- This topic has 24 replies, 18 voices, and was last updated 17 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Can anyone tell me why on earth VPU has shortened for the Champion Chase after today? I heard some rubbish on Radio 5 this evening about his ‘heroic’ defeat. The form today is absolutely worthless. Yes he needed the run, but Kalca Mome tends to need one as well. His only other serious rival was clearly amiss and you have got a horse that was 3 stone out of the handicap beaten just 14 lengths.
Yes he showed enough to suggest he retains all his ability, but it was a really bad race he won last year, admittedly this year’s isn;t shaping up to be much better but Stan Shames and Spoilsports should be embarrassed to clip him into 10/3 and 7/2.
I thought today was a puzzling race. It certainly wasn’t a case of a heroic attempt at carrying top weight in a competitive handicap, a la Well Chief in the Victor Chandler at Cheltenham. For me, the race was there for the taking and Thornton didn’t seem to push Voy Por Ustedes on early enough when it appeared he had Kalca Mome trailing in his wake. He allowing him back into the race, and then couldn’t kick on when he squeezed after the last. I think between the second last and the last he really should have put the race to bed. I certainly didn’t think Voy Por Ustedes was at the end of his tether on the line. I’d be interested on others interpretations of the race.
I lost a tenner on him but I’m not bothered as he gave his all and jumped brilliantly in horrendous conditions but yeah Anzum, maybe Choc could have kicked on turning in to put the race to bed.
He was trying to give the horse as easy a comeback as possible understandably but the horse was definitely gaining on Kalca Mome again on the line.
It seemed to me that Voy would have won today by a distance if he hadn’t cleared each fence by a meter or more. Simpy too much "vertical" gas expended as he sauntered around. If there was more pace and it was more competitive he’d have won in facile fashion. In hindsight the jockey should have forced the pace, of course.
I thought it was a most satisfactory reappearance- he was free early on, there was no gallop and he was worn down close home by a horse getting lumps of weight. I’ve just gotten home after the foulest day I’ve ever spent in Prestbury and was expecting him to have drifted a bit ante post but everyone seems to have taken my positive view, so I won’t be playing either DJ, but he still looks the one to beat in March to me.
Carvills Hill – Looked almost as bad as it was when Dessie won the Gold Cup!
On another subject, what on earth is VPU doing in the nominees for Racing Post horse of the year? He’s only won 1 race! Peeping Fawn hasn’t made it
I can’t see why you wouldn’t shorten it. Just look at how weak the division is and the main protagonist has put in a good round off top weight when not fully fit. This was only ever going to be a pipe opener for the Tingle Creek and a most satisfactory one it was too.
Davidjohnson
On your main point of shortening in price I agree with you but because of the weather I think you have to put it down to a satisfactory first run of the season. I have to agree with Carvillshill that todays conditions were the worst I’ve experienced at Cheltenham ( in fact the worst I’ve been anywhere ) , much worse than Desert Orchids Gold Cup and The Thinkers come to think of it. The rain/sleet was painful to any exposed parts (steady!) walking back to the car park, I can only imagine what it felt like for both horses and jockeys going at speed. It was so bad my Dad and I had to travel home minus the trousers, not a pretty sight I assure you !
Today VPU confirmed that he’s still alive and can run close to the mark that the BHB have assigned to him based on previous runs. If that qualifies a shortening in the Champion Chase market by a point or more then where do I sign up to become a bookmaker?
I also notice that Twist Magic shortened from 6/1 to 5/1 in the market after winning at Kempton on Tuesday. He was 2/11 for Christ’s sake!I think they needed to get a run into Voy poy Ustedes before the Tingle Creek to get the fizz out of him, and they wern’t going to give him too hard a race in the process. We were only talking about this horse the other night and saying that some horses are overhyped and others never seem to get the credit they deserve and I think this horse is falls into the latter category. I also think that anyone who was at Cheltenham today deserves a medal because I was shivering watching it on the telly with the heating on!!
In and of itself this was a shrug of a race. As DJ alluded to Kalca Mome has been very ordinary fresh for a while now (won on reappearance in 2003 but not come anywhere as close since), River City hated every second and the other two were pot-hunting – Mark Gillard must be thrilled to have won four and a half grand with Pauntley Gofa just by dint of turning up fully race-fit.
VPU was, as Carvillshill and Zilzal have mentioned, doing a bit more early on than the job in hand actually required, but ultimately I’m sure connections will happily forego the near-£20,000 they lost via Kalca Mome’s late rattle if it means that VPU is absolutely bang on for the Tingle Creek and the like.
But no, I wouldn’t necessarily have thought it a performance especially meriting a shaving of his Queen Mum price, especially with several of the other likely players in the race yet to reappear. And his nomination as a Horse of the Year by the Post puzzles me a bit also.
Jeremy
(graysonscolumn)Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I was actually impressed with Voy Por Ustedes.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
It’s a pity Andreas picked up an injury and won’t be fit until the second half of the season. I’m not in the habit of backing injured horses ante-post but if his Grand Annual run isn’t a false dawn and they’ve solved whatever it was that caused him to finish his races so weakly, he’s only got to improve 6 or 7 lb imo to be right in the reckoning in the Queen Mother.
As a warm up race it was satisfactory in that it blew away the cobwebs.
If we are talking silly odds I think the odds for VPU yesterday were more laughable.
I am one of the horses greatest fans but there was no way I was going to back him at those odds, especially taking into account the conditions and weight concession.
Personally I would like to see more of you writing him off and, as a result, his price drifting come Cheltenham – it is a tactic which paid off to great effect last year – so please carry on knocking him so I can get a good price come March.
I certainly wouldn’t back him at 7/2 this far in advance of the festival.
. The form today is absolutely worthless.
I’d probably agree with this David
FTO, steadily run in poor conditions and giving lumps to all, is probably not the best way to assess a horse
You’ll probably always get a good price on the day about this horse because, as I said before, he tends to be overlooked [what more does he need to do to prove how good he is?]. I really admire the horse, his trainer and his jockey – a good professional team.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.