, so people doubted his stamina. He just couldn’t get sufficient oxygen to his muscles.
It shows you what an engine he has, the fact that he could still produce respectable performances in defeat.
I liked him from day one.
I cannot for the life of me see what will beat him in the King George.
I just hate backing ante post.I liked him from day one.
I cannot for the life of me see what will beat him in the King George.
I just hate backing ante post.The time he posted yesterday was fantastic given the fact that the ground was rather soft. And I also think yesterday’s performance would have put a Kauto Star at his very best in serious trouble.
It’s the same with me about backing a horse ante post, especially with cold weather expected in the next few weeks You never know what might go wrong. But if he performs like Saturday he would deserve to be a worthy fav.
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