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I noticed some debate on Twitter about Hey Big Spender, who is the owner of a Timeform squiggle.
Does he deserve it?
To his credit, he’s an incredibly consistent horse still operating at his career-best mark despite being 12. After 39 jumps races, he has 10 wins, 3 2nds and 4 3rds. That’s a very successful career with a very healthy ratio of wins from close finishes.
To his detriment, he is a poor jumper for a veteran staying chaser, with a litany of falls and serious mistakes on his record. He can be rather ‘all or nothing’ but never seems visibly reluctant.
What do you make of him?
I see him running tomorrow young man in the Peter Marsh, the horse must love similar tracks as he wins every time he goes to Newcastle and I’m not sure about the squiggle they gave but having looked at this race Vintage Star has the beating of him and the Buffalo of Pipes so we’ll see tomorrow if the dreaded squiggle is deserved.
No more than a guess, but I suspect the squiggle might be predicated on a couple of listless performances in the last couple of years – each at this time of year, curiously.
To this pair of eyes he didn’t want a bar of it in the 3m handicap chase at Sandown’s Tingle Creek meeting two years ago, nor in last year’s Classic Chase at Warwick. I’d have those as distinct from the occasions on which he gets outpaced at a salient moment before staying on again, which seem more of a tactical shortcoming on his part than an attitudinal one.
As I say, no more than a guess – I only work with the good folk at Halifax (and infrequently at that nowadays, owing to other commitments), not for them.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Stable had problems with a lot of their horses last year [which has, hopefully been resolved this year] which could account for poor shows in some races.
Lovely horse.
Timeform should come with a squiggle.Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Sometimes Hey Big Spender puts it all in (usually at either Newcastle, Warwick or Ascot) sometimes he doesn’t. Making him inconsistent. Seemed out of love with the game in several starts after almost a year off in 2012 (presumably after an injury). Squiggle is often there because of a physical issue rather than plain temperament, but for whatever reason he’s been inconsistent in the past. Can run deplorably or come back to form for no apparent reason, as he did last March at Ascot.
It’s definately been warrented in the past, remember him going like a winner at Newbury once before finding nothing. But could possibly be a reformed character nowadays. Done nothing wrong that I could see this season in three starts. If running well again could easily see the squiggle removed imo.
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