- This topic has 17 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
I friend of mine who has been watching racing since 1956 and has seen all the good ones stated to me recently that Dunguib had the best engine he had seen in a horse since Arkle. Now I have no ides what an engine in a horse is or how to judge but I did not want to show my ignorance.So I thought I might ask here.
it’s far too early to say, and we saw the perfect example of this last Sunday. Based on his performances lasy year I thought Hurricane Fly was almost unbeatable, but once upped in class, he was found wanting.
Horses that have got to within the same parish as Dunguib have gone on to win. His form gets boosted everytime something he’s slaughtered runs. He’s as good as that, so far.
For me, he’s the most exciting chasing prospect (not a bad hurdler either!) I’ve ever seen.
- Total Posts 17716
He has done nothing thus far to deserve the hype he’s getting.
His reputation is based on his performances. I wonder have the respondents seen his performances in ATR? I have never seen a horse that is so far superior to his mates.
If he was in a top jumps yard, he might fulfill his undoubted potential that he has shown to date in bumpers.
However, there has to be a concern based on his current handler’s ability to train a top class animal.
There has been talk today of him being sold to JP McManus.
Maybe JP sees the great potential for this horse and may move him yards if he does buy him? ? ?
- Total Posts 17716
You’d think he had beaten Binnocular and Moscow Flyer 20 lengths on the bridle the way the media are acting.
Don’t think Kauto Star gets this much coverage.
Fenton is no MV O’Brien but he is well able to train them.
The game needs more potential superstars emerging from the less fashionable yards. Too many of the top horses are concentrated among a small number of trainers – Mullins and Meade here, Henderson, King and Nicholls across the Irish Sea. If more of he top horses were housed in smaller yards we would be seeing them taking each other on more often. Look at how Kauto Star and Denman, the suppossed great chasing rivals, have only clashed twice. Similarly over timber, Binocular and Punjabi have only raced against each other once.
The game would benefit from more of the top horses being housed in smaller yards. I can only speak from my experience in Ireland, but I think most of the horses that the public truly take to their hearts come from these unfashionable yards – Danoli, Beef Or Salmon, Limestone Lad, Solerina, Imperial Call, Commanche Court.
The stats say otherwise.
Fenton has a pretty dire strike rate the last few years. His horses in the early days were mostly talking ones, and generally overbet. He has managed just the one winner outside Dunguib this term.
His handling of the likes of Sher Beau a couple of seasons back as a novice chaser, namely his placement of said horse was dire. He had initially stated that the plan for Dunguib was to go straight to the Royal Bond post his maiden win in Galway, but then decided to take in a meaningless race on Saturday just gone. This doesn’t show a great deal of planning in my view in that he was willing to subject the horse to such a race against previous winners, however facile, in desperate ground, just 2 weeks shy of contesting a Grade 1.
I would like to see him do well with the animal as it is good to see the lesser yards do well with their flag bearers. Indeed this is the attraction of NH racing to so many. However, I will choose to remain skeptical about his ability to fulfill his full potential under his current handler until proved otherwise.
His handling of the likes of Sher Beau a couple of seasons back as a novice chaser, namely his placement of said horse was dire. He had initially stated that the plan for Dunguib was to go straight to the Royal Bond post his maiden win in Galway, but then decided to take in a meaningless race on Saturday just gone. This doesn’t show a great deal of planning in my view in that he was willing to subject the horse to such a race against previous winners, however facile, in desperate ground, just 2 weeks shy of contesting a Grade 1.
The reason Dunguib ran at Punchestown last weekend was that he was supposed to have a school and gallop up the Curragh to prepare him for the Royal Bond, but the adverse weather stopped that from happening.
If an Alien from another planet came to earth with the sole purpose of getting into horse racing,i would say to "it" There"s a horse called
Dunguib
watch him hopefully develop into a Gold cup horse over the next couple of years. He has the X factor and one of the reasons for this, is, he is as good looking a horse as you will see,he is so well proportioned and of course he can run a bit!I would see him as a danger to all should he run in the 2010 Champion hurdle!What he has that Hurricane fly hasn"t is presence and masses of scope! If J,P really wants him,he should break the bank for this one!
JP has already tried, as has Michael O’Leary according to the rumour mill for silly money.
The owners won’t sell up for any price and rightly so. They’ve shown great loyalty by retaining Brian O’Connell and they deserve every success with this horse.
However good he is, if he is, as suggested earlier, a future chaser, why is he wasting this season running over hurdles.
He’ll be seven by next March – which by the recent standards of the Cheltenham festival is ancient for a novice hurdler. The last two Champion Hurdles have been dominated by five and six year olds.
Even by chasing standards, he’s getting on – seven year olds should be running in the Gold Cup. That’s how old Best Mate was for his first win, ditto Kauto Star, and also the recent Irish winners Kicking King and War Of Attrition.
Almost every Grade winning chaser I can think of in the last twenty years made their chasing debut before they turned seven – the one exception that comes to mind without delving into the record books is Moscow Flyer, and even he didn’t waste an entire season pursuing the futile prize of the Cheltenham Bumper.
The last winner of that race to reach the heights over fences was Florida Pearl – and guess what, he went straight over fences the season after his bumper win and has never run over hurdles.
AP
AP, Dunguib is a box-walker so he has been tricky to train and keep right. This may explain why he’s been so late developing and why conncetions are taking things slowly with the horse and not trying to faze him.
Good article on him here from pre-Cheltenham ’09:
http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/mar/08/racing-cheltenham-preview-fentons-fillip/
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.