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Most of this is based on the Hurricane Fly V Binocular match takes place. I don’t think it will but will get to that later.
Nicky Henderson never one to shirk a challenge seems up for it and Frank Berry/JP McManus are happy to let him run, as long as he works well this coming week.
If they do run him it’s because if they can’t put Hurricane Fly in his place round Punchestown then they are unlikely to do so at Cheltenham.
If the ground was very soft it would probably favour Hurricane Fly more and you would have to bring the very tough Solwit into calculations. Go Native won the Supreme Hurdle with ease might be someones idea of a possible winner but I think he’s very ordinary horse who was in the right place at the right time.I have no idea what the hell they were playing at against Hurricane Fly the last time they met but with the best will in the world I can’t see him bothering any of the front 3.
Binocular won his first hurdle race on soft going at Ascot and coped with that ok but they were going through it quite easily that day and it wasn’t holding like it can be in Ireland.
Hopefully we will get good to soft ground for this and no one will be able to blame the ground for defeat.
Hurricane Fly and Binocular are two very different types of horses.
Hurricane Fly’s main asset seems to be his devastating turn of foot that has now won him 3 consecutive Grade 1 hurdle races. He was beaten in a Grade 1 in France by Grivette but that has little baring on his ability these days.
Binocular’s main asset is his very high cruising speed and very quick hurdling. While he doesn’t have an electrifying turn of foot he takes very little out of himself during his races he has so much left in the tank he usually cruises past the opposition.
Hurricane Fly was so superior to other novices last year there was talk he might even have gone for the Champion Hurdle but a set back put paid to that.
Superior he was but it’s the word “Novice” that bothers me. Taking on the best hurdler in England simply isn’t the same thing.
Hurricane Fly may be capable of stepping up and doing the same thing to seasoned hurdlers but that is one huge leap to ask of any horse.
The only reason Binocular isn’t wearing the Champion Hurdle crown is the fact they rode him last year like a horse who would have a problem with the Cheltenham hill. As it turned out had AP gone with them at the top of the hill he would have most likely have won. He actually never made any ground on the front two until he hit the rising ground and in another couple of strides would have past them both.
Much is down to how good a Champion Hurdle you think it was last season on whether you side with Hurricane Fly or not.
My feelings are Binocular has been there and done it against the best. Granted he’s been beaten twice at Cheltenham but with valid excuses and now he’s a year older and the camp are a Champion Hurdle wiser.
My worry for Hurricane Fly is, unlike when the likes of Bula stepped up and took over the mantle from Persian War, Persian War was coming to the end of his career whereas Binocular isn’t even in his prime yet.
To the bare eye Hurrican Fly looks an awesome horse but you have to take into consideration what he’s beaten against what he has to beat. You could argue he will improve but will he improve any more than Binocular?.
Unlike Willie Mullins Nicky Henderson ran Binocular only 3 times last season through choice. In Total Hurricane Fly has raced 16 times winning 7 races and Binocular has run 14 races also winning 7 times and Hurricane Fly started his career 6 months before Binocular had seen a racecourse.
There is little doubt in my mind Binocular has achieved one helluva lot more than Hurricane Fly and we haven’t seen the best of him yet.
In the race itself AP will be well aware he has to take the sting out of Hurricae Fly’s tale but that shouldn’t be too difficult as long as the race is run at decent gallop. I would imagine AP will do what he did at Ascot against Celestial Halo and have Binocular in high cruise mode and leading by the 2nd last making sure Hurricane Fly has to use his speed to get near him but keeping enough in the tank to quicken if need be.
Quite frankly I think he’ll hand Hurricane Fly’s backside to him on a plate unless of course and I’m sure it will, Willie Mullins bottle goes and he doesn’t run the horse.
As soon as I know for sure Binocular runs I’ll grab any price I can as I can’t see Mullins turning up 100%. It’s way too big an ask first time out for Hurricane Fly IMO who improved dramatically after his first run last season and the sensible thing to do is wait.
Time will tell!
So to summarise a little more concisely, you think Binocular would beat Hurricane Fly
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Yup and I think he’ll have a quite word with him after the race and tell him: "If you want to come to my party at Cheltenham at least wear long pants and don’t embarrass yourself like that again"
Yup and I think he’ll have a quite word with him after the race and tell him: "If you want to come to my party at Cheltenham at least wear long pants and don’t embarrass yourself like that again"
Its not your party Binny son,there"s a couple of A List ahead of you!
Binocular is incredibly overated…lost to Captain Cee Bee for goodness sake.
Istabraq must be turning in his barn listening to people if mentioning the Festival flop in the same breath as him.
Here we go again.. Still championing Binocular’s cause Fister?!
I think Hurricane Fly is this years champion hurdler and I can see him going the season unbeaten.
Solwhit is a horse to follow as well.
Fist just copy and pasted a post he had saved for March
The Hurricane will blow him away – Jumbo Rio won’t run, there’s the small matter of 270,000 Euro’s on the 15th November
317D Maplewood Developments H’dle (Grade 1)
€55,250.00 ( 2m – 4yo+ )[MAX 22] NHFrm1-113 1 Binocular (FR) (NHenderson (in GB)) – . … 11,10
-2509 2 Clopf(145) (AHeffernan) – . … 11,10
1u-4- 3 De Valira (JMorrissey) – . … 11,10
-2071 4 Donnas Palm (NMeade) – . … 11,10
9pf89 5 Ebaziyan(141) (WPMullins) – . … 11,10
-1141 6 Go Native(147) (NMeade) – . … 11,10
-5996 7 Hardy Eustace(154) (DTHughes) – . … 11,10
211-1 8 Hurricane Fly(157) (WPMullins) – . … 11,10
4-255 9 Muirhead(158) (NMeade) – . … 11,10
2-111 10 Solwhit (FR)(165) (CByrnes) – . … 11,10
21-40 11 Sublimity (FR)(161) (RAHennessy) – . … 11,10
42-07 12 Won In The Dark(157) (SJHarty) – . … 11,10
12211 13 Jumbo Rio(145) (EJO’Grady) – . … 11,07
-20f3 14 Tharawaat(137) (GElliott) – . … 11,07
2112- 15 Whiteoak (DMcCain Jnr (in GB)) – . … 11,05Quite frankly I think he’ll hand Hurricane Fly’s backside to him on a plate unless of course and I’m sure it will,
Willie Mullins bottle goes and he doesn’t run the horse.
Seriously Fist? When has Willie Mullins ever wrapped a horse up in cotton wool and ducked a challenge with one.
The weather locally has been cat for the last week – my driveway is saturated! Unless it doesn’t rain for the next fortnight I doubt there’s any chance of good-to-soft. Hurricane Fly is proven in the ground and Binocular would prefer a decent surface.
Hardy Eustace to chase the Hurricane home
While I agree that Binocular probably wouldn’t like heavy ground, which is likely if this weather keeps up, Mick FitzGerald said at the beginning of last season "This horse is a horse to follow when there’s cut in the ground". Soft ground should be OK for him then. Still think the Fly will stuff him though, with Solwhit outbattling him for 2nd.
Binocular, or Binny as he’s now known as, won’t know which way Hurricane Fly has gone in the Maplewood at Punchestown. Or at Cheltenham either!!!
Quite frankly I think he’ll hand Hurricane Fly’s backside to him on a plate unless of course and I’m sure it will, Willie Mullins bottle goes and he doesn’t run the horse.
Has Nicky Henderson’s bottle gone now he’s confirmed that Binocular won’t run next Sunday!
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Quite frankly I think he’ll hand Hurricane Fly’s backside to him on a plate unless of course and I’m sure it will, Willie Mullins bottle goes and he doesn’t run the horse.
Has Nicky Henderson’s bottle gone now he’s confirmed that Binocular won’t run next Sunday!
Not a bad thing mate. I don’t think anyone wants to see them meet before the big one. The important thing is they both get there unbeaten for the season and in good nick…this surely has the makings of the best Champion Hurdle since Night Nurse Sea Pigeon and Monksfield did their thing many years ago.
If Hurricane Fly, Binocular, Solwit, Punjabi and Celestial Halo all turn up it’s sure to be a cracker.
Is Ruby likely to be in Ireland on Sunday to take the ride on HF? Or is he staying at Chelters to ride (among others) Master Minded, has this been confirmed anywhere? Not that he’s usually in a fit state to ride (or walk, even) the day after the PP Gold Cup anyway … !
The agreement that Ruby has with Willie and Nicholls is that he rides in England on Saturdays and Ireland on Sundays. He’ll be at home to ride at Punchestown on Sunday I presume.
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Is Ruby likely to be in Ireland on Sunday to take the ride on HF? Or is he staying at Chelters to ride (among others) Master Minded, has this been confirmed anywhere? Not that he’s usually in a fit state to ride (or walk, even) the day after the PP Gold Cup anyway … !
Master Minded is supposed to be running in the Connaught Chase on Sunday but although there are 9 entries for some reason the haven’t been put up on the RP or SL websites.
Ruby is jocked up to ride Tatiano and two others for PN on Sunday so I take if Master Minded goes he won’t be going home this weekend.
As my learned friend point out he has an agreement with PN and WM but it will no doubt have an "Unless" written into it. He won’t desert Master Minded for Hurricane Fly and I doubt if Willie Mullins would expect him to.
Quite frankly I think he’ll hand Hurricane Fly’s backside to him on a plate unless of course and I’m sure it will, Willie Mullins bottle goes and he doesn’t run the horse.
Has Nicky Henderson’s bottle gone now he’s confirmed that Binocular won’t run next Sunday!
Not a bad thing mate. I don’t think anyone wants to see them meet before the big one. The important thing is they both get there unbeaten for the season and in good nick…this surely has the makings of the best Champion Hurdle since Night Nurse Sea Pigeon and Monksfield did their thing many years ago.
If Hurricane Fly, Binocular, Solwit, Punjabi and Celestial Halo all turn up it’s sure to be a cracker.
Fist, there are some kinds of relationships its best to walk away from. He’s left you down twice, some just dont change.
SHL
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