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“Talk about a gut punch for those going to Ascot”
Like buying something you’ve wanted for a good while and received damaged goods.
If you think a time eight seconds slower than the RP standard causes you trouble, Honeysuckle should be 1/3 for the CH.
Paul Nicholls today: “Some people don’t like running. The ground is not that bad at Ascot. Sometimes you have to take the wraps of these horses, you don’t win races in your stable.”
Running racehorses in races on a racecourse, Mr Nicholls? What are you thinking!!
I’m one of the first to stick up for Henderson but I can’t see how the going was a problem today
“Flat horses and jump horses ain’t the same.”
Dual purpose horse??
Blackbeard to conquer the World
The attached article by Kevin Blake written back in April is quite pertinent:
OK, the point about a 5 day Cheltenham is obsolete (for now). But the rest is still relevant, especially this:
“It has also become worryingly more common for welfare to be cited as a justification for not running horses in circumstances their trainer feels might not be perfect, with Nicky Henderson having taken that route on a number of high profile occasions in recent times.
When trainers as respected as Henderson take such an obviously dangerous route with their commentary, it is inevitable that followers of racing will take it on board and parrot it. Is the natural conclusion of such a narrative going to be that running a horse in anything other than perfect conditions is considered putting the horse’s welfare at risk? If so, National Hunt racing really is in trouble.”
And yet summer jumping is still a thing – surely those trainers should all be charged with horse welfare crimes because we all now know how utterly unsafe ground quicker than good to soft is for the horse.
While we are at it lets also charge all those trainers that let their horses run today at Ascot as well as they clearly put those poor horses at undue risk and the BHA should issue an immediate rule that no NH racing can take place on ground faster than soft and should be abandoned with immediate effect if the ground changes to heavy.
Racing has elevated the ‘Shooting yourself in the foot’ syndrome into a sublime continuous art form – those who want racing banned permanently should not even bother protesting but just sit back and watch the sport do the job for them.
Very disappointing day all round.
Very interesting to see two completely at odds viewpoints from NH and PN. I know which camp i am in. I love the Festival but its not all about four days in march we all know that surely? These racecourses with big saturday headline meetings must be furious.
Just to throw this out there i do wonder if Nicky has an eye on retiring?No idea how many horses he has lost to injuries on the track over the years but i would imagine that over the years they start to weigh on you and maybe it can cloud his feelings on running or not running? I cant believe that Paul Nicholls doesn’t care about horse welfare so with that in mind to see such different viewpoints from two well respected experts of their craft is puzzling.
Alan King and Venetia Williams, predictably, haven’t received the level of criticism Nicky has for doing the same thing.
That said, mudlark Goshen winning the race seems to indicate it was far from quick conditions and nowhere near the ‘unsafe’ ground being mentioned or insinuated by some trainers and pundits.
Abandon racing until March with the exception of a couple of Newbury and Kempton behind closed doors gallops. Problem solved.
“I do wonder if Nicky has an eye on retiring?No idea how many horses he has lost to injuries on the track over the years but I would imagine that over the years they start to weigh on you and maybe it can cloud his feelings on running or not running?”
I wonder if running Altior on this card a few years ago is still playing on his mind. He was beaten and was never really the same. Henderson implied he felt under pressure to run him and regretted it. Since then I think he has been quite defensive.
In that case, Henderson would at least have had a good reason for withdrawing the horse. The step up in distance was arguably not necessary, especially on deep ground against a good horse who ran the track so well.
He had no such excuse today. The ground was fine and he is massively better than the opposition.
How much did Nicholls make today compared to Henderson , as a punter at least you’ll know you’ll get a run with Nicholls
“Alan King and Venetia Williams, predictably, haven’t received the level of criticism Nicky has for doing the same thing.”
If anything, King was worse. As I said earlier, I do not see how he can say he has long standing concerns about the ground at Ascot jarring up his horses – but then enter the best jumping horse in his stable in a handicap under top weight.
I can understand William’s decision a little bit more, given how most of her horses like deep ground and she had not had a winner for such a long time (until she won the last at Haydock).
Seven Barrows is, and always has been, a Cheltenham Festival winner factory.
Their myopic focus is on those four eyes in March.
If you’re on Constitution Hill for the Champion Hurdle or Jonbon for the Arkle your horse couldn’t be in better hands.
But if you want to see good horses openly campaigned all season it’s horrific.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Henderson said: “I wouldn’t run anything on it to be honest with you. I’ve also had to take out our bumper horse, who is very very nice and I’m not risking him either.”
I appreciate it is not always easy when a microphone is stuck in front of you but I think that is an irresponsible thing for a senior trainer to say. He is in effect saying the ground was unsuitable for racing.
I’m on Constitution Hill, Jonbon, Galopin des Champs and Facile Vega all to win any race at 150/1 quad
Henderson will look after the two.
Mullins will get GDC in the right race.
And Facile Vega could hit every hurdle on the course and still winI can smell the money…💸💸💸
Blackbeard to conquer the World
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