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I’ve read some pretty harsh comments regarding Don Poli here and elsewhere in the past 24 hours.
He hasn’t always looked so bereft of pace but that was the most disappointing aspect of yesterday’s run – it was far and away the single worst performace of his life. The way people are talking that is his normal form but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
He rarely if ever runs a bad race. He was beaten 15 lengths in the Gold Cup despite being given an extremely questionable ride. He was then 2nd at Aintree under a far better ride, readily reversing form with Djakadam and finding a brilliant Cue Card performance too good. It’s not a massive leap to suggest under similar tactics at Cheltenham he’d have been far closer – the course and distance of a Gold Cup being more suitable for him than 3m at Aintree I’d expect he was capable of better still at the Festival.
He’s always been lazy but not to the point where he lost ground on his opponents.
The vibes before the race yesterday were mixed. They applied first time cheek pieces – why do this now if the race was only a prep for something later in the season?
If I were the O’Learys I’d be asking why my borderline Gold Cup class chaser has gone from mixing it with the best staying chasers around to being pulled up half a mile out against mostly second rate opposition in the space of six months.
Any horse can have one bad run but it seemed from the comments from Elliott beforehand that this was almost expected.
For me this was far more disappointing than the Apples Jade run.
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On an unrelated note, Noel Meade must have been kicking himself after the JN Wine. Not only did Monksland look to be travelling very well when coming to grief but Valseur Lido’s old nemesis Apache Stronghold is sidelined for another season.
Don poli and apples jade weren’t fit. If they were with Mullins they wouldn’t have been running this weekend. Elliot with don poli is looking for a nice mark in the grand national and so won’t do anything of note until after the weights are announced IMO. He is turning a top class grade one horse into a handicapper. With apples jade he is just useless at training 2 mile hurdlers.
Spot on, Tommy. There’s something wrong somewhere. Not the same animal who strode so majestically up the hill in the RSA – not the greatest renewal, but he won it easily and in the fashion of a very honest horse.
I’ve spent a while trying to figure out what’s amiss. That was one of the reasons I suggested in the race thread that they might want to roust him along from early and not let him switch off. That’s what I thought Geraghty was doing, but perhaps he was simply trying to keep him in the race. I don’t wish to be uncharitable to Barry, but my first thought when he stopped riding was that he’d got tired before the horse.
I can see nothing in DP’s running style that suggests he’s hurting somewhere, but it can never be discounted (I’ve referred here before to Bird’s Nest’s heart condition, which went undiscovered until he died).
Only other thing I can think of is that it’s been two years since he ran a decent race right-handed.
I can’t see him being run down the park to get a lower mark in the National. Firstly, he was quite strongly supported yesterday, secondly, horses of his class already have all the weight advantages of the Aintree factor.
A mystery. I hope they solve it.
Beforehand I thought Don Poli might be going to have an easy first run, with an eye on the Grand National weights. But the way he was ridden now doubt that to be the case. Or at least if so nobody told Barry, tracking the pace and asking for more from the start. We know he goes on the ground yet put in a career worst jumping display (usually enthusiastic leaper and accurate). Three miles on good ground is a minimum for him these days – especially in this grade – however, should’ve travelled with better fluency than that. Cheek pieces applied which could be seen as trying to sharpen him up; alternatively could easily be showing signs of temperament at home. Taking all of this in to consideration imo Don Poli is now either moody or something physically amiss or both. Fingers crossed they can sort it out.
Value Is EverythingA horse I always liked but he appeared soured by racing yesterday. Almost looked ungenuine.
However some of Elliott’s horses have run poorly recently for no apparent reason but have gone unnoticed because he is still getting lots of winners.
I wonder if he as 2 yards and one of them may have a slight bug?
Who knows but a very disappointing run.I’m another one on here who likes DP, and as puzzled as others by what’s up with the horse.
Watching Barry yesterday, I was minded initially of another similar, if smaller, staying chaser whom he had to work hard on for much of the way – Bob’s Worth. Bob too would never have been able to row along at the pace SC was setting up front, especially on that ground. Staying chasers all have a rhythm – and DP’s I think is half a stride slower than the pace of yesterday’s race, set by an on song and fit SC. That alone could explain yesterday, although – as I watched the VT – I did think ‘he’s not that fit’, so I can see where TWM is coming from in saying that.
On reflection, though, I agree with others that there’s more to this than that. Remembering back to WPM’s comments after the RSA, DP has always been a bit of an enigma for trainers – precisely because he is lazy rather than flashy. Not only is it difficult to tell how good a lazy horse is at home, it’s also difficult to know when they’re not firing. The effect for DP, when he was at Closutton, is that he was off racing when other stars were kept in their boxes or roughed off. Look back over DP’s form and you see this: there is the excellent run in the RSA (a race that is well known for bottoming horses … look at the subsequent form of those in behind him) followed by a last of five effort behind VL at Punchestown. It was the same story last year as well. Not only had he those hard fought, gutsy winning efforts at Aintree and then in the Lexus (which must have taken it out of him), but he then took in the big staying G1s at all three of the spring festivals. Personally, I think sending him to Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown was ‘going to the well too often’ – especially for an honest horse like DP.
I suspect that it’s the legacy of the past two seasons that may be part of what GE is dealing with – and it possibly explains the cheek pieces. The other part of the equation though, now that DP is with GE, is that DP is no DC – and, inevitably, this is what GE will think of as the marker of a GC horse. By comparison to DC, DP will seem slow. He is more of a Synchronised type of a horse – a good staying chaser. Yes these sorts can win GCs, and other weak G1s, but only when there are no stars around – and repeatedly running them at this level against the best will eventually sour them. So the National target actually does make sense for DP right now – especially as Giggi will now be looking at VL as another GC possible. I just hope, now that they’ve worked out what he is, that he is actually given the chance to enjoy racing again – and, if he doesn’t, that he’s allowed to do something else instead.
maybe all these horses are just pissed off? had a happy time with their old pals at the mullins yard now out of nowhere they’re shipped off someplace new and are stuck lodging with a bunch of bumper donkeys at elliots.
Tommy, I was expecting to see an image of a snail when opening this thread
I’m being harsh as he does have previous form in the book but I can’t see him living with ThistlecrackGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Elliot just told Gary O’Brien on ATR that Don Poli will go hunting for a few weeks and they will reassess and get another race into him before xmas.
What is going on, I’m a big Don Poli fan and baffled with developments.Somewhere in the Irish countryside…
Reynard 1 “You hear about Don Poli?”
Reynard 2 “What was that?”
Reynard 1 “Going hunting.”
Reynard 2 “Great. I’ll tell granddad he can get out and about again!”
Elliot just told Gary O’Brien on ATR that Don Poli will go hunting for a few weeks and they will reassess and get another race into him before xmas.
What is going on, I’ve a big Don Poli fan and baffled with developments.You don’t get many tortoises in the countryside
What’s going on is obvious. DP will get dropped 2/3 pounds for the down royal run, will return from his ‘hunting’ as fat as a fool, run in the Lexus or something and get beaten easily again, possibly one more heavy defeat at some stage in February, get dropped another couple of pounds and get a mark of about 155 for the Grand National and carry about 11st 4. Will turn up at aintree looking much fitter with cheekpieces applied, be heavily backed, and run a big race.
What’s going on is obvious. DP will get dropped 2/3 pounds for the down royal run, will return from his ‘hunting’ as fat as a fool, run in the Lexus or something and get beaten easily again, possibly one more heavy defeat at some stage in February, get dropped another couple of pounds and get a mark of about 155 for the Grand National and carry about 11st 4. Will turn up at aintree looking much fitter with cheekpieces applied, be heavily backed, and run a big race.
Couldn’t agree more, a Gordon Elliot special that.
i have really enjoyed all the chat about DON POLI. never been 1 of my fav horses. just a thought but could it be that DON has not trained on. just a suggestion guys
Losing fav again.
Must be the most overrated horse in training.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Losing fav again.
Must be the most overrated horse in training.Don Poli ran a poor race on reapperance and I was critical, but probably just something amiss as he’s run well since.
His ability (at atound 3m) is established. There were no real top quality horses in the race today and he was 9/4 fav, not odds-on. So he was in no way a probable winner.
Last time out Don Poli ran well at 12/1 to be 2 1/4 lengths 2nd in the Lexus. Not over-rated there.
Before today, won the last twice he’s started favourite.
Won 6 of his 8 races when starting favourite.
He’s won 8 of his 16 races, 2nd 4 times and 3rd twice.
If backing blind Don Poli would’ve made a profit of £16.14 to a £ stake.
Is he over-rated? Not in my opinion, exposed at 3m as just below top class.Ran as well as I expected today, outpaced on the run-in by a couple who have more speed and were unexposed at the trip. Good Grand National trial imo. Jumped well, likely to be top weight and therefore let in around 5 lbs well-in and could improve a bit more given an extreme test of stamina.
Value Is Everything
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