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Just read it on the RP site.
Not quite sure about this. He is already 11, he took a pretty bad tumble early in the year and he’s lost his sparkle even over hurdles for a race or two. I’m sure he’ll win a couple of novice chases, but in a hot G1 on faster ground, I see him rather in trouble.The Mullins team have obviously tried him at home over fences and if this hadn’t gone to plan wouldn’t have thought they would have risked him. After been beat by PP in the Stayers last Cheltenham they are hardly going to reverse form with a 12 year old (come 2020) against a much younger horse possibly open to more improvement.
I’m thinking he is obviously showing some sparkle and as he is lightly raced, albeit due to injury, they must think it’s worth a shot. As you say they will obviously be hoping for soft ground for a campaign in Ireland before even thinking about Cheltenham next spring.
No keen on this; he is good enough o pick up a few small races, but the light has dimmed and I’d rather remember him in his heyday, electric to watch and but for injury, could have run up a sequence.
One of my betting strategies is to always go against those transferring to jumps from hurdles late in a career. So many have disappointed and simply fail to adapt. This isn’t just late its a whisker away from retirement.
At the time Vautour and him took the Supreme & Neptune respectively I would have said Faugheen was nailed on to go chasing as he had already won a point to point over 3 miles before he ran in bumpers and his prep race for the Neptune was a 3m hurdle on heavy ground – that all screamed future Gold Cup winner to me so I was very surprised when they went the other way.
Conflicted on whether this is a good idea as he is a bit long in the tooth to be going this route now plus when he met his hurdles on a good stride he was a very good jumper but he didn’t really seem to get the concept of shortening up to an hurdle when on a wrong stride and tended to sprawl a bit with his hind legs – not something you will get away with over a fence.
If they do this, I just pray it doesn’t end up with a situation like we sadly had when losing Wicklow Brave as in my mind I have visions of him doing something similar over fences to what he did when he had that horrific fall at Leopardstown.
Maybe discretion should be the better part of valour and they should ask no more of the aging machine.
Crazy decision, unless he’s jumping like a stag and running better than he ever has. After what has just happened to Wicklow Brave, they should really just let the horse retire. I look forward to seeing him run again, but he’s never going to reach near his best, he never really showed his true ability in my opinion and he’s not going to do that changing discipline at 11.
pointless how many 12 year olds win graded novice chases! might just as well retire him and let us all remember how great a hurdler he was.
I’d rather watch a Novice Chase with Faugheen running in it, than one with him not. Am amazed this isn’t a universal view tbh. Strange lot, racing fans.
BUY THE SUN
I suppose there are two elements to this: put baldly-
– It would be a bit sad to see him looking a shadow of his “Machine” days
– Wouldn’t it be awful if he got killed
(More awful than if he was just some nobody horse??)From Brian O’Connor’s blog:
The view seems to be that asking such a gilded performer to start over fences at the age of 11 is unfair.It’s not hard to see how such sentiment might arise in the specific case of such a popular horse as ‘The Machine’ undoubtedly is. But in an overall context it’s surely misplaced. Either racing can stand over the challenge steeplechasing presents or it can’t. If it’s a fair and reasonable test for an ordinary horse then it has to be for a luminary too.
When retired racehorses take up new pursuits such as three day eventing or team chasing- over varying obstacles, some very solid, on a surface that has not been professionally prepared as they are used to and with assistance from the saddle that is a lot less professional than they are used to- we are all supposed to get the warm fuzzies.
(Except for ex G1 horses going point to pointing, which- depending on how successful they are- is either a sad decline or unsporting pot hunting. But team chasing isn’t. Weird, huh?)I predict:
– wins a soft beginners chase, goes lame in training again, gets retired or
– wins a soft beginners chase, gets beaten by a couple of young hotshots in graded novice chases, goes to the RSA anyway, gets pulled up, retirement announced, canters past the stands to more cheers than the winner
I agree with LD73; I presumed Faugheen rather than Vautour would go chasing. He looked a certain Gold Cup winner, but Mullins must have had his reasons
An injury to Vautour prior to a hurdle race after their novice season prompted Mullins / Ricci to parachute Faugheen in. The die was cast and the rest is history and the planned Novice Chase campaign was shelved. Until now.
As a PtP winner staying chases were long thought to be his end game. Fair to say he was an accidental Champion hurdler, but what an accident!
Vividly recall Mullins comments after the Sunalliance Hurdle, “Vautour would be in a different league to Faugheen.”
BUY THE SUN
Faugheen seemed to be at his best at Punchestown whilst Cheltenham was Vautour’s course.
Punchestown Festival winning margins
2014 – Faugheen 12 lengths; Vautour 3.5
2015 – F 8
2016 – V Beaten into 2nd
2018 – F 13Cheltenhan Festival –
2014 – Faugheen – 4.5 leghths; Vautour 6 lengths
2015 – F 1.5; V 15
2016 – V 6
2018 – F Beaten into 6th
2019 – F Beaten into 3rdSo I wouldn’t say Vautour was in a totally different league.
Clearly not, but either Vautour was an outrageously good worker or Faugheen was bone idle, for mullins to get it so publicly wrong.
BUY THE SUN
I would say Vautour had much more tactical speed than Faugheen has – the faster the gallop the better for him hence why he usually did his own donkey work over 2m.
Sadly the injuries robbed us of his prime years as personally I am certain had he not had them then we would have been looking at another triple champion hurdler, he would have won 2016 when Annie Power deputised for him and I think he would have also beaten Buveur d’Air in 2017 to.
Fingers crossed if they do go chasing with him he gets through it in one piece as I believe this will be the final season of racing for him regardless but I really think there is a very good chance it could be a one and done as he doesn’t seem to be able to string two good runs together now.
Fingers crossed if they do go chasing with him he gets through it in one piece as I believe this will be the final season of racing for him regardless but I really think there is a very good chance it could be a one and done as he doesn’t seem to be able to string two good runs together now.
Last time he won two on the trot was back in the 2015/2016 season when he won the Christmas Hurdle and the Irish Champion Hurdle. He was still electric at that time winning by 15 and 7 lengths respectively.
If there is nothing decent in his first couple of races, either from Gigginstown or from his own stable, he should win over fences. But on faster ground and against speedier rivals he represents a high risk.Just in case they’re thinking Cheltenham, it can only be the JLT. Too slow and way too old for an Arkle, but also not enough stamina for a gruelling RSA…..
I hope they have a rethink. It sounds like a very bad idea to me and the horse owes them nothing.
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