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GOLDEN HORN 2/1
Got beat at York 2 days ago but ground to soft for him was coming back from a break as well.So be more fitter for this race only FREE EAGLE i see has danger to him.
I wouldn’t like to be backing him or Gleneagles ante post with their reservations about the ground.
Unfortunately, its a case of if buts and maybe’s for this race and I wouldn’t touch ante post prices for this race with a 10ft barge pole. For the following reasons:
Golden Horn – doesn’t appear to want the ground any slower than good now.
Gleneagles – more chance of seeing pigs fly if the word firm is not in the ground description, next stop Breeders Cup perhaps?
The Grey Gatsby – fast ground dependant as well now based on his trainers commenst following York run, if he runs he is the one most likely to be placed.
Free Eagle – should we rename him Lord Lucan as he is very rarely sighted on a racecourse, also connections state that his aim is a certain race at Longchamp in October
Time Test – also appears ground dependant, although I don’t think he was in the best place for the conditions at York – still open to improvement as he was running on at the death so it may have been more of an experience issue.
Cirrus De Aigles – returning from another injury but can handle all types of ground (how refreshing), although soft in the description would see his current double figure odds tumble rather quickly. All roads for him lead to the other Champion Stakes, so even though he has won off the back of a break in the past, will he be fully wound up for this race?
So……. nibble at the 20s Boylesports are offering about Arabian Queen?
Bet365 have put Found up at 12/1 – if she runs against depleted opposition will there be double figures on offer?
4/1 Gleneagles looks good value here given the forecast and the fact he is more likely to run at Leopardstown than he was at York, even if the ground softens a bit and is the same as on the Knavemire.
Heavy rain forecast Friday evening (between 20-30mm) so if that does arrive expect the ground to change from its current good to firm and then both Gleneagles & Golden Horn to be withdrawn Saturday morning – Free Eagle/The Grey Gatsby could also be doubtful runners on softer ground. They better pray the rain misses the track otherwise we could be looking at a four runner field.
Officials at Leopardstown are already going to use both the inner and outer tracks and they have now even moved the time of the race forward from 18:50 to 17:45, which means that Dettori will now give up his Doncaster rides (including Bondi Beach in St Leger) and travel straight to Ireland instead.
I myself have had a cheeky bet on Cirrus De Aigles at 9-1 as he goes on anything and we know how good he is when it gets soft, have to take it on trust that he will be fit enough since his enforced break.
I agree that Cirrus Des Aigles is the safest looking option. You can get 12/1 each-way 1-2-3 and this field is probably going to whittle down quite seriously.
Golden Horn and Gleneagles will probably defect if it’s really soft and I don’t see many who will like the ground if it’s hock deep.
Cirrus Des Aigles broke a shoe when running behind Solow in the Prix D’Ispahan. He’s been away and he’s no spring chicken but he may not need to beat many to be in the first three here.
Found is a possible but I am not convinced she beat a lot last time.
Cirrus Des Aigles each-way 12/1, pray for rain and then watch the anxious trainers run out with their big umbrellas to “protect” their wee horsies who might get damaged on the damp ground.
What odds on Gleneagles never being seen on a racecourse again? Whatever happened to running horses? Much better to have them twiddling their hooves in the box back home winning nothing and living off past achievements. Your is sport, Robin Badfellow.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
The thing that made me laugh was that he was being quoted in the betting for BC Classic.
AOB still manages to state in every interview that he is an out and out miler and I feel that it is very much against his wishes that 10F is being attempted. Now there will be even more pressure for them to actually run him if the ground is no worse than good (which AOB still says is not quick enough) as they have no where else to go with him at 8F.
I said it a while back that the BC Mile will probably be the next (and last) time that we would see him after the Sussex debacle and unless they get lucky and the rain misses Leopardstown, I don’t see that thought changing.
What people forget is that aiden is only saying what coolmore says and i doubt very much it is his thoughts. Gleneagles is the best good ground miler around and that is what coolmore want at their stud as horses who are best at 8 to 10f is the latest fad in breeding. Im sure aiden would have liked to have kept the horse to a mile and then gone 10f in the champion stakes and then kept in training at 4 over 10f where im sure he would have excelled. Thats not the way coolmore works and its all about the stallions. Aiden is the most successful trainer in the last ten years and this is with the constraints put on him by john magnier and the boys. Id love to see him train where he has control of where the horses go like sir henry did but cant see that happening anytime soon. He does seem to be more relaxed these days so maybe hes not letting things get to him as much. As ive said before maybe he should have a racing manager who could put out the coolmore line and let aiden get on with training. Btw why cant racecourses put down covers on the course like in cricket to keep a strip of ground safe from downpours.I doubt it would cost that much and would ensure the best would turn up for the big races.Just a thought.
Looking at the latest weather forecast it looks like the heavy rain will miss leapordstown so the big clash might be on. I really hope it is but if it does pour down i will be on found who looked awesome in her last race in easy conditions.
Ordinarily I would agree but in this case I think Coolmore are the ones pushing for him to go up to 10F, whereas if Aiden had free range (and the ground had been suitable) I think he would have gone Sussex, Marois or Moulin, QE2 & BC Mile (or they may even chance it in the Classic as they have a ready made excuse if he runs badly in it i.e dirt & trip). Unfortunately, as he is very one dimensional ground wise there was always a doubt that we would ever get to see him again in Europe after Royal Ascot.
With regards to covering the course, it takes around five or six men to move the covers on and off a cricket wicket that is around 66ft long by 10ft wide and then you usually have to wait 20-30 mins after this has been done before play resumes. I don’t know what the logistics and man power needed are to cover and uncover a 10F stretch of racecourse but it is probably not possible to do so within the time period they have – especially if the rain starts from Friday night through to say midday of the morning of the race.
Going now Yielding, good in places on outside course.
If the description is correct I’d expect Gleneagles to be pulled out. I really hope he isn’t though. If there is no further rain it could be good ground by off time. I hope ALL trainers keep their bottle and run their horses, they are going to win nothing in their boxes and it’s not heavy out there. They are RACEhorses, the “perfect” conditions may never come along, bloody run them.
PS! If Big Mac comes on Sunday Forum tomorrow going on about horses being “ruined” by running on easy going and giving that bloody ridiculous Camelot example again, I swear I’ll punch the telly.
TV abuse and the threat of it isn’t cool man, my TV was abused before I met it and it’s taken a while for me to get through to it. Thankfully, I pressed all the right buttons.
I can’t see him running either but I expect Golden Horn to still be there. I don’t think the ground was the mitigating factor in him finishing 2nd to Arabian Queen. His head was all over the place in the early stages of the race.
I’ve got this bad feeling though that the ground is worse than what they are saying and they are trying to play a few innocent mind games to keep the best horses in.27mm overnight in September, that’s more than enough to destroy the good conditions.
I’ve got this bad feeling though that the ground is worse than what they are saying and they are trying to play a few innocent mind games to keep the best horses in.
There was no changing going to make it safer. Changing the rules, bringing the race forward acted against the interests of Cirrus Des Aigles and others in an attempt to get their favoured horses to run. Are Leopardstown now being economical with the truth over ground conditions to get those horses to run? Surely not. :lol:
Value Is Everything27mm of rain overnight – Yielding is the Irish equivalent of good to soft, which is worse than the going was at both Goodwood & York; so if they stick to the company line with this horse, he won’t be running.
However, I wonder if they might in this case roll the dice and run being that it is:
a) on home turf, the undoubted pressure to support the Champions weekend which is still in its infancy (similar to when they made the decision to run Camelot in order to support the Irish Derby against their better judgement)
b) them being mindful that if he misses this race, he is unlikely to be seen again on this side of the pond (not sure if this would be a big issue for them but it may be a consideration).
c) they have a built in excuse of the ground and trip if he runs and fails to perform.Big worry for the racecourse/sponsers is that their flagship race of the entire meeting now could have Golden Horn, Gleneagles and Free Eagle all being pulled out because of the ground and we also know that the connections of The Grey Gatsby said after York that he would prefer faster ground as well – will he also be pulled out?
Any drying in the ground could also be a problem as before going back to good it will go through that stage of being on the tacky dead side, which horses have trouble getting through anyway.
PS – I wouldn’t mind Big Mac so much if he didn’t just shout down anyone who doesn’t agree with him, which by and large is pretty much everyone he has ever met!!!!
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