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Let’s not forget that Sgt Reckless was "working better than Somersby" according to Mick Channon last March.
Could be a very nice horse.
Let’s not forget that Sgt Reckless was "working better than Somersby" according to Mick Channon last March.
Could be a very nice horse.
It’s hard not to like Mick as a character but I would take that with rather a large dose of salt – Somersby is now an ageing chaser. As for Sgt Reckless he didn’t pull up any trees at Cheltenham and didn’t do a great deal on seasonal debut. Perhaps if he makes further progress he might be worth a shot at the Aintree two-miler. Worryingly for Henderson both Bobs Worth and West Wizard were relatively strong in the market so I wouldn’t be so quick to swallow this needed the run business. See the bookmakers have taken a real risk pushing him out to 16’s – given that he just looked very slow that hardly looks a tempting carrot.
With West Wizard having a severe dent in his reputation Briar Hill and The Liquidator now look the most obvious contenders. Both importantly have the Cheltenham experience. Unfortunately, given what happened with Champagne Fever impossible to be confident which race Mullins will target. The Liquidator’s Irish bumper win now looks strong form and there seems no obvious reason to step him up while he is winning at the minimum trip.
Le Vent D’Antan is entered over two miles at Thurles on Thursday, hopefully he’ll be declared. Golantilla is another from the Champion Bumper I’m looking forward to but he’ll probably be best at distances beyond this trip.
Minella Foru runs in the Royal Bond on Sunday. Be interesting to see if he can confirm the form with Very Wood right handed.
Diamond King made a nice impression in beating some second raters at Wetherby. At this stage he falls very much in the ‘could be anything’ category. He should stay further than the minimum but as with The Liquidator there is no obvious reason to step him up while he is winning. He hasn’t needed to yet but I have a feeling he will find plenty off the bridle. He was my main fancy for the Festival bumper last season before presumably McCain persuaded connections to miss the race. If good enough I doubt whether they will want to give it a miss two years running. Given his potential Sky’s 33/1 quotes for both the Supreme and Neptune look pretty reasonable.
Dubai Prince still looks a nice EW shot, very good on the flat and such a smooth hurdler on debut, lots of improvement required but looks like theres bundles to come
Is there any news of West Wizard?
Considering he was 8/1 before his hurdling debut it seems a little surprising seemingly no hack has bothered to ask Henderson the question. The Kempton debacle left him with a mountain to climb and the current best price of 16/1 is hardly the most enticing carrot you are ever likely to see. Even if all is well what are the chances of getting in two more runs before Cheltenham?
The yard are still very sweet on West Wizard, with them getting a few winners now, I would judge him by his next run
Yeah, they had a lovely treble today, highlighted by all horses travelling strongly and finishing as expected, not just finding little once asked.
Need to start picking up the big races though
First Mohican makes his hurdling debut on Thursday at Doncaster. I’m excited by this and think he will win, improve for it and shorten up for Cheltenham.
I emailed Mr Ponsonby last week and he responded with a bullishly confident reply and clearly thinks he has a good chance of going one better than General Miller did for him. (I know he can sound condfident about most horses!)
First Mohican makes his hurdling debut on Thursday at Doncaster. I’m excited by this and think he will win, improve for it and shorten up for Cheltenham.
I emailed Mr Ponsonby last week and he responded with a bullishly confident reply and clearly thinks he has a good chance of going one better than General Miller did for him. (I know he can sound condfident about most horses!)
Humpty, I guess the confidence must mean that Hutchinson has got the ride rather than ‘floor it’ Thornton?
I wouldn’t know to be honest. It will be interesting to see who rides but I actually don’t mind either. Think Choc has had a bit of bad luck to be honest.
Some six weeks after I posed the question West Wizard’s owner finally makes a statement. It seems he will only be considered for Cheltenham if the ground dries up and they find a decent race to trial him in. Reading between the lines he isn’t going to run.
Probably the most disappointing horse of the season. A very poor debut and subsequently something of a PR disaster – I don’t think Henderson has given an update all season for a horse who was one of the strongest in the ante-post markets.
Both Geraghty and Henderson were guilty of hyping up West Wizard in the stable tours, but something must’ve gone awry for him to flop so badly – they’re not the best when it comes to communication and PR, but they do know a good horse when they see one. The absence of clarification as to the wellbeing of the horse since is worrying, but wouldn’t give up hope yet – probably one for next year.
The Tullow Tank is going for the Deloitte on Sunday – I expect a win and a post race confirmation that they will focus on 2m at Cheltenham. This is a big trends race and I think this is a horse that will tick all the boxes if he wins on Sunday. He has the right number of runs, and he has the breeding, the build and the attitude to really relish the hill. Might be a risk if the ground comes up fast in Cheltenham… Irving or Vautour might be more suited in those conditions; the TT could be diverted to the Neptune in that case. Sunday will be very interesting…
8/1 for the Supreme at the moment, as big as 14/1 for the Neptune
I’m a big Vatour Fan and have him at 12s, but also had a nibble on TTT at 14s NRFB as he does indeed tick all the boxes stats wise, but I just wonder if his style of racing could lead to him being flat out too early.
I also like the look of Quickpick Vic. Put up a trememdous performance to make all in a fast time at Leop (much quicker than HF on the same card) and has lots of bumper experience last season. Entered up on Sunday in the big one, the 49 on Befair could look big then. I’ve also taken place of 14.5 which is a nice price.
Afraid I can’t warm to the English fancies and Irving looks too speedy for this – a bit of stoutness is usually attributed to the Supreme winner.
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