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"Had the ground been this way at declaration time then Rip Van Winkle would not have been here. He is basically a miler who gets a mile and a quarter on quick ground and conditions just went against him today." –
A P O’Brien, trainer
As the man says, RVW is a miler. and he wins his races at that distance by being up with the pace and using his long stride to power away from his opponents. Not once, in 5 attempts at more than 1m, has he been ridden in that manner – his stable obviously understand his limitations better than many on here.
Cape Blanco apparently ran above his earlier form, no doubt aided by an easy lead, but with Twice Over underperforming and the modest Beethoven within 6l, his RPR of 127 looks pretty accurate in my view, though whether he would be able to repeat it with good horses actually challenging him remains open to serious question.
Imo, he won’t even place in the Arc – unless it’s a substandard renewal.What good horses?He ran a blinder in the King George and kept on to finish second after a burning rubber first mile.He gets better by the race.
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Imo, he won’t even place in the Arc – unless it’s a substandard renewal.
Nothing wrong with not placing in the Arc. Conduit, Dar Re Mi and Fame and Glory couldn’t place last year and they are all very serious horses. That said I think he’d have a chance as it looks incredibly weak at the moment. I’d take him over all but Behkabad.
Sarcasm chaps ;0)
Ahh yes.
"The internet – the best place for sarcasm"
Anyway, I wrote this on another forum:
Twice Murtagh was questioned (on RTE before the CS) about Rip and once he diverted the question to Lillie Langtry and next stood there unable to find words. There was a massive element of doubt in their minds on the day of the race IMO. Massive. The ground or the horses demeanor or the mood they percieved in him that day. Whatever the case (in hindsight of course!) it was clear they weren’t bouyant about his chances on the day.
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