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Totally agree. Mentioned it above a few weeks ago. Hammered him from 16/1 down. Barber is a really talented point trainer. Nearly won this with Chapoturgeon too.
As I mentioned before it quite often goes to an up and comer when there is one in the field.
OTF is the one to beat obviously. He is nails but he is 12 too. I have saved on him.
Biddick is one of the stronger jocks too. There is mention of required soft but not sure if this is true.
I really do hope Wonderful Charm doesn’t win this. This is an above-decent racehorse who if he ran in the Nation Trial yesterday would have carried top-weight. The foxhunters at Cheltenham & Aintree were meant to be for the grass-roots lads who support the point to pointing scene so that they can bring their proper hunter chase types to a big festival with horses who would otherwise never get the chance on a big stage, it’s being turned into a veteran’s race for ex-top class racehorses. How must the trainers feel when they bring their prolific pointer to this only to see it demolished by a horse who was not beaten far by Don Cossack and see Paul Nicholls, the Champion Trainer, collect a trophy? Cheltenham & Aintree should bring in a some more criteria to make this race worth running once again.
I really do hope Wonderful Charm doesn’t win this. This is an above-decent racehorse who if he ran in the Nation Trial yesterday would have carried top-weight. The foxhunters at Cheltenham & Aintree were meant to be for the grass-roots lads who support the point to pointing scene so that they can bring their proper hunter chase types to a big festival with horses who would otherwise never get the chance on a big stage, it’s being turned into a veteran’s race for ex-top class racehorses. How must the trainers feel when they bring their prolific pointer to this only to see it demolished by a horse who was not beaten far by Don Cossack and see Paul Nicholls, the Champion Trainer, collect a trophy? Cheltenham & Aintree should bring in a some more criteria to make this race worth running once again.
There has always been that undercurrent when top trainers have a dabble at this race. I wouldn’t worry too much. Most of these types have regressed too much to win a Foxhunters and this one has plenty of negatives.
My only bet at the moment is Grand Jesture, taken shortly before he refused to race two starts ago! The thinking was that his official rating and Cheltenham form put him right up there alongside anything On The Fringe has ever achieved. He had refused a couple of times, but I saw he had won a pretty hot PTP and thought perhaps Jim Dreaper had sweetened him up. Nope. I actually did a double-take when I saw him in the five-day decs, not realising he has since completed two PTPs. If he consents to start, he has some sort of chance. Another downside of his antics is that he probably won’t get a great jockey booking, because Codd/Walsh/Clements probably won’t want to risk it. I think I took 14/1 back in November – not my finest hour!
Quite rightly, most of us seem to have grave doubts about Wonderful Charm. I think Will Biddick has done an excellent job of nursing him through his two qualifying runs, because this horse always regresses badly from run-to-run if forced to dip into his reserves. The petrol tank was just starting to run dry last time and you’d have to question a horse with such chronic breathing problems at this track anyway. It’s a shame they aren’t saving him for the Aintree version as he’ll probably have a horrible race here and then be in no fit state for a much more suitable event.
I wasn’t really sold on Ask The Weatherman‘s Wincanton performance. To me, he looks like a bit of a slowboat. He made hard work of beating the has-been Rebel Rebellion and thought about running out a couple of times. Cheltenham might play to his strengths but I think he’s too short.
Black Thunder hasn’t been finishing off his races. He was proven on soft ground at testing tracks for Paul Nicholls so his two Kelso runs didn’t really fill me with confidence. I don’t really buy the ground excuse from Warren Greatrex.
Good old Pacha Du Polder is interesting again, seemingly as good as even in his comeback win. I can’t work out whether he stays the trip or not. He reminds me a little bit of the blatant non-stayer Turthen, who ran a couple of good races in the Foxhunters thanks to extreme hold-up rides. With a more experienced jockey, he might have won last year. The 2016 renewal was an unusually tactical affair, so perhaps the emphasis on stamina will be stronger this year with Ask The Weatherman one of a view who will want to turn it into a test.
On The Fringe hasn’t shown any signs of decline and probably just wins again. I don’t really want to lump on at his price and don’t want to go into the race with just a refusenik on my team. That means I’m going to back Paint The Clouds e/w as soon as I finish typing. His two cracks at this race don’t leave him with much to find. Soft ground stopped him in 2015 (still a good 3rd) and the lack of pace counted against him last year (rapidly-closing fifth). He showed no signs of decline with a handy weight-carrying performance on his seasonal return. With good ground and a proper test guaranteed, this looks like the best chance he has ever had.
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