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Well that was a great run from Harchibald.
Bizarre race though, Afsoun, Pierrot Lunaire and Punjabi all fallers.
Straw Bear went too quick i think, which meant that himself, Punjabi and Pierrot Lunaire were tiring quite quick.
The second time that Pierrot Lunaire has fallen over hurdles in as many runs, but luckily, the horse is up and seems ok.
Brillliant to see him win again he simply must be one of the best horse never to win a Champion Hurdle. If he didn’t have that chink in his armour that stopped him getting up the hill at Cheltenham who knows how many he could have won.
I think its a stamina issue Fist. He gets home on sharp track but at Cheltenham he runs outt a puff so finds little.
I agree and actually said exactly that sometime ago in a post.
What’s interesting he looks as good as ever. If you believe that it gives us a link back to the days of Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca. Considering Binocular would have eaten that lot alive today and Katchit on form is much superior to Punjabi I think it points to the fact that we are now in a different class era to those dreadful days of Hardy Eustace plodding his way round Cheltenham against the worst bunch of rivals seen in Champion Hurdle history.
Binocular still has to face and beat the worst generation of hurdlers Fists… However i’m now in the convinced camp with Binocular.
I do hope the Inca wins at Leopardstown though..
Well that was a great run from Harchibald.
Bizarre race though, Afsoun, Pierrot Lunaire and Punjabi all fallers.
Straw Bear went too quick i think, which meant that himself, Punjabi and Pierrot Lunaire were tiring quite quick.
The second time that Pierrot Lunaire has fallen over hurdles in as many runs, but luckily, the horse is up and seems ok.
Brillliant to see him win again he simply must be one of the best horse never to win a Champion Hurdle. If he didn’t have that chink in his armour that stopped him getting up the hill at Cheltenham who knows how many he could have won.
I think its a stamina issue Fist. He gets home on sharp track but at Cheltenham he runs outta puff so finds little.
Arguably Harchibald’s greatest performance came at Cheltenham….when he was beaten by a Champion Hurdler a nose and beat another Champion Hurdler into third.
As for FOF use of Harchibald as method of ridiculing BI & Hardy Eustace….I personally think it is an indicator of their greatness in that years later Hardy, Harchi and Brave Inca are all winning or going very close to winning Grade 1’s over two miles in Ireland and England. Legends.
Also anyone to tries to use Harchibald as a reliable form indicator in terms of winning distances really is graspping for straws. It’s like using the Nicholls horse today in the Christmas Hurdle as a fair guide to Binocular’s form.
I’m very suprised at those posters questioning the pace of this race.
Straw Bear touched down at the third last in a time about half a second quicker than that of the leader in the opening novices’ event. That’s a thoroughly unremarkable split given the relative experience of the horses involved.
I know that Luca Cumani famously said ‘worry about time when you’re in jail’, but I think sometimes we’re deceived by what we think we see.
Geraghty took a pull on Punjabi after the third or fourth hurdle and certainly would have wanted a faster pace. Indeed whoever was commentating on RUK mentioned this in-running.
I don’t think that McCoy, Walsh or Geraghty did anything wrong to be honest.
Had a few bob on Harchi today and it was great to see the old rogue put his head in front once again. He’s as good a jumper of a hurdle as I’ve ever seen. Paul gave him a great ride and it’s always nice to see those who call him every name under the sun swallow their humble pie.
He’d have a small squeek in the Champion if the ground was quick but that is unlikely nowadays given Claisse’s watering policy. The better the ground the better he is and Noel won’t be rushing to run him on soft. If anything today’s race just strengthened Binocular’s claims. Harchi had Punjabi well covered at the time of his fall in my opinion.
Hopefully Sizing Europe can reproduce his AIG form on Monday to advertise his credentials for March. The Champion Hurdle looks between the two of them at this stage.
If Punjabi hadn’t of fallen, he’d have won easily imo. He’s quite possibly the only realistic threat to Binocular come CH day.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on Paul there firefox. The horse has a tendency to pull himself up in front and therefore has to be produced late. You say that "it was worth a try getting stuck in before the final flight and seeing what happens", but they tried that in the County Hurdle with Harchi in 2004 and he weakened very badly and finished fifth. He did gallop on for Declan McDonogh in that race as you’ve said, but there’s a big difference between beating Emmpat and Kalderon in a mickey mouse race on the sand in Dundalk, and running in the best two mile hurdles.
The problem in the Champion Hurdle was that Hardy and Brave Inca had drifted apart and that Paul had no other option but to go for the gap. If he’d have been covered up for a bit longer it’s entirely plausible he’d have won. I happen to think he’d have won a bit cosier at Kempton had Punjabi not fell at the second last. Punjabi would have given the horse something to aim at and Paul wouldn’t have been left in front before the last.
He’s some joker of a horse though. God knows what we’ll all talk about when he finally retires!
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