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Am I the only one who doesn’t get this Barbers Shop at all? I doubt he’ll ever come close to winning a Grade 1.
No, you’re not the only one, IC, i agree with you.
I also don’t think he gets 3 miles but that’s my opinion.
He’s a Ryanair horse in my opinion.
If he’s a Ryanair horse he’ll have no problem getting 3 miles at Kempton unless the ground is deep.
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Goes for miles Euro all the way to Australia
Ground looks like it will be good to soft but the problem with Barber’s Shop he seems to be a horse with no trip in top class company. He travels well no matter if it’s 2m4 miles or 3m2f miles, looks to be going great then Zap! everything goes up in a puff of smoke like he only has one gear.
I think he will win a big one though, perhaps not tomorrow, but horses like him always seem to land lucky and find themsleves in a race where a few run below par.
Those who follow him blind could end up with a right good lift sooner or later.
with the weather like it is, although somewhat snowy in parts, its still surely got to come up as goodish ground hasnt it?
This has to play into Kauto’s hands as on that sort of ground, hes unstoppable at Kempton.
Gonna be a great late xmas present if he comes home. Cant wait. So much so ive named by new dog after him! only the middle name mind!
He travels well no matter if it’s 2m4 miles or 3m2f miles, looks to be going great then Zap! everything goes up in a puff of smoke like he only has one gear.
I think the evidence condemning Barbers Shop is very circumstantial to say the least. Up until the Gold Cup last year he looked a progressive animal of similar stature and class to Imperial Commander. But IC went the easy route at Cheltenham while Barbers Shop took on the big boys. And BS took on Denman on the latters terms, IC took on KS on the latters least favourite track.
Conclusion, the price differential between the two is out of line.
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Yup 18lbs + 7lengths beating by Denman and a 30 lengths beating by Kauto Star says he should 100/1
Imperial Commander has an impressive 4 – 1 record around Cheltenham, including big race victories in the Paddy Power and Ryanair Chase. Five of his six victories have come at the venue.
It’s impossible to gauge his ability on a right-handed track after just two efforts, but it’s hard to imagine any horse, so effective around Prestbury Park, to be as good somewhere like Kempton.
I don’t see the Nigel Twiston-Davies horse as the bigest danger to Kauto Star and I would even consider him a place lay. If Kempton wasn’t enough to contend with, there are a plethora of candidates to challenge him for dominance in the race.
Coversely, since his two defeats at Exeter during the embryonic stages of his career, Kauto Star boasts an impressive 7 – 7 record on right-handed tracks.
Kauto Star looked rusty against Monet’s Garden in the Old Roan in 2007 and, after a facile, unchallenged success at Down Royal, he needed the Betfair Chase to blow away the cobwebs last season.
He’ll light up the minute he steps out onto the track tomorrow and, barring incident, he wins well.
There was talk of him declining last season, which I rubbished and then, come Cheltenham, there were those who questioned his ability to stay the Gold Cup trip effectively, which I also rubbished.
Yes, he is getting to the stage of his career when he may not be as quick as he once was, but as his Gold Cup triumph indicated, he may actually be better than ever. He certainly jumps with greater consistency, touch wood.
Many would argue that Denman wasn’t at the peak of his powers last March, but Exotic Dancer, whom Kauto Star had struggled to defeat convincingly on left-handed tracks, was 15L adrift. Until I witness conclusive evidence that Kauto Star is on the decline, I won’t factor that into consideration.
Imperial Commander is no Exotic Dancer and may yet prove to be ineffective around Kempton, just like the late Jonjo O’Neill-trained horse. Kauto Star will need to have declined several pounds to be beaten by Imperial Commander, or anything else for that matter
Madison Du Berlais is the only horse with the ability and conditions to beat Kauto Star. One still has to question the merit of his form, however. He beat a sick Denman over course and distance in February and the third placed horse, Albertas Run, is hardly the most useful yardstick in-training. He was getting the better of a tired Denman at Aintree before that horse fell and Exotic Dacer, back in third, was clearly a sick horse that day.
Deep Purple is rapidly improving and his high cruising speed and staying ability will stand him in good stead in what is surely going to be a contest with plenty of pace. Barbers Shop stayed well enough to win over an extended three miles at Sandown and boasts a course victory. He’s the ideal type for this race – a solid jumper with a high cruising speed – and he’ll be ridden for a place. Like Imperial Commander, he has improved since their Paddy Power meeting (conceded 3lbs) and with conditions likely to suit him greatly, I can see Nicky Henderson’s horse exacting revenge.
My idea of the first three:
1 Kauto Star
2 Deep Purple
3 Barbers Shopall in all, i am in common with you, but for IC, why shouldnt he act on the course? ability-wise, its worth a try, i think..my problem is rather, which of my 2 fav horses i should bet? IC od deep purple? i think, i will decide shortly before the race..
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You lost the plot a little bit Bos?
"but it’s hard to imagine any horse, so effective around Prestbury Park, to be as good somewhere like Kempton?"
Kauto Star having won two Gold Cup doesn’t exactly hate the place.
As you say it’s hard to judge IC but Haydock isn’t Cheltenham either so why not Kempton. I think IC is a very classy horse and would run well anywhere when he’s right.
Don’t for get last year turning for home he looked nailed on to finish 2nd to Kauto but went out like a damp squib.
It was then I decided he didn’t stay 3 miles but he has since proved me wrong. Has got to be like all NTD horses at the time, he wasn’t right
Fist,
It’s testament to Kauto Star’s ability that despite an obvious physical preference for left-handed tracks, he has such an enviable record the other way around.
In my opinion, this goes deeper than just a simple ‘directional preference’. You have to take into consideration course configuaration, also.
Dessie was never able to translate his full ability to Cheltenham. Exotic Dancer was nowhere near as effective around Kempton. More recently, look at Katchit and Binocular as very different examples.
Like Kempton, Ascot and Cheltenham are like chalk and cheese. If the Champion Hurdle was staged at Ascot, Binocular would be a very warm order.
Cheltenham is a testing, undulating, galloping track. Kempton couldn’t be more different – sharp and flat.
I like Imperial Commander an awful lot. He’s a very well balanced, athletic individual, perfectly suited to the demands of Prestbury Park. He’ll be a huge threat to the Ditcheat pair come the Gold Cup, but I’d be disaapointed if he claimed the scalp of the ‘Peoples Horse’ tomorrow.
In my view there is only one winner tomorrow – Kauto Star. Simple as that, I will say no more because IMHO, nothing more needs to be said.
Yup 18lbs + 7lengths beating by Denman and a 30 lengths beating by Kauto Star says he should 100/1
My point is that put Imperial Commander in both those races and he’d have been leathered as well.
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I’d still maintain that Imperial Commander’s Betfair 2nd is well overrated – unless you believe that he found 3 stone improvement over anything achieved in his 4 previous attempts at 3m+. Topspeed figures for that day are also ridiculous, with the lowest rated NH winner on the day recording a 130; figures unheard of even on the best of Championship days previously. I’ll still be surprised if IC manages a place.
Kauto Star was obviously well below form in that race, but he’s come back from previous lack-lustre performances to win the King George easily, and today probably won’t be any different. Given the time between now and the Gold Cup, his trainer has the luxury of having him in peak condition for this race, with time to let him down and bring him back again before the Festival. I’d expect him to win easily and, while there’s little mileage in his price, if the 2nd best horse in the field – Madison Du Berlais – does his stuff, the forecast should pay around 6/1, considerably better than the 7/2 without Kauto Star.
Great race to watch, but the best I can hope for is a recording.
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Are we slightly overlooking Naracat here? I will be backing him EW today.
Have had small fun ew bets on Master Medic, Racing Demon and Our Vic at huge prices. [huge prices because they’re 2 1/2 mile good ground horses!]
Whatever Imperial Commander does today,he is a serious Gold Cup horse and thats the race i have backed him for.On a line through Imperial,i expect a big run from Barbers Shop,3m is his limit and around Kempton he should run a big race.The Hennessey was his "Pipeopener" and he will have come on for it,along with Albertas run and Deep Purple i am hoping for a profitable outcome!TAPK has had a vision of the Purple wonder jumping the last alongside King Kauto and chasing him to the line!Too much Wine perhaps?
Didn’t get too excited about this race in case it was abandoned..however, looking at the horses running; crikey, what a race. Maybe it is a foregone conclusion that Kauto Star will win, but there are a few that want this race really badly. I bet Sam Thomas would love to beat Ruby as would Paddy Brennan. Hen is pretty good at getting non stayers to stay, and who wouldn’t want to train/ride a winner for The Queen. However, from not being Clive Smith’s greatest fan [rich man buying expensive ready made horses from France etc etc] the more I read about him and see him being interviewed the more I realise how deep the love of racing goes in him and how much it all meansto him. In my heart of hearts I don’t want Dessies record to be beaten, but, even if it is Kauto Star will have the respect that he deserves but I don’t think he will ever have to love of both racing and non racing folk that Dessie had [still has in a lot of cases]. Above all, come back safe, horses and thank you for providing us with a race to savour!
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