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Wasn’t he probably a year too young for the race last year? however, am I right in thinking it hasn’t been a good race for favourites in recent years?
I’, wth Marsh…….KB will win this on the bridle……..unless it goes very soft…………grassy will disagree
Was a good performance but IMO there was a slow pace as Hills of aran was still at the front at the end and still looked pretty much full of running. Kasbah Bliss was also full of running and finished out the race with a sprint to the line. Cheltenham will be much different pace wise.
Duc Du Regniere for whatever reason didnt look to throw in his best level of form to be fair.
Kasbah Bliss is good but has already been beaten by inglis drever round cheltenham, but Big Bucks and Punchestowns look better than ID to me and they are still improving.
All today proved to me is that it is a 3 horse race instead of 2. Im on Big Bucks and Punchestowns and am still fairly confident on their chances, despite being impressed by Kasbah Bliss.
Kasbah Bliss will be better suited by a stronger pace. His performance on Saturday was even more impressive considering it was his first run in over four months and the first time he’d jumped a hurdle in public since the World Hurdle last year.
I don’t think either Punchestowns or Big Bucks are a patch on Inglis Drever at this stage of their careers and it’s arguable that KB met ID in his prime last season.
Big Bucks is a tricky ride and I don’t think for a second that he can match KB for a turn of foot. Punchestowns clearly has an engine, but his hurdling is far from fluent.
As I expected, Kasbah Bliss is an improved horse this year and Doumen’s comments after the race cemented this opinion.
I can’t see any chinks in his armour.
I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t impressed by KB today- but I’ll ask a small question to his major fans. Had Barry Geraghty ridden him a certain way, couldn’t Punchestowns have treated DdR with a similar level of distain in the Long Walk?
You wuld have to say yes if it wasn’t for the ground and if the same question was asked about a few others in he World Hurdle again yes would surely be the answer.
Kasbah Bliss ran Inglis Drever to a length which looks great on paper but Inglis Drever had been on the go for a very long time and was probably a much better horse in previous years,
Outwith that, over jumps he had won a novice hurdle and a hurdle race at Haydock when the favourite Wichita Lineman ran no sort of race. Now he’s won a no contest and people are saying he’s a certainty for the World Hurdle. Hardly form to be getting as exited about as some are.
I could see Punchestown beating him very easily. Up and coming, has class written all over him and no one knows better than Nicky Henderson what it takes to win at cheltenham.
He was beaten on Heavy ground which is easy to forgive any horse, and he should hit 4/1 in the next couple of days with moey coming for KB.Excellent price if he does.
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There’s no way on this earth that Punchestowns will ‘beat Kasbah Bliss easily’. Soft ground could prove to be the only real spoiler, but the former won’t stay if that’s the case anyway.
Inglis Drever was at his very best in winning last year’s race and Kasbah Bliss has improved, perhaps significantly, since then. He travels strongly, hurdles quickly and stays every inch of the trip – he’s (still) nailed on.
I thought it was very impressive.
Won easily, hands and heels stuff, just pushed out to the line.
Will be a good race at Cheltenham in March, and interesting that Big Bucks has been given odds of 6/1 following Kasbah Bliss’ win yesterday.
At the very least Kasbah Bliss is now a worthy favourite for the WH. Puchestowns and Big Bucks do not have the form in the book that Kasbah Bliss does. A 1 length second to Inglis Drever is top form in my opinion…and I suspect Kasbah has improved since last year.
On a slightly different topic, I was intrigued to read the other day that Mighty Man is still a possible for the WH. Now there is a horse that could add something to the race if he shows up. Henry Daly is no stranger to getting festival winners off long lay offs.
No; I read that he’ll be back for Cheltenham..isn’t he better at Aintree, though, or have I got it the wrong way round?
Yes he is better at Aintree but still good enough at cheltenham to warrant consideration…still some 50-1 around I see.
I found this quote from Henry Daly re Mighty Man:
"He won’t run before Cheltenham. While he wouldn’t be going to the festival simply for the exercise and fresh air, we have our thoughts set on Aintree because he has such a good record there."
Following the downgrade to the RP website, the cuttings library no longer says what date the articles were written but it’s recent enough anyway.
There you go David…
http://www.setanta.com/uk/Articles/othe … nid-35653/
16th January 2009.
Thanks for the information.
I really like Mighty Man.
Given connections think he is going to keep on improving, it’s hard to argue that come March, if all is well with him, he’s going to be awfully tough to beat, and he could be something special
He had no problems with the underfoot conditions, but better ground would probably aid him in the World Hurdle, in which the stronger gallop will also suit. He will be hard to beat at Cheltenham.
The quotes above courtesy of the RP for the two main protagonists. Interesting to see how the opinion shifts fairly clearly from one position to another in less than two months. They’ve got it right now. Kasbah Bliss is a serious race horse who happens to jump hurdles very well. He will make Big Bucks and Punchestowns look like the jumps "plodders" they are on the 12th of March. At 13/8 one is backing the fact that he shows up fit and well on the day. If he does the others are playing for second.
Most recent update (14/02/09) regarding Mighty Man.
HENRY DALY yesterday reported Mighty Man to be firmly on course for a return from apparently career-ending injury at Cheltenham next month after stepping up the nine-year-old’s work.
Daly left the former top stayer, who is unraced since rupturing a tendon at Punchestown in April 2007, in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Tuesday’s first scratchings deadline. He said: "Everything is going along with no problems. We have stepped his work up and everything feels all right but we will see.
"It’s a day-by-day job, but I am happy so far, that is the best way to put it. His mentality is very much geared to being a racehorse and therefore what he shows you on the gallops is always a great deal of enthusiasm."
I’m pretty sure he’ll run in the World Hurdle.However his main aim is the Liverpool hurdle at Aintree. If he does turn up at Cheltenham, he’ll definitely give the leading contenders a run for their money
The 50/1 on offer with some firms is a huge price.
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