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Hey guys, i haven’t been in for a while.. sorry bout that!
I’m watching the cheltenham action on C4 today,and really its such a bad day for P. Nicholls isn’t it… Willyanwoody and now Granite Jack..
Not gonna bode well for those who are against the whole cheltenham thing..
anyway, my commiserations go out to all involved with those two horses.. may we have better and happier times as from now!I echo those sentiments.
Absolutely horrible day for Paul Nicholls and connections.
Commiserations to all concerned.
RIP Granite Jack and Willyanwoody.
Not gonna bode well for those who are against the whole cheltenham thing..
Indeed not, whilst conveniently overlooking the 250-odd other animals raced there this weekend who will come home absolutely safe and sound.
It’s going to be a short, but very despondent, trip back to Ditcheat tonight, I fear.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
That’s so sad i never realised Granite Jack died.
Such a shame for both horses, poor things. RIP xterrible day….very sad
As an aside, didnt he just stick his neck out for the pounters today too? Great stuff and so much more refreshing than the opaque and tiresomely uninformative drivel you get from some trainers,
Commerisations to the Nicholls camp on a sad day for them.
The man and his horses are a credit to the game.
The horse was very unlucky today, but I would maintain that it isn’t an appropriate level to give a horse his first chase start in this country.
The horse was very unlucky today, but I would maintain that it isn’t an appropriate level to give a horse his first chase start in this country.
We have heard this argument for years, it happened it was extremely unfortunate. At least Ruby is ok because when I saw the fall I said to myself he is in trouble here, I took my eye off the racing and watched Ruby, when I saw him move I drew a deep breath of relief. The death of a horse means absoluetly nothing in comparison to a human life
I’m not sure what options are open to horses that have won chases in France….however, I do feel sorry for all connections of both horses and I also feel sorry for Liam Hear…..there was a lot of pressure on a lot of people today.
I’m not sure what options are open to horses that have won chases in France…..
Indeed not, especially one already rated in the 130s (but believed to be rather better than that) and with too many chase wins to his name to go down the graduation chase route.
Unless the argument is that his time spent running over hurdles in this country last season dulled Granit Jack’s ability to handle UK fences over their French equivalent (and it didn’t look it prior to his fall), I’d suggest that it is too inexact a science to state that horses previously only used to jumping French fences won’t be able to cope when pitched into top-class company on their first chase start in this country.
Anecdotally, The Fellow’s first run in the UK was in the 1990 King George. Granted, there were fewer horses around him that day than Granit Jack had today, but Kempton is no soft touch course to jump around cleanly at pace either. The Fellow’s third owed more to Desert Orchid being in irresistible form that day rather than any shortcoming in his own technique. Four years later, of course, Algan’s first look at UK fences resulted in a win in the same contest.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Hello,
The race was overshadowed by GRANIT JACK’s demise.
I think it would have won the race very easily, but it also had fantastic potential, very sad.
Nicholls losing WILLYANWOODY as well must have been devastating…
I feel we must occasionally stop and think what great fun & happiness these very special animals give to us and what some ultimately sacrifice to "entertain" us.
When I was young [and stupid!], I would scream at a leading horse via the TV, that was impeding a victory for my own selection, "FALL, FALL!!"….I shudder now at my cretinism.I also used to dismiss owners and trainers stating, "..as long as they come back safe…" thinking they were softies etc. Now, it should be considered paramount that the noble steeds not only come back safe, but go on to a very happy retirement in the field…
regards,
doyley
Hello,
The race was overshadowed by GRANIT JACK’s demise.
I think it would have won the race very easily, but it also had fantastic potential, very sad.
Nicholls losing WILLYANWOODY as well must have been devastating…
I feel we must occasionally stop and think what great fun & happiness these very special animals give to us and what some ultimately sacrifice to "entertain" us.
When I was young [and stupid!], I would scream at a leading horse via the TV, that was impeding a victory for my own selection, "FALL, FALL!!"….I shudder now at my cretinism.I also used to dismiss owners and trainers stating, "..as long as they come back safe…" thinking they were softies etc. Now, it should be considered paramount that the noble steeds not only come back safe, but go on to a very happy retirement in the field…
In a fantasy world they will all go back to the evergreen fields and live happily ever after. Dawn Run & One Man to name just two, succumbed to NH Racings inevitable pitfalls, lets not get all sentimental, as said a thousand times, it happened before and it will happen again, maybe even tommorow.
I don’t think French fences can be compared to those at Cheltenham – they are nearer hurdles than fences for a start.
Don’t get me wrong, any horse in the field could have fallen today, but I just don’t think it is a wise place to start a horse’s chase career.
I also can’t help but feel that the decision to run GJ in this was driven by greed (PN said words to the effect of "if you have a well handicapped horse you might as well have a go at a big pot")
We regualarly have a similar debate about Novices running in the Gold Cup and whether that is sensible. For me, novice or not, I would want to totally satisfied that a horse had sufficient experience and jumping ability before running it any competitive chase at Cheltenham.
Maybe GJ was just terribly unlucky today, as he did jump well in the main, but that doesn’t really alter the general point. I think there will be part of Paul NIcholls tonight that wishes he had given GJ a nice easy introduction somewhere else.
Whats with the blame thing. There is thread on here that deals with these over sentimental posts called the "Memorial Thread". Paul Nicholls is a realist who will get over the initial disappointment and move on.
"Lets have a realistic look on life" the death of a horse is pretty trivial.
Such a shame for both horses, poor things. RIP x
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