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Not really buying the reason about keeping the two apart (they have in the past but Vroum Vroum Mag & Limini took each other on last year) and surely having two shots at the race is better than one especially when you know that one has already had his rear end handed to him in the past by the favourite
Mares are different though, wouldn’t bother using it as a comparison…as proven last year, VVM and Limini wouldn’t have got near in a champion, so makes sense to try and win mares..
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Ginger the terms “open to the idea” and “leaning towards” do not mean that ant decision has been made and they definitely do not justify an article telling us that Douvan runs in the Ryanair
Yes, “open to the idea” and “leaning towards” seem to mean one thing…
But “got until tomorrow to change our minds” means something else. ie Latter suggesting a “decision” has been made, just they’re not ruling out changing their minds… And any trainer or owner has the right to change their minds before declaration anyway. Should Racing Post not say Apples Jade is going for the Mare’s Hurdle? (they could still “change their minds” too).When using ambiguous language team Mullins can’t complain if journalists misunderstand what’s said.
Value Is EverythingIll be delighted if they switch UDS back to the CC, uds and min in the CC or douvan and uds in the ryanair, hopefeully the first option LOL
He won’t make any decision until he walks the track and feels the ground. UDS is the going to be a big part of the decision; if the ground is truly softer than soft then UDS would be a big player in the Champion Chase.
I don’t get why people are annoyed; they hold the entries; anyone who doesn’t have NRNB knows the risks. Seems like a big error by the Racing Post though. They managed to rock the markets
I reckon ids and min will run in the Champion Chase and Yorkhill and Douvan (if he runs at all) will go for the Ryanair.
I thought it was interesting that Yorkhill has been left in the champion but hadn’t been allocated a jockey. I reckon he’s only left in just to keep options open. I reckon Un de sceaux is Mullins best chance of winning the champion chase on soft/heavy ground. That’s why there is a bit of talk of Douvan potentially going for this race and no jockey for Yorkhill in champion hurdle (which he has no hope in either way).
TWM, Yorkhill cannot run in Ryanair now he’s declared for CH.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Both Yorkhill and Douvan have massive question marks and doubt Mullins wants two with massive question marks in the same race.
Value Is EverythingMares are different though, wouldn’t bother using it as a comparison…as proven last year, VVM and Limini wouldn’t have got near in a champion, so makes sense to try and win mares..
VVM had about 27 different options of races she could have run in and been competitive (hurdles and fences) and I think she would have been in the mix for a place in last years Champion being that she has winning form against MTOY.
Point being if Ricci wants to win a CC I don’t think Min on his own is their best bet (don’t believe he has improved the required amount over Altior for going chasing to beat him) – maybe that Douvan never gets back to where he was prior to last year’s CC but I think he has a better chance of winning over his preferred trip rather than going up 5F when the ground could be even more testing than it is currently.
LD, that’s your opinion on place, WPM thought otherwise…Mares have a mares race, so different IMO.
Also, your opinion on MIN, WPM again, must/might think differently to you. To be fair, i will be surprised if Douvan goes anywhere. Happy to be wrong.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!Jack – Hey, its all about opinions and the fact that not everybody agrees is what makes this forum fun, just a shame having too many viable alternatives to go for tends to mean we don’t get the clashes everybody really wants to see.
Wherever possible Mullins always tries to keep his superstars apart so it is odd that this has been muted as an option – wonder if the delaying decision is down to the fact that they are trying to convince the O’Connell’s to switch UDS to the CC to facilitate Douvan going to the Ryanair?
Probably more to do with if the rain keeps falling uds chance grows and grows, i dont think the oconnells would need much convincing if the ground was pretty soft, its a negative (about the only one) to altior if more rain fell.
I think what ginge said is about correct, if douvan goes to the ryanair its because hes below his best/not fit enough.
Have to admit LD, on the ground i’d think they’d be wise throwing MIN + UDS vs eachother and trying to topple Altior…
Personally though, i don’t think we will still see Douvan, so maybe it won’t matter.
I wouldn’t say i agree that it might mean he’s not as good as he was (for all it’s up in the air). WPM and co, try and win races, and if they they Min/UDS have a chance vs Altior and can afford to let Douvan go for the Ryanair on his own why not?
Altior much harder to beat than the Ryanair crowd. Fact is, Douvan is coming off a layoff and running in the easiest race regardless of retained ability makes sense to me.
Twitter: Jackh1092
Hindsight is 20/20 so make the most of it!I wasn’t aware that a horse couldn’t be declared for a race later in the week, my apologies.
And ginger they said “we have until tomorrow to change our minds”. I would interpret that in two ways that they have made a decision and may change it, or they have not made a decision and he was just talking hypothetically about changing minds. Either way, none of the language used by Mullins or Ricci justified the misleading headline “Douvan runs in the Ryanair”
Under the rules, Yorkhill could still run in the Ryanair:
As part of the move to 48 hour declarations for all races at the Cheltenham Festival, no horse will be permitted to declare more than once at the meeting, whether subsequently declared a non-runner or not, unless eliminated from a race or declared as a reserve.
This applies to all races except the six non-novice Grade 1 contests: Stan James Champion Hurdle, OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle), Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, Ryanair Chase, Sunbets Stayers’ Hurdle and the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup.
If ground soft or worse then UDS+Min in the Champion Chase and Douvan+Bachasson for the Ryanair? Gives the O’Connells a runner in each race.
I don’t know, I may be wrong but Min is probably flying at home and I don’t think Willie will divert Sceaux from the Ryanair to take him and Altior on. They’d rather have 2nd in the Champion Chase and the winner of the Ryanair than 2nd and 3rd in the Champion Chase and leave the Ryanair behind.
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