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Seems to become a habit in the past three days. When was the last time we’ve had so many front-runners winning with such ease?
And another from the front. What are those stupid jockeys doing at the rear of the field?
The Kim Muir winner showed you can be tailed off and still win.
Well, another badly handicapped irish horse with roughly 75lbs in hand.
Cheltenham is a frontrunners course, especially the Old, particularly on Good ground.
Plenty of horses have won from the front in previous years.
Frodon, Coneygree and Siruh Du Lac have all done it in superb fashion.
I’ve said before that my favourite horses are those who go from the front, jump for fun and refuse to be passed.
So I’m quite enjoying this week
Of course if the pace of a race is overly strong it still favours those held up. But crowd noise normally puts many horses off and – without another horse to focus on – horses in front idled far more often than closers. Therefore this season – crowdless – front / prominent runners have an advantage unless it’s been a really overly strong pace.
Value Is EverythingWhen the winner is doing a decent overall time – as Allaho and Flooring Porter did – I wouldn’t jump to the facile conclusion that the track suddenly favours front runners.
They both happen to be very good horses, IMO, that’s all.
Yesterday’s Coral Cup was daylight robbery, though, very soft lead and not a great overall time even for the grade of handicap.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Flooring Porter did exactly the same thing at Leopardstown at Christmas in a decent event with some of today’s opponents behind, so merely repeated what he had done before. I haven’t managed to get many things right at Cheltenham this week, but thankfully remembered that performance.
There’s a difference between strong and overly strong pace, Ian.
Fastest way from A to B is an even pace.
If front/prominent runners go off too fast they can’t sustain it in the finish. Where as those at the back are doing nearer that optimum even pace than those at the front. So those held up can still do a fast time, held up horses having a better chance of winning.
If every horse goes an overly fast pace in the early stages then nobody will go at optimum pace and although it will favour those held up all horses will finish tired. Finishing speed so slow that the overall time is actually slower.
Strong even pace should normally favour neither front runner or those held up. However, with no crowd noise I believe front / prominent runners have the advantage at Cheltenham unless there is an overly strong pace.
Value Is Everythinghttps://www.independent.co.uk/sport/man-with-time-on-his-side-1329067.html
I went to school with him, I got him into racing, we were studying times together back in the early 1980s, we’ve both been devoted to study of the subject 40 years plus now.
Just saying.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I don’t think that anyone is saying Allaho isn’t a good horse, Ian. imo It was a bloody good performance no matter what. It’s just that from what is known about horses idling with crowd noise it must be an advantage for front / prominent runners… And that seems to be working out from (not just one or two) the number of front / prominent runners winning and/or doing well at Cheltenham this week.
Value Is EverythingWe also have fewer fallers at the final two obstacles and that clearly is another proof of the missing crowd noise imo.
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