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Agreed, Helcat. 👍
Melbourne Cup v Champion Hurdle is an absolute no-brainer. For those who haven’t seen it, here’s the interview with Buckley this morning:
Unibet are still the sponsors of the race. I guess they wouldn’t mind Nicky having a runner in the race….
What’s Buveur D’Air up to these days?
After all, he’s better than Bird’s Nest, Lanzarote, Dramatist, Beacon Light, Faugheen. Annie Power, Arkle, Flyingbolt, Carvill’s Hill, Desert Orchid, Kauto Star, Sprinter Sacre, Altior, Constitution Hill, State Man, Frankel, Secretariat, Dancing Brave, Flightline, Ka Ying Rising (I could go on but I’m bored now)- he won two Champion Hurdles, don’t you know?
Buckley (and Nicky) still didn’t get over the Champion Hurdles he hasn’t won. It’s a bit arrogant to think that your horse and your horse only is entitled to win the race since there is no standout opponent in it.
I think Golden Ace stands out when it comes to slick and efficient hurdling. Something CH hast lost completely over the past two seasons. Why isn’t he talking about the other horses’ skills and strengths? He is just looking for excuses (horse’s mind, lung infection from two years ago) and thinks that one A.W. race has sorted out all of CH’s problems. It hasn’t quite, but the horse surely was a lot happier than after it’s previous four starts. It came home with a jockey aboard and didn’t experience painful falls. I’d love to see Mr. Buckley running at full speed and then stumble over some obstacle…..
A novice chaser was 2nd in last MC , he only needs to place in group 3 over 2300 plus to qualify , he will get enough weight from that in all likelihood then they can set there own path . Adverse scans could scupper him , but Ozzies will love him , a horse that was finished fronting up will go off the scale
I can count 3 champion hurdles are more than 1 Glad , shame you can’t understand what a closed question is … and also can’t answer 1 …
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Istabraq may have won 3 Champion Hurdles but he only had 4 pages
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Don’t get me wrong Constitution Hill in my eyes was phenomenal in his Champion Hurdle win and is one of three races I often pull up to watch, the other two being Frankel’s Guineas and Arazi at the Breeders Cup. I understood Frankel’s superstar status he turned up and beat them all and I will probably never see his like in my lifetime, handled superbly by the late Henry Cecil but I don’t get it with Constitution Hill are we pinning it on what could be on past endeavours?
The more I know the less I understand.
The superstars pull it out even when things are against them , Frankel and Dessie both won big races when things were against them , Reference Point won a derby despite a very interrupted prep , The big difference between Cecil and Henderson is Cecil knew exactly what his horses would do , was there any chance of Frankel running in a derby …. No , Cecil is the greatest ever in my eyes and no trainer was ever more loved by the public , we know he really did love his horses
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
If we are talking about great horses, there is only one in my view and this is ARKLE. The reason I say this is that after Arkle saw off Mill House they could not handicap any horse to give them a chance of winning. So if Arkle was off top weight and every other horse was off bottom weight they still could beat him. So in England they changed the rules – if Arkle was entered the top weight would be the standard top weight + 7lb. In my view this was disgraceful and as it turned out it did not last for long. But the damage was done; I remember it well. The English authorities deny it, but the Irish have not forgotten.
Now there is no doubt that Frenkel was a great horse and no other could get near him on level weights. But I doubt if Frenkel could give 21lb to every horse.
My post wasn’t about who is the greatest but why he has been put on such a high pedestal.
The more I know the less I understand.
Really don’t like his owner after listening to the interview. No reason to make a snide comment about Keir Starmer and then, to add insult to injury make a disparaging comment about Musselburgh.
The problem is every horse now has to be a superstar , you can’t just be a very good winner , the hill put in 2/3 brilliant performances a few years ago however you can’t hide from the fact he’s last runs have produced form figures of a average plater , this he just had to turn up and jump attitude is just wrong
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
HDLG, his ability to destroy a modest CH field is still there. As stated before, if this year’s Champion Hurdle would be a 2 mile Bumper he would be somewhere between 1/3 and 1/5 after his Southwell romp. I made it a theoretical 4/6 chance before his AW outing, but now I’m fully convinced that his Flat ability is there.
Buckley and Hendo ignore his jumping frailties and the worst part of the interview was the onwer admitting that he was sent to Punchestown in terrible shape. That was the icing on the cake, surel in a negative way.
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