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Probably not Certify I would have thought. Fillies are much less likely to train on from 2 to 3, and to remain unbeaten I would say, plus she’s with Godolphin. Maybe was a great 2yo but average 3yo filly.
I know he only ran three times due to injury, but Guineas winner Footstepinthesand was unbeaten. We never found out how good he was.
I miss the old BBC coverage of the Grand National, which focused much more on the horses and had fewer presenters.
The course was like a roller coaster with the elaborate figure of eight and the steep downhill and uphill sections. I noticed that none of the horses fell though, this was probably because the fences were mostly soft natural hedge which can be ploughed straight through if a mistake is made.
Except that NJH appears to have neglected to train Finian’s Rainbow and Riverside Theatre properly since other stable stars have appeared on the scene…
I am sure there was some talk a couple of years back about Big Bucks perhaps running in one of the distance races at Ascot. Too late, a real shame. I would have liked to see that.
Kasbah Bliss was good enough to win a Group 1 distance prize on the flat and some decent hurdle races too.
In case anyone is bored this Sunday and looking for something to do, here is a recording of last year’s Velka Pardubicka which makes an interesting comparison to the National.
I did not count a single horse fall in that running of the Pardubicka, though perhaps this has something to do with the slower pace of the race, the cross country style fences which require a more accurate jumper and the forgiving nature of the completely natural hedges.
I am really glad they did significant work on Bechers. I used to wince every time the horses went over and most of them would go right down on their noses and for some their front end would completely crumple on landing.
Decreasing the adverse (uphill) gradient on landing was very important. For Three day eventing I am fairly sure the course designing rules stipulate that all drop fences must have a gentle downhill slope on landing because landing off drop fences on to uphill or even flat ground is more harmful to the horses and more likely to result in front leg injuries.
I agree with those who wanted something done to reduce the number of fallers. It is such a shame that Little Josh had to pay the price on Friday, he was a real favourite of mine.
RIP Little Josh.
For various reasons I was especially attached to this horse. Very sad to hear he paid the ultimate price today. At least he died doing what he loved. Never forgotten old boy.
Can we not descend into a debate about the merits of Frankel please?
I was really impressed with St Nic, AOB gave an insightful interview afterwards in which he admitted he got it wrong in thinking ST Nic was better coming from off the pace.
Apparently it was Derrick Smith and Joseph who convinced him to let St Nic sit further up the pace.
I have always had a soft spot for the horse and I hope he can run in a similar fashion this summer in the UK.
Any body know what happened to Imperial Monarch in the Dubai Gold Cup? His first run over 2 miles, did he not stay or something?
Thanks
I think they might do a Frankel with him, win absolutely everything at 2 miles for a couple of years and then step him up somewhere perhaps when he is 9 years old.