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It’s a great shame. When Faugheen won the equivalent race two years ago (by 15L from Arctic Fire) he was awarded an RPR of 177 and looked capable of running in the low 180s (RPR). Then came the injury. The horse is now 10, quite old for a hurdler, and may have been on the downgrade by now anyway. The merit of his reappearance effort has been questioned and there seems to be lingering effects from the injury. His spark and nip have gone and I wouldn’t fancy him to win any race at the Festival. It might be kindest to retire him.
Didn’t think he travelled with usual zest; a few sloppy jumps also. That said, worth one last hurrah in the CH, as field is so weak apart from BD
A weak Grade 1. Only the winner ran to form and he’s being aimed at the Stayers. After all he’s done, and if he’s lost his zest, why plough on?
I probably agree Miller, he will be run once more to see if he can be improved a little more….but after that if the spark doesnt reappear i would rather him retired than continued at a shadow of his best.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Why not i dont understand why he should be retired lol, makes no sense… unless an injury appeared your retiring a horse who 2 months ago ran to 170 yes he hasnt for these two runs, hes still ran a good race today, good enough to finish competitive in the CJ, why retire that
This is a horse that was a superstar, its an age old debate, do you retire at the top, or do you continue going at a lower level because you can?
I personally would prefer to retire at the top myself…
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!He won a grade 1 2months ago, he was 2nd in a grade 1 today, he had MULTIPLE grade 1 winners in behind him, i dont get the retirement calls, hes not regressed to a grade 3 level or aomething massively below his best, the division is weak atm,hes showing plenty at home, arguably more at home than on the track…. if he somehow sprung to life at cheltenham (which WILL be his last race) this would be a silly debate. Hes surely worth taking to cheltenham if nothing comes out of today.
Like i said multiple times today, id be more worried about how defi du seuil and melon ran today than i would faugheen.
I am very concerned with Defi. I had him down as a low-160s horse last season, but he’s just not there at all in his two runs this season. Hobbs’ horses has been poor for the most of the season so hopefully he can turn it around.
Yeah Ham, i reckon Cheltenham, possibly Punchestown and then that’ll maybe be it! Melon is a worry alright, finds zero off the bridle, hes inexperienced but hes certainly a tricky task for wpm.
Possibly novice chasing will be where he goes next year.
As for Defi, god knows.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!You can’t retire Faugheen yet.
The standard is appalling in 2M hurdling at the moment and they are dropping like flies behind Buveur D’air.
With the strength in depth as bad as it is, you would need to have a go with the former champ, even if deep down you may feel you are running for second place.
This is as poor as I can recall a Champion Hurdle shaping up.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
I don’t think Faugheens first run of the season was in the 170s. Maybe 167/168
And yesterday I feel he ran to about 160.
He’s an ageing horse and unfortunately don’t think he will ever go over 165 again. He won’t win at Cheltenham. He doesn’t have any underlying issues as all the tests they could possibly do are fine. Some of you guys need to come to terms with the fact he’s not as good as he was and to think he could be at 10 is wishful thinking. To run that race yesterday was still a good performance.
But BD is the new champion and is still on the improve if you ask me and I believe come Cheltenham when they have him fully revved up I think you will see his best performance to date and we can all appreciate who good the new kid on the block is.I think the conclusion that he’s not as good as he once was is fair, given how the race panned out. That being said, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he came back to Cheltenham in March and performed much better on spring ground.
Degaussed- regarding Defi Du Seuil
Maybe you did have him down as a 160 horse last season and he was clearly the best 4 year old by a mile last season but as we see many times with triumph hurdle winners when they step into open company they get found out nearly every time.
Was it a vintage crop of 4 year olds last season? I strongly believe it wasn’t. Unfortunately I don’t think DFS is as good as people hoped. Maybe there are other reason behind it but I don’t think he will ever be as good as people hoped
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