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Looks like we will get to see Binocular at Cheltenham again fairly soon, as it seems connections would rather him go to Cheltenham for the Bula as opposed to the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle prior to that race.
No declarations out yet, and he still holds an entry for the race at Newcastle, but connections seem happy with his progress and look to favour a trip to Cheltenham.
Celestial Halo will be there waiting Gaz! No disrespect to Punjabi but the Thriller in Manila is between Binocular and Celestial,the Bula will be a good Pre Champion "handbags" clash.The gloves come off in March!
I do hope Celestial Halo is entered for the Bula.
Would be another good race watching those 2 against eachother.
Thats a good shout by the Henderson team imo.
I wonder if AP will hold onto Binocular for as long this time though at Cheltenham!! Celestial Halo looks in great nick this season and he will be doing all he can to burn Binoocular off,but if the bula is a small field i can see Binocular having an easy time of it. Cant have punjabi as i reckon both CH and Binocular should have finished in front in the champion. Punjabi is a "nearly" horse that got lucky in that everything went his way that day,but shouldnt be winning champions imo.
EDIT-If Celestial Halo runs in the bula obviously.
ps i reckon CH is an ew certainty come March.
Looks like connections have had a change of mind and it is actually Binocular who will now go to Newcastle, and Punjabi will go to Cheltenham.
Gaz,you cant blame Binoculars connections for running scared,he would be a racing certainty if the Champion hurdle was run at Kempton,unfortunately Cheltenham needs a horse to draw on all there mental and physical strengths and to battle!
Just look at the videos of Celestial v Binocular!What a difference a course makes!Gaz,you cant blame Binoculars connections for running scared,he would be a racing certainty if the Champion hurdle was run at Kempton
Harchibald would bate em
lest we forget that "phenomenal" performance in the 05 Champion hurdle,when Harchibald split 2 champion hurdlers in Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca by 2 necks!Both champs flat out battling like lions up that famous hill that seperates the great from the good and yet Harchi is there cantering!It doesn"t get any better as a spectacle!Champion hurdle odds run at Kempton Imperial! 4/6 Binocular,7/2 Hurricane fly,6/1 Solwhit,10/1 Celestial Halo,14/1 Harchibald,16/1 Go Native!
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Binocular finished all of a neck behind Celestial Halo at Cheltenham, TAPK, and was closing on both he and Punjabi at the line, so how can his ability and desire be questioned? Cheltenham obviously doesn’t suit him as well as it does the Nicholls horse, but he’s undoubtedly the better animal and is hardly shirking the issue when push comes to shove.
After his debut at Ascot – he jumped so cleanly and quickly – I didn’t think there’d be much more to come from Binocular, but on reflection he looks by far the likelier improver (especially as a French-bred) and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t reverse Cheltenham form with Celestial Halo at some point.
You would have to fancy C.Halo to beat Punjabi here. He has the benefit of a run and Punjabi is a horse who comes on alot for his first run of the season. But he will battle all the way up the hill and there won’t be much between them I think.
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lest we forget that "phenomenal" performance in the 05 Champion hurdle,when Harchibald split 2 champion hurdlers in Hardy Eustace and Brave Inca by 2 necks!Both champs flat out battling like lions up that famous hill that seperates the great from the good and yet Harchi is there cantering!It doesn"t get any better as a spectacle!Champion hurdle odds run at Kempton Imperial! 4/6 Binocular,7/2 Hurricane fly,6/1 Solwhit,10/1 Celestial Halo,14/1 Harchibald,16/1 Go Native!
What on earth makes you think Kempton would suit Binoculare more than the likes of Hurricane Fly or even Celestial Halo.
You have this idea in your head Celestial halo needs a stiff stamina test to be seen at his best. Don’t forget he beat nothing in the Triumph and he himself yet hewas outstayed up the hill at Cheltenham by Punjabi.
You change the venue to Sandown or Ascot and you could have the kitchen sink on a fit Celestial Halo to beat Punjabi who is more of a speed horse than you give him credit for.
Nicky Henderson has this wierd thing he does with his good horses year after year.
Kempton is a long way off being the ideal track for any horse heading to Cheltenham and Binocular is much better suited to the likes of Ascot than he is by Kempton.
He wins races because he has a very high cruising speed is a very hard horse to get off the bridle, not because he has bags of acceleration.
Kempton is a place Nicky sends themt to sharpen them up like he did when Binocular went there barely beating Pierrot Lunaire before running in the Supreme.
Round those tight bends races often turn into sprints from between the last 2 and a horse like Hurricane Fly becomes more dangerous to ahorse like Binocular. If Celestial Halo went off at a rate of knotts catching him wouldn’t be easy either.
I would rather keep the CH at Cheltenham especially now we know Binocular can come up the hill.
I just hope Binocular gets some more top class experience before the Champion Hurdle this time around.
In my opinion he was to inexperienced last year. The best place for a horse to learn is on the track.
Dan Skelton’s views on Celestial Halo…
Interesting what he said about Celestial Halo’s stamina. I’d have to dig my notes out, but I’m sure that when Dan came to our racing club a couple of years ago Celestial Halo was mentioned at the start of his career as more of a World Hurdle horse when he had matured.
Interesting what he said about Celestial Halo’s stamina. I’d have to dig my notes out, but I’m sure that when Dan came to our racing club a couple of years ago Celestial Halo was mentioned at the start of his career as more of a World Hurdle horse when he had matured.
Nicholls always said that he would make a 3-miler rather than a 2-miler, i remember that.
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Moe/Gaz
No doubt CH will make a World Hurdle horse one day (As you’d expect from a Leger entry), but while-ever he can clean up at 2 miles, what’s the point?
He runs in a ‘point and shoot trial’ on Saturday for more money than he’d make anywhere over 3m – outside the World Hurdle.
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