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On C4 I’ve just seen Arkle win by a distance at Sandown, carrying 12.10, breaking the course record by 17 seconds
and scampering the final hill looking like he could go around again.
I love Kauto Star, but would Imperial Commander have ever run Arkle to a short head?I enjoyed the chat; John Francome and Ted Walsh are always worth listening too. It was also great to see the footage of Arkle, romping home with 12 st 10 lbs around Sandown In record time), and Flyingbolt winning the Irish National with the same wt, a month after trotting home in the 2-mile champion chase and finishing third (the very next day) in the Champion Hurdle.
I love Kauto Star, but he still has some way to go to match their achievmnetsbefore he won his first Champion Hurdle he looked more like a stayer, and slightly below the top level. That is why it was such a surprise. Perhaps they found out that day how to ride him, set his own pace in front and use his beautiful hurdling technique to its fullest advantage.
A great old warrior, lots of wonderful memoriesThings are a bit clearer now; Go Native, Solwhit, KYber King, and Zaynar. Zaynar reminds me a bit too much of Detroit City, and may not have the speed, but the other 3 make the choice hard. Solwhit looks a rugged competititor, the other two much more classy. Gun to my head, I’d choose Go Native.
absolutely brilliant, the way he accelerated down the home straight was unforgettable.
A small caveat is that once Imperial Commander made his mistake, the othere were obviously so inferior that the victory was just a tad bloodless.
Great horses need great rivalsI remember watching KS’s debut, at Newbury I think, when he absolutely thrashed Foreman, and thinking he was a monster. Amazing to think he missed that season, thru injury, and fell in the 2 miler at the next festival, and has still managed 4 KGs and 2 GCs by the age of nine
It’s impossible to compare generations, but Sea the Stars is equal to the best; 6 grade 1s, from mile to 18 furlongs, all won with consummate ease and thrilling speed
I saw some of Golden Cygnets early races at the time; even then he was a beautifully fluent hurdler. I haven’t been totally impressed by Dunguibs technique, I hope I am proved wrong, but he still has alot to prove
Tedking, you are on fire this morningthe picture is too confused at present for any serious punting. Huuricane Fly and Binocular were ahead of the pack at the start of the year; they got turned over. Celestial Halo and Solwhit made impressive debuts; then they got turned over. Zaynar and Dunguib haven’t been tested at top level yet. Go Native has only one major piece of form, impressive though it was.
I’ll be waiting till the Christmas and December hurdles before forming an opinion.hugely impressive, he travelled well throughout the race and strode clear effortlessly. You couldn’t ask anymore than he has done so far, but I’ve seen so many morning glories in my time that I will reserve judgement.
I thought the first two were very impressive, they both finished very strongly in what must have been tough conditons. Bothe will probably improve for a trip
There is a wider issue here; Evolutionary Theory would argue that horse have become successful adapting to and filling a niche 1.e being used by humans for sport. A paralell would be with cows and wheat, succesful and plentiful species becuase they are used for food.
If there is no risk of injury ie. no racing, this is good news for the individual horse but bad news for the species.I’m sure that horses, if given a vote, would accept the occasional casualty in return for the perpetuation of their species.
it’s far too early to say, and we saw the perfect example of this last Sunday. Based on his performances lasy year I thought Hurricane Fly was almost unbeatable, but once upped in class, he was found wanting.
Gret to see Well Chief winning again, a tribute to his connections, to I don’t think he is within a stone of his great contests with AZ and MF. The proximity of the 2nd and 4th put the value of the form in some doubt however
