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I have been following british and irish national hunt for less than 10 years (that means I don’t have as much experience in the field as many of you
), but I think there was Best Mate, then Kauto Star and Denman, and now there is Hurricane Fly. He is one of the greatest. Winning twenty grade I races is hardly believable.I want to appreciate this horse as long as we have him.
He’s modest for a Champion Hurdler but he’s at least straightforward when most of the others aren’t.
The New One needs to be delivered at the right moment, Faugheen can take his chances with the hurdles and My Tent Or Yours is on the sidelines. Hardy Eustace won two more Champion Hurdles than plenty of horses with more talent than him by virtue of being game, jumping well and being very simple to ride – and Jezki is a similar animal.
I’d be very disappointed if he wins another Champion Hurdle, but think he’ll box on for second or third in a division lacking depth if that creaky body holds together.
You never know but I feel that Faugheen will come up the hill on his own next March.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
He’s modest for a Champion Hurdler but he’s at least straightforward when most of the others aren’t.
The New One needs to be delivered at the right moment, Faugheen can take his chances with the hurdles and My Tent Or Yours is on the sidelines. Hardy Eustace won two more Champion Hurdles than plenty of horses with more talent than him by virtue of being game, jumping well and being very simple to ride – and Jezki is a similar animal.
I’d be very disappointed if he wins another Champion Hurdle, but think he’ll box on for second or third in a division lacking depth if that creaky body holds together.
You never know but I feel that Faugheen will come up the hill on his own next March.
Welcome to the club David, Ruby Walsh will be getting interviewed on Channel 4 around the same time The New One is hitting a flat spot
He’s modest for a Champion Hurdler but he’s at least straightforward when most of the others aren’t.
The New One needs to be delivered at the right moment, Faugheen can take his chances with the hurdles and My Tent Or Yours is on the sidelines. Hardy Eustace won two more Champion Hurdles than plenty of horses with more talent than him by virtue of being game, jumping well and being very simple to ride – and Jezki is a similar animal.
I’d be very disappointed if he wins another Champion Hurdle, but think he’ll box on for second or third in a division lacking depth if that creaky body holds together.
You never know but I feel that Faugheen will come up the hill on his own next March.
Welcome to the club David, Ruby Walsh will be getting interviewed on Channel 4 around the same time The New One is hitting a flat spot
If good old Thommo was doing the commentary, I can just imagine him cackling out one of his famous puns as the race ends and shouting:-
"Well, that was FAUGHEEN incredible!!"
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
As I get older I seem to get more emotional at these things. Ice cool ride from Ruby Walsh. Same couldn’t be said about me, fidgeting thinking Ruby might be a bit far behind and then shouting at the telly as he jumped the last alongside and then pulling away on the run-in. Certainly meant a lot to Ruby at the finish though
That was just great watching the fly swat jeski away. I’m a great fan of the horse and the only reason he doesn’t do as well at Cheltenham is the going. Should it be jumping heavy come the champion hurdle he must have a very good chance. Wouldn’t rule out jeski as he made fools of us last year.
The Fly did well to that, you wouldn’t have been too confident when he jumped the first like a sack of spuds.
I don’t like faugheen for the champion at all. The novice hurdles at Cheltenham are not what they were before the 4th day was added. Mullins hardly seems convinced either.
This lad could be another BJK.
I don’t like faugheen for the champion at all. The novice hurdles at Cheltenham are not what they were before the 4th day was added.
The race Faugheen won at Cheltenham has been won by Istabraq and Hardy Eustace and they won a few Champion Hurdles between them. Not all winners take that course but recent winners include First Lieutenant and Simonsig, not too bad at the chasing game.
If we are to believe the quality is now diminished, we need to rule out The New One as well for the Champion Hurdle, because, as the winner the year before Faugheen, he also belongs in this post three day Cheltenham era of novice hurdlers.
Faugheen is unbeaten in six races and thirty two subsequent wins came from those races, from twenty six different horses.
Some people seemed concerned when he dropped back to 2 miles at Punchestown but it was arguably his most impressive performance and the wins of Istabraq and Hardy Eustace are proof that winners of the Cheltenham Novice over the longer distance can drop back to the Champion trip successfully. The big
if
with Hardy Eustace, the first time he won, was whether he had the speed to be competitive and The New One has also shown us he can compete at the two miles after winning the longer distance race first.
I am sure most stables would love to have Faugheen and he would be their stand out horse. Willie Mullins has so much talent in the yard that things are not that simple, and he has to play his horses with all the skill of a Grand Master chess player to try to maximize the success and keep as many owners happy as possible.
Black Jack Ketchum’s career seemed to turn the day he was turned over at 4/7 in The Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham. Travelling on the bit 2 out he weakened dramatically and finished 35 lengths behind Blazing Bailey, a horse he had beaten 3 lengths cosily enough in the Relkeel at the same course seven weeks earlier. For me he was never the same horse again after that.
I think Faugheen is a worthy favourite when you consider The New One is a narrow second favourite and Jezki is next in the betting after being beaten by an old horse, albeit a good one, who was 40/1 for the Champion Hurdle before their recent clash.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
He has been impressive enough in novice company. That’s not enough to justify champion hurdle favouritism for me.
Have you backed him Steve? I think 3,s is a shocking price for a horse who hasn’t ran out of novice company with plenty to prove.
As you say Mullins has bullets galore – I seriously wouldn’t back 3,s on him running let alone winning the champion.
Of course he might start odds on and win on the bridle.
He has been impressive enough in novice company. That’s not enough to justify champion hurdle favouritism for me.
Have you backed him Steve? I think 3,s is a shocking price for a horse who hasn’t ran out of novice company with plenty to prove.
As you say Mullins has bullets galore – I seriously wouldn’t back 3,s on him running let alone winning the champion.
Of course he might start odds on and win on the bridle.
Normally I’d probably share your concerns regarding moving from Novice to Championship class but it just seems hard to be confident about much else this year.
My Tent Or Yours and The New One were the new kids on the block last season and those deemed most likely to wrest the title from Hurrican Fly. On the day The New One was a bit unlucky but sometimes a hampered horse can look better than the actual form in using their resources to come past beaten horses. My Tent Or Yours disappointed me in not getting past Jezki on the run in.
With My Tent Or Yours out for the season we are left with The New One and Jezki as the most likely candidates but there are questions for me regarding both.
Despite not being likely to have been at his best first time out I thought Jezki put in a tame effort against a noble Hurricane Fly who must be past his prime at this stage of his career. People will argue that he won fair and square in the Champion Hurdle last season but I think he was a shade fortunate on the day.
The New One and My Tent Or Yours had previously clashed in The Christmas Hurdle and the Henderson horse prevailed narrowly after a blunder at the last from his opponent. You get the feeling they are very closely matched and neither is totally impressive as a finisher of his races. The New One is obviously the sole contender of the two now but how much faith can you have in him? He scrambled home at short odds in the Aintree Hurdle and had a bizzare win over Zarkander, where he seemed to have the race at his mercy but then blundered before seemingly faltering on the run in and being joined by the runner up before being ridden to reassert. He just seems far from straight-forward for me.
I haven’t backed Faugheen for Cheltenham as I am not backing the jumpers this season. I would have backed him before now had I been intending to have a go. I said somewhere on the site that I thought The New One was a bad value fav in the early betting for Cheltenham. I have had one ante post tickle on Hargam for The Triumph, so perhaps my resolve not to dabble is cracking!
If Faugheen were a certain runner I would be happy enough to take 3/1 based on The New One sitting at 7/2. To me the Mullins horse is much less exposed and The New One looks far quirkier and we have an idea what level he is at, and although it’s a good level I’m not sure it is anywhere near insurmountable for Faugheen to reach.
Willie Mullins has many options but after having watched Faugheen at two miles putting up the performance he did, I think he’d be foolish and probably regretful if he didn’t let the horse take his chance in the Blue Riband hurdle event. No disrespect to Big Bucks but the World Hurdle is for slower horses.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Steve you can get 3/1 with skybet to win any Cheltenham festival race, which is useful if they have a change of plan and the only danger the horse not running for you is if he gets injured. My account is restricting to £333 but I’m happy with just the £33 at this stage.
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Steve you can get 3/1 with skybet to win any Cheltenham festival race, which is useful if they have a change of plan and the only danger the horse not running for you is if he gets injured. My account is restricting to £333 but I’m happy with just the £33 at this stage.
Thanks for the information Nathan. I am trying hard not to get involved in this punting on the jumpers though. Have to admit I’d have been gutted had I backed Vaniteux at 5/1 and seen him finish second last Sunday as I strongly fancied him for that race. Those sort of results make me glad I am staying away from the National Hunt game in the main. I know I’ll crack and have a few wagers at the Festival but I’ll try to leave it to the actual day.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Faugheen is exciting enough, but I remember backing reigning champ Hardy Eustace at 5,s on the day of his 2nd win.
How 3,s in November for a novice stepping in to open company can be good value is beyond my logic. Perhaps I need to remove some of my ‘headgear’ but I just can’t have it.
Willie Mullins has said he hasn’t thought beyond tomorrow’s Coral Hurdle for Faugheen. There is no doubt that both Faugheen and The New One need to win well tomorrow to maintain their positions at the head of the betting for next years Champion Hurdle.
The problem with thinking Faugheen is bad value is looking at the market for the Champion Hurdle and seeing something with a realistic chance that
does
look value.
It will be interesting to see what change, if any, is made to the book for the big one in the wake of tomorrow’s races.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Another element in Faugheen’s favour is that, at this point, he seem to be Willie’s choice, ahead of Vautour, Un des Sceux (any news of him?). At any other stable these horses would have strong contenders.
), but I think there was Best Mate, then Kauto Star and Denman, and now there is Hurricane Fly. He is one of the greatest. Winning twenty grade I races is hardly believable.
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