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Wonderful race. Since watching the Triumph Hurdle I have been waiting for Our Conor to start his move long before the last hurdle. He may not have the sprint of HF but he should be putting him to the test long before the last. The long run up at Cheltenham may suit him better than the short finish at Leopardstown.
I think it’s an encouraging run from Our Conor. Don’t think he has lost anything in defeat and he came there really strongly. Will be interesting to see how he fairs at Cheltenham. He powered up that hill last time.
I’ve backed OC for it, but must say with some regret that he finds little, if anything off the bridle. Champion Hurdles are won by battlers.
OC strikes me as a very talented animal but he hasn’t got the stomach for a battle as yet. He is only a pup after all, and that’s where he needs to find the improvement to progress. He could, in time be very very special.
I’ve backed OC for it, but must say with some regret that he finds little, if anything off the bridle. Champion Hurdles are won by battlers.
Once again Our Conor traveled best of all, but didn’t pick up as well as looked likely coming to the last. I think it’s too early to say that he lacks the appetite for a battle as it’s possible he simply lacks a turn of foot. He has a very high cruising speed but he was one paced after the last today. I reckon he’ll be seen in a better light at Cheltenham where they’ll probably go a better gallop and if it was up to me I’d like to see him make his challenge earlier than he did today. It must be remembered that he’ll be a couple of pounds worse off with Hurricane Fly at Cheltenham, but I’d fancy him to place. Bookies aren’t taking any chances with his price though.
For the second race in a row McCoy has had a bit of a nightmare on Jezki. I expected him to take closer order to Captain Cee Bee than he did last time but he anchored him at the back, making the horse very keen in the process. For the life of me I don’t know why they adopted these tactics. If I was a Jezki supporter before the race I wouldn’t let that run put me off. I don’t particularly fancy his chances but pushing him out to 14/1 seems an overreaction from bookmakers.
The proximity of Captain Cee Bee holds down the form and he was staying on well again at the finish. At his best you’d say fair enough but on the face of it he hasn’t ran as well in years. Could it be that Mark Walsh set near perfect fractions?
What more can be said about Hurricane Fly? Whenever he’s hit the front in a race he’s won. The only way he gets beaten in Cheltenham is if he doesn’t get to whatever’s in front of him. I think My Tent Or Yours is the best of the British, and a hugely exciting horse in his own right, but I’m struggling to envisage him getting by The Fly. What can beat him then? Our Conor, Un De Sceaux or Annie Power. Winner comes from those four imo.
There have been whispers that Un De Sceaux won’t travel across but he’d be my idea of the value currently at 12/1 NRNB.
I heard quite a few saying similar Moehat but to be honest looking at them yesterday i wouldn’t say Our Conor’s as big as he appears on Tv,my apologies if you seen him in the flesh.
From what i seen yesterday i was surprised how big Jezki is,i never heard anyone mention him as a chaser before but that’s where i’d send him,lovely big arse on him and it would appear at the minute he’s not good enough to compete with the best over hurdles,as for King Hurricane Fly i’d love to see his weight in comparison to other years,he looks like Pacquiao going up in the weights,puts on plenty of weight but every ounce muscle!
Once again Our Conor traveled best of all, but didn’t pick up as well as looked likely coming to the last. I think it’s too early to say that he lacks the appetite for a battle as it’s possible he simply lacks a turn of foot. He has a very high cruising speed but he was one paced after the last today. I reckon he’ll be seen in a better light at Cheltenham where they’ll probably go a better gallop and if it was up to me I’d like to see him make his challenge earlier than he did today. It must be remembered that he’ll be a couple of pounds worse off with Hurricane Fly at Cheltenham, but I’d fancy him to place. Bookies aren’t taking any chances with his price though.
It appears Danny Mullins is pretty one dimensional. Even on staying types he never seems confident enough to kick on much before the run to the last.
If Our Conor gets into a similar position to Hurricane Fly at Cheltenham it might pay for the jockey to go wide as opposed to side by side.
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I’m pretty sure you’ll find that whoever rides Our Conor, and in whatever way, he does not find anything once under pressure. I posted on similar lines after his previous defeat, having watched that finish ten times then gone through all his flat races.
I don’t think it’s anything to do with appetite or attitude – he’s very likeable – he just spins a very high gear through a race, making it look easy and there simply isn’t an extra cog to move onto when the chips are down. He won’t fade or give up, he’ll just keep on at one pace.
He did not find a single inch in the Ryanair when put under pressure, and if you look back at Sunday, don’t watch Hurricane Fly near the post, watch OC and CBB: OC does not get away from him at all.
BTW, although he gives the impression of size on TV, I think he’s just well-made within a fairly compact close-coupled frame…having said that, I’ve not seen him in the flesh.
I’m with THM. I’ve been boring the hell out of people on twitter since Sunday – Jezki is a crazy price at 14s NRNB. His race was run by the third last on Sunday (trainer has since admitted tactics were all wrong), yet he’s beaten a shade over 3 lengths. This after being unlucky in the Ryanair.
He’s phenomenal value for a trade, given how well he travels, and how much better decent ground and a fast pace will suit him. And I think he could well win it. Whatever, 14s is a monumental error, imo and you should, to quote the late Richatd Baerlein "bet like men!"
Still can’t quite work out this race. Was there and Our Conor did get his nose briefly in front. The visuals were that Hurricance Fly accelerated having missed the last so he couldn’t do his normal of taking a length out the opposition immediately on landing. Therefore, wouldn’t describe Our Conor as one pace, but just doesn’t have the same gears as HF.
So in terms of visuals everything looked as would expect, but what was Captain Cee Bee doing still there? He looked better than at Christmas but he is 13! In all probability Mark Walsh gave him a great ride and had him rolling along.
To answer how big is Our Conor, not that big (Jezki is bigger), but has a very distinctive look.
Our Conor is a very fine horse, you cannot win a Triumph Hurdle as he did without being one. Jezki’s record and win ratio is also very respectable and indicates a talent well above average.
The truth is, that Hurricane Fly is a phenomenom and the ‘since Istabraq’ suffix when describing his place in firmament really should be dropped immediately.The ‘not as good at Cheltenham’ appendix is also a falsehood. Following his withdrawal from a Doncaster novice chase on Saturday I heard the widely expressed view that Rock On Ruby "loved Cheltenham", well ROR does indeed love Cheltenham but his record there is 2 wins from 6 tries in all races, whereas The Fly is 2 from 3 there (contesting only in the best hurdle race on the planet) but apparently he hasn’t yet proved his affection for Prestbury Park?
One more truth…in the 2013 renewal of the Champion Hurdle, if Ruby (Walsh) had taken a pull going to the 2nd last and made his bid before the last rather than before the straight (he confessed after, he should have done) then he would have won 10 lengths last year and Hurricane Fly would currently be 4/5 to win his third championship.
I read yesterday (think it was Graham Cunningham who stated) that the race to the second last was 13 seconds slower than the race which Quickpick Vic won earlier on in the card. So it seems it was run at no pace at all.
I still fancy Our Conor, come March. I am a big fan of that horse. Not sure what to make of Jezki. The New One doesn’t seem to have been talked about too much either and he will definitely have a say in proceedings. Makes for a really exciting race at Cheltenham.
I’m one of those people who happens to think the jockey does make the difference between winning and losing.
When I flagged up Our Conor as my idea of the 2014 Champion Hurdle winner many months ago, it was pointed out to me that Bryan Cooper had been replaced by Danny Mullins, and how young Mr. Mullins would be a more of a hindrance than a help, and that without the much more talented Cooper aboard, the Triumph Hurdle winner might struggle. Early day, but on the evidence thus far, it is safe to say that Danny Mullins lacks the tactical nous and confidence of Cooper.
It may be premature to say so, but unless a more able pilot for Cheltenham, then I fear his Champion Hurdle pretensions will suffer as a consequence.
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As the first poster said the jockey is important.To win a group one race you need a group one horse and a group one jockey and a group one ride( meaning all the luck you can get). Can we get all three from OUR CONNOR? We have the horse but will we get the ride because we don’t (yet) have a group one jockey?The young lad may have the potential but so far he has not shown Group One riding skills.So the horse is not yet ready to win without the three group one requirements.
I’ve backed OC (among others) and I’m much more concerned about the horse than the jockey, who showed more nous than AP did in the Ryanair Hurdle. He’s also on an animal that travels as well as anything I’ve seen, so he’s highly unlikely to get in trouble through the race.
The problem will be that when OC comes off the bridle, he will find little or nothing.
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