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Its because they zoom in to the fence too quickly. The jockeys always use too much Mr Whippy, Choc Ice Thornton is the worst, he’s a real screwball, falls 99 times out of 100, whereas Ruby Walsh he’s Fab at getting them over.
clivex
It was quite a day. On the scaffolding stands in the cabbage patch a bloke in front of me was yelling his head off for Desert Orchid to win and after he had crossed the line turned round and said " I must be mad, I’ve had £20 on Yahoo and here I am shouting for him to get beat "
I guess some horses get people like that but I know who I’d have been shouting for with £800 riding on it, and it wouldn’t have been a grey !
As you pointed out in conditions that wouldn’t have suited it was a brave effort although I have to say it might have been in vain if Ten plus had not fallen
Just a few off the top of my head
Cross Master in the Sun Alliance
New Halen at the Festival 1990 ish
Dawn Run Gold Cup
Desert Orchid Gold Cup
Sublimity Champion Hurdle
Ben Nevis Grand National
One Man Champion Chase
Mtoto King George
Green Ruby Stewards Cup I think ( had the tricast )
Green Ruby Ayr Gold CupFOF
You wrote
"He’s not a bad horse but a week ago Katchit was a superstar now no one fancies him. That simply wasn’t his running and I would prefer a watching brief next time before discarding him."
Superstar to some maybe but I think his run at the weekend is not too far off how good he is. With regards to the Champion Hurdle I can’t have him at all. The last Triumph winner to go on and win the CH was Kribensis I believe and it took him the season after to do it. Recent history suggest that the other Novice races are better for CH pointers. Istabraq, Hors La Loi III, Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca all won novice races at the festival before going on to win the CH (HLL & BI didn’t do it the following season I grant you) and IMO Sublimity would have won in 2006 had he not been interfered with.
You also wrote
"Sublimity is a 7 year old and hardly likely to have improved"
I don’t think being 8 years old next year is a negative on Sublimity’s part, particulary with such low mileage on the clock. Since 1989 the records are this
6 yr old – 5 wins
7 yr old – 7 wins
8 yr old – 4 wins
9 yr old – 2 winsAs regards to improving Sublimity won’t need to. If he runs up to last years form he will win with the biggest danger as previously mentioned the
OAP Harchibald , a sprightly 9 year old.I would tend to agree that Istabraq didn’t beat top quality fields in any of his Champion Hurdles but I would also agree that he won all three easily enough. I think the only horse at the time that would have given him a race was Dato Star on soft ground and whilst I also think he would have beaten the likes of Hardy Eustace , Brave Inca etc I think the last 5/6 years were better quality fields with the above two, Macs Joy & Harchibald all rated in the high 160’s.
As for Sublimity I think he is decent and if he turns up at his best next March he will won comfortably. The only perceived danger might be Harchibald as he travels as well as Sublimity but I would still prefer Sublimity to show him a clean pair of heels up the hill.
lollys mate
Ah, dear old Orange. I changed from dial up last May to Orange broadband and kept getting an intermittent connection. I went through the call centre farce and then managed to get a UK customer support e-mail address which referred me to the Indian call centre. Anyway to cut a long story short, after 5 or 6 letters , over 25 e-mails and several telephone conversations with UK personnel I finally managed to get something done in January of this year by finding out the name of the director for Orange Broadband and guessed at what his e-mail address would be attaching all of the e-mail correspondence with it. Luckily I guessed correctly but after not receiving a reply for three or four weeks sent a snotty e-mail stating he was as bad as his staff. Lo and behold my problem was solved. It turned out that they had me on the 1mb connection what they promised me would be available when it turned out my exchange would only accept half the speed. I managed to get over 90 quid compensation and all in all 8 months free connection. I am still with them and haven’t had a problem since but most likely will change provider when/if I move house. Let me know if you want his e-mail address.
Insomniac
I also see where you are coming from and before the birth of my son two years ago I would have had a different reaction to what I have now. I would have thought yes its very sad but unfortunately these things happen. My general outlook is the same now however being a father has changed certain ways I look at things. I was reasonably old , 38, when my son was born and to be honest hadn’t given a great deal of thought to what a life changing experience it would be. If you would have asked me when I was 35 how to raise a child I would have confidently told you how to do it and been blase about it all. After a month, taking the calms and a stone lighter I assure you my opinion had changed. Which brings me to the point I’m trying to make. I am now of the opinion that on the whole unless you have experienced a situation yourself you are not really in a position to comment on what is right or wrong for any one individual. Personally I still dont like it much when people continually go on about their own "problems" , however I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t do the same given their circumstance. I thought the article was well written, honest and for want of a better word moving and hopefully for him serves a purpose.
These are just my thoughts and in no way should be taken as criticism of your post.
In what way was Chief Dan George flattered ? As the Racing post write up says take him out of the race and Wichita Lineman would have been hyped up beating a decent field by nearly twenty lengths. Added to the fact that his only defeat was at Cheltenham where he tweaked a muscle in his quarters I think he would have a decent chance against WL if they met again particularly on softish ground.
Grasshopper
I would take issue on a couple of points you raised
A romp giving weight away in a handicap – Agreed
a defeat of the Arkle winner (and future Champion Chaser) over an inadequate 2m – I think more of an indication of how poor the 2M division is nowadays, if he’d done that to Well Chief then thats another matter altogether.
thoroughly gubbing the best staying chasers around in a Grade 1 over 3m – Best staying chasers ?? Ollie Magern rated 147, Kingscliff, hadn’t run a decent race in 12 months, L’Ami – mid 150’s rated at best, Beef Or Salmon, top top class in Ireland, in England a good 7-10lb less IMHO, and Iris’s Gift – if that was one of the best staying chasers then we are in trouble. There was no sign of any of the placed horses in either the Gold Cup or the King George in this race so the best ?
an effortless King George win – I’ll concede that though as previously stated the closeness of Racing Demon would give me doubts
a battling win conceding 10lbs to the previous season’s Gold Cup 4th – agreed, muddling race
a comprehensive Gold Cup victory – not so sure about this one, proximity of Turpin Green would be a slight worry and I have a slight niggle about the trip and Cheltenham in a truely run race.
Believe it or not this not meant to really devalue Kauto Stars achievements but I would like to see him do similar this year to confirm the high opinions people have of him already. Needless to say it wouldn’t surprise me to see him sweep albefore him again this season and I will genuinely take my hat off to him , but it wouldn’t altogether surprise me if he didn’t.
I have to say I disagree with you FoF over the Best Mate v Kauto Star comparison.
Agreed in Best Mate’s era there wasn’t a wealth of decent 3M+ chasers but he still managed to beat in his time around ten other Grade1 chase winners (agreed some unreliable horses amongst them, but obviously useful on their day) and around half a dozen other Grade1 novice chase winners. He also managed to beat a multiple Grade1 chaser Beef Or Salmon in his prime in Ireland. I also take issue with the fact I think Best Mate was a Cheltenham horse and definitely not a Kempton horse. I actually think he was better going Cheltenham way round than Kempton, and was a better horse in the hands of J Culloty than AP McCoy. In his three Gold Cup wins I can’t remember him making the semblance of a bad mistake, although I agree he wasn’t spectacular, however if economical means getting to the other side of the fence in the quickest manner then give me one of those over a spectacular any day.
Kauto Star so far – last season he beat 4 previous Grade1 winners and three Grade1 novice chase winners. The Grade1 winners were Beef Or Salmon (in England),Kingscliff, Central House & The Listener. Grade1 novice chase winners were Voy Per Ustedes, Forget The Past & Ollie Magern. At Cheltenham and Kempton he beat Exotic Dancer who improved around 30lb during the season , primarily based on KS rating. You could also say the proximity of Racing Demon (overrated) in the King George & Turpin Green (upped 18lb for his Gold Cup run) slightly devalued the form.
So on both counts you could say what have both these horses beat. I believe Best Mate could have bettered his official rating if able to race against better opposition, he had a nice cruising speed and IMHO was a fluent jumper. Kauto Star could turn out to be better yet, but we will have to see however I don’t think you can judge him a Superstar based on what he beat last year.
I quite liked the John Smiths adverts with Peter Kay especially the beginning of the Doorstep challenge one. When Peter Kay opens the door to Danny Baker he is saying " I don’t care whose it is it’s still floating ".
Burroughill
I live about 7 miles from Loughborough and it doesn’t take too long to get to Wolverhampton down the M42,A5,M54 route although they do like their roadworks in Wolverhampton sometimes. Leicester on a Monday is positively crowded compared to Wolverhampton. Unfortunately not attended Leicester this year, usually go early December but unless I throw a sickie wont manage that either.
My Dad and I have been to Wolverhampton four or five times this year and might fit an evening meeting in before the end of the year. Low grade races I know but you can get a pint when you want one, no queueing for the loos and generally you can get a seat in the bar as well and more to the point I seem to be quite successful on the punting front ! I do prefer the jumps though and I went to Cheltenham on Sunday, the first non festival day I’ve been to , and despite the weather probably enjoyed the experience more than when we go on World Hurdle day in March. Being able to get a drink quickly and not queueing too long for the tote was a new experience for me at Cheltenham (well in the last ten years anyway). If it wasn’t for the top quality races at the festival it would be touch and go whether we bother as it aint what it used to be 20 years ago when I started going to Cheltenham. As mentioned already the crowds are a pain (which is why we go on the Thursday) and I’m sure some of the people there disappear in to one of the tents and never see a horse all day ! So back to Wolverhampton, although it is only poor quality races they tend to be reasonably competitive, you can get a drink, plenty of space in the stands and you can always watch the better class racing in the bar. Give it a try I say, though not too many of you as I don’t want you TRFers hogging the bar.
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 !
