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Wise Dan
Every race after the folks across the pond started saying he was the best miler in the world.
Oh and So You Think – I hated the fact that the ‘lads’ could just spend a fortune to bring the best horse in Australia to Europe and just expect it as their right to win every 1m2f Group 1 with him. It made my Royal Ascot seeing Rewilding run him down. For about the same reason I wanted Starspangledbanner to lose every race.
But then maybe I just like mentioning Starspangledbanner because it reminds be of backing Sole Power to win the Nunthorpe at 125/1.
Every over hyped "best i’ve ever trained" 3yo that Aiden "seems to get inside a horses head" o’brian sends over.
The rivalry between England and Ireland, especially at Cheltenham, is what sets me on fire. I’ll be quite frank and say that I hate it when Ireland get a real superstar or two … which explains why I’m dead set on The New One on lowering the colours of Faugheen
I’m well aware that Faugheen is something special and that Mr Mullins’ stranglehold on Chelters is gonna choke many of our English challengers but I need to see Faugheen get hammered
On the bright side of it all at least you wont have to listen to the quipco music when Faugheen bolts in.
If I go though do you look out for me I’ll be waving an adopted Irish flag with a bucket of Guinness in hand and wearing my Faugheen The Machine t-shirt and stood next to the lucky Leprechaun.Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Good thread and a little bit mean but it’s a mean month January so Captain bloody Conan. A truly Horrible Horse. No personal reason I never backed it but overhyped and hopeless, see it might be out next week…lay
Old enough to recall hoping Flyingbolt would get beaten as he performed ever more herculean tasks, because I adored Arkle. Then when he was beaten in the then Mackeson, just feeling a bit sad.
Always a bit circumspect about "great" horses in 2nd division races; milers, 3-mile hurdlers.Frankel
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I spat me tea out when I read that!!! Very funny.
Poor Gord! At least you are honest. You kept on saying he’d get beat but he just kept winning and winning and winning and winning and winning and…..
xxx
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
Frankel
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I spat me tea out when I read that!!! Very funny.
Poor Gord! At least you are honest. You kept on saying he’d get beat but he just kept winning and winning and winning and winning and winning and…..
xxx
Never been so wrong about a horse in my life Joni,
What did your head in was the fact you respect my judgement of a horse so much that you just couldn’t understand how I missed the obvious. We all make mistakes and me missing 10/1 for the 2000gns was inexcusable,I still have the transcripts of our conversations over that very long winter of 2010/11.You dear boy was 100% bang on about your horse.An excellent bit of judgement mate. I remember being incredibly tired of the hype surrounding Cecil/Abdullah’s
Tenby
before the 1993 Derby. I never thought he’d beaten anything of note but there seemed an absolute press campaign to talk about nothing else in the race.
On the day, this had driven his price into a bonkers 4-5f for the race which was probably the main reason I wanted to see him turned over! It was ironic that he finished mid-division behind the connections’ other runner Commander In Chief. That was the year that the ‘blue’ pair – Blue Judge and Blues Traveller – filled the places at 150-1 each.
Tenby pretty much ran to that reasonable form a few more times in top-class races as a 3yo without threatening to win, before proving nothing special at stud either. Commander In Chief went on to win the Irish Derby before being sent to stud in Japan where he performed modestly too.
Mike
Anything ridden by A P McCoy!! Can’t stand the way that commentators go overboard about the ‘greatest ride ever from the Champ’ when he’s won on a 1/5 shot that anyone could have won on! He is one of the reasons why my interest in jumps racing has waned.
The obvious answer to this is ‘the horse I nearly bet on, but didn’t’.
As far as horses who make me laugh when they lose, I’ll nominate one from recent years.
For some reason, there was lots and lots of hype over Time For Rupert when he went chasing. With nothing more than a couple of Class Two wins (albeit at Cheltenham) he was a strong favourite in what, in retrospect, was the Worst RSA Ever.
What made it worse was that he seemed to have an army of sycophants – Rupeamaniacs, if you will – who genuinely believed that we were witnessing the New New New New New New Arkle. There was nothing to actually go on, and woe betide the person who dared argue.
Now of course, TFR was beaten in the Worst RSA Ever by those titans of the track Boston’s Angel, Jessie’s Dream, Wayward Prince and Magnanimity (Full Disclosure: I backed Master Of The Hall).
BUT! All was not lost! The Rupester had got a bit hurt in the race, so said his trainer, Paul Webber, which is why he didn’t win by half the track. So, when he ran in the Charlie Hall that year, he would surely win, what with the Millions and Millions of The Rupe’s Fans, All Chanting His Name…If Ya Smelllll…What The Rupe…Is Cooking.
Erm, except he didn’t. Nope. He lost to Weird Al, who (AFTER TIMING ALERT!) I backed.
BUT! All was not lost! The Weatherby course was not right for him that day, so said his trainer, Paul Webber, which was why he didn’t win by half the track. So, when he ran in the Betfair Chase, he would surely win, and then Rupeamania would explode, and that’s the bottom line, coz Time For Rupert said so.
Erm, except he didn’t. Nope. He finished way down the field as the Greatest Chaser Ever (not Time For Rupert) made a comeback of Elvis-style proportions.
BUT! All was not lost! It was obvious that Time For Rupert didn’t get on with his jockey, the dull journeyman Will Kennedy. What a horse of the magnitude of Time For Rupert needed was a superstar rider…so in his next race, Time For Rupert was ridden by that shining star of the saddle Denis O’Regan. And guess what? He actually won a class 2 race at odds on beating The Giant Bolster and two other horses I’d never heard of. Ah, said the Rupeamaniacs (and his trainer, Paul Webber), now you will feel the force of Time For Rupert! And do not criticise him, because horses don’t like it. And we don’t like it, you insensitive heathen. We are HORSE EXPERTS and you are just some silly punter who should pay homage to our superior equinosity.
So, come the new year, Kauto Star had won his fifth King George, Synchronized was shocking people (apart from the people who knew, damn them) by winning the Lexus…and Time For Rupert would take Festival trials day by storm. He would prove those of us who denied Rupeamania to be nothing but losers. So on the day Time For Rupert came fourth, beaten by 14 lengths behind Midnight Chase, Tidal Bay and Knockara Beau (and as any Big Buck’s fan knows, finishing behind Knockara Beau is the beginning of the end).
BUT! All was not lost! The course was too muddy that day, so said his trainer, Paul Webber. He would show everyone the real Time For Rupert at the Gold Cup, and Rupeamania would RUN WILD, brother…
Except this time, the Rupeamaniacs were so disheartened, they obviously forgot to back their Lord’n’Saviour, who went off at 33s and, to be honest didn’t do too badly, finishing fifth.
BUT! All was not lost! The intense HEAT generated by all the Rupeamaniacs was too much for Time For Rupert who finished behind his old rival The Giant Bolster (among others) because he was just too damn hot. He would show them – 2012/13 was the season that Rupeamania would GO INSANE.
So, come October, it was back to the Charlie Hall, and the Rupeamaniacs kept the faith and backed him into 3s…and saw him come fifth.
I can’t remember what random excuse his trainer, Paul Webber, came up with for him losing, but it definitely wasn’t because he was an overrated horse who’d been praised to high heavens by people FOR NO GOOD ******* REASON. AT ALL! EVER! who considered themselves racing experts just because they’d been in a pony club when they were younger.
I’d say the story continued, but he got injured and by that point the gymkhana brigade had all dispersed, probably to set themselves up as ‘tipping experts’ and the like. They lived vaguely near Cheltenham, you know. As far as I know, they are probably sat at home now having a nice cup of tea and onanising furiously over the collected works of Alistair Down.
So, yes, I always wanted to see Time For Rupert lose because I thought it was funny. The excuses made by his trainer and his sycophants were always good fun.
(A post-script. Time For Rupert ran in the three-mile handicap chase on Cheltenham on Champion Hurdle day last year. Suspecting that the Rupester would use this opportunity to make me look like a bit of a prat, I had a bet on him, just to bask in the glow of Rupeamania. He came last. BUT! All was not lost. ‘The first will be last and the last will be first’. Do you know who said that? Yep, right, it was JESUS. In THE BIBLE. Sadly for all Rupeamaniacs, Bookmakers tend to be Godless Heathens).
BlueSky @pghenn.bsky.social
So don't run, just like the others always do
To be fair to poor old TFR, it was another case of connections deluding themselves and hoping that a once promising horse would deliver.
It was obvious from early in his RSA that he was in serious discomfort trying to breathe, and although I’d backed him, I was surprised and annoyed for the horse that he wasn’t being pulled up. Sure enough, the trainer announced he’d bled.
Many times after that he showed the same signs – that neck-stretching ‘running with the choke out’ style, and he should have been retired from racing to my mind.
In 2013 Webber reported that they’d found and removed a tumour in his head (I believe it was in his sinus). Lord knows how long it had been there, but I’m astounded by the number of trainers (and jockeys) who persevere with horses who are so obviously in distress (have a look at More of That’s run earlier this season – it was very reminiscent of Time For Rupert, and I’m sure MOT is another with problems.)
A horse is in pain, it bleeds, has mucus in its lungs, suffers heat exhaustion and Fivelongdays "always wanted to see Time For Rupert lose" again, finding it "funny".
Value Is EverythingYeah, lay off old Rupert!
I don’t think many claimed he was the second coming of Arkle. He just looked like a very likely type for what you admit was a shocking renewal of the RSA.
Second to Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle, sound jumper, beat some useful horses around Cheltenham early in his novice season. Even in hindsight, it’s hard to fault people who backed him there. As Joe said as well, it was obvious from the first half mile that Time For Rupert wasn’t right on the day. Usually a smooth traveller and fluent jumper, he was under pressure and bungling his fences. It was remarkable that he stayed on so gamely up the hill after taking such a shameful beating from Will Kennedy in the saddle.
He probably never was a Gold Cup horse, but got dealt some pretty rough cards through his career.
Except this time, the Rupeamaniacs were so disheartened, they obviously forgot to back their Lord’n’Saviour, who went off at 33s and, to be honest didn’t do too badly, finishing fifth.
That was
Time for Ruperts
best performance on a racetrack,he was with them to 2 out and was the eyecatcher of the race for me FLD.
Of course I too fell for his trainers patter and fancied ‘Rupert’ e/w in last years ‘Festival chase’ off a mark of 138,some 20lbs below his Gold cup run against the mighty ‘Synchronised’.Sadly Paul Webber never inherited his Father Johns modesty who once trained a Superstar of a horse calledTownley Stone
,a horse that did his own talkin. Great piece though FLD.
Anything ridden by A P McCoy…He is one of the reasons why my interest in jumps racing has waned.
I know what you mean. Every time I watched Ronaldo and Messi, or Botham and Lara, or Tiger and Rory, or Bristow and Taylor, or Federer and Nadal, or O’Sullivan and Hendry, or Farah and Bolt…well, I just wanted to switch the telly off.
Mike
We all make mistakes and me missing 10/1 for the 2000gns was inexcusable,I still have the transcripts of our conversations over that very long winter of 2010/11.You dear boy was 100% bang on about your horse.An excellent bit of judgement mate. 
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