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I feel you are missing the point here Steve. Any racecourse, Scottish or otherwise would be free to put on a conditions race with decent prize money. After three years, the racecourse could apply to the pattern committee to have the race upgraded to Group status, provided it had attracted a sufficient quality of horse in the three years.
It is not an anti-Scottish bias at work, simply that Scottish racecourses and sponsors choose not to put on the type of race which merits inclusion in the pattern. The other factor is, of course, that trainers will be less willing to travel their horses further – i.e. an identical race at Newmarket will probably attract more/better entries than one at Musselburgh, all things being equal, because of the proximity of so many horses.
Levy is a separate point, as races with a high betting turnover don’t necessarily correspond with those holding the highest status (i.e position in the pattern).
I would be interested to hear anybody else’s views on the above, as perhaps it is me that’s got the wrong end of the stick?!
I give up HJ – how I miss System 2000…
My first thought was that it would have been in a Hunter Chase, perhaps Earthmover, but a search on the RP website confirmed that this is false.
Care to enlighten me?
Thanks Richard.
He certainly stopped like a horse with a breathing problem last year (not including his debut win which made me fancy him for all sorts of fancy targets).
Good to see him back to something approximating form anyway – look forward to seeing him throughout the year.
Speaking of Sixties Icon, good to see him back in action. One of my favourite horses, very disappointed when he lost his way so badly last year.
The write-up of the race in the RP says that a root of the problem has been found, but does not allude to what this might be.
Anybody able to shed any light?
Received and understood HJ – hope all is going well up there and you’ve had a good season? Should be getting a bit quieter now, winding down towards Umberleigh…
Thanks for the comments HJ, think a small bet on Rydal Park for me.
PS, did I read on one of your other posts that you work for Weatherbys? Was there myself a couple of years ago, probably know each other…
Morning all –
Any opinions about Beacon Lodge?
I know he hasn’t achieved anywhere near enough to win a Guineas so far, but is reported to have wintered well, and runs in what looks a weak Greenham tomorrow. If he wins that, or runs well, he’ll shorten dramatically from the 150-1 currently on offer on Betfair.
Couldn’t agree more Aragorn. I was having exactly the same debate with the missus yesterday. If he was mine, I would have run him.
Look at how often Dessie ran – every 5 weeks near enough… I appreciate he was an exceptionally tough beast, but really people want it both ways. They moan about the cotton wool, Best Mate scenario, and then complain when sporting owners run their horses more often.
Horses are there to race, as racing fans we enjoy seeing them race, and we should be pleased that we get to see Kauto 6 times a year rather than 3.
(IMO, of course).
Come on the Geordies indeed – Haway the lads!
King Kev working his magic at last.
Turko won’t win, but don’t buy the ‘mental scar’ stuff. He’ll run until he’s tired and then stop, unless he’s in with a chance at the time – where’s the harm in that?. He could have the sh!t scared out of him by the size of the fences, but I’m sure he’ll have been schooled over something similar at home…
As I think has been said previously on the Forum, PN probably doesn’t have much regard for stats (such as 5 year olds in the Champion Chase)!
Also, as MP rightly pointed out, French breds do mature (and peak) earlier. (Although there is the French bred National stat to overcome there as well.)
It is worth noting that the horse doesn’t know that he is a French six-year-old, and doesn’t have recourse to the Racing Post or formbook.
I think his form entitles him to a big chance, but I won’t be backing a horse with as much weight, even with the weights being ‘compressed’. As to whether he should run or not based on the stats/his maturity – if Mr Stewart wants him to, and PN thinks he’s got a chance, then why not? It’s not as if he’s a no-hoper running in the colours of F. Wilson!
Agree with that entirely Reet – amazing how opinions of the same race can differ so greatly.
To my eyes he was never jumping and never travelling. The sticky ground could have been to blame I suppose. Also, to resurrect an earlier topic about the strangeness of Ascot, I wonder if it’s a coincidence that a number of horses who had their previous race at Ascot flopped at Chelters?
A sensible debate, and I agree with elements of quite a few posts.
In answer to the question posed by the title of the thread, Kauto will in all probability win (and I hope he does). However, I can’t get out of my mind that he did appear to have a hard race at Cheltenham, and for this reason people may have justification for opposing him at the likely odds.
The "Kauto vs. Denman" and the " Is Kauto a great" topics have been done to death, but for what it’s worth Kauto is a great in my opinion. Not many horses can win Grade 1 races at distances between 2m and 3m2f, and that’s before you take into account the ease of his victories. He was imperious in the King George.
The only horse I can think of with the same versatility is Dessie. The other parallel between the two is that Dessie didn’t get on with Cheltenham, particularly the Gold Cup trip in soft ground. Nobody says that Dessie was not "great", despite his Cheltenham flops (nobody sane who has watched his races anyway)!
I hope that Messrs. Barber and Findlay are sporting enough to take on Kauto over different courses and trips, rather than just those which patently suit Denman. I know who my money would be on in a King George.
Lady Carla – pocket talking as had first big win (of very few I might add) on her as a schoolboy when she won the Oaks.
Ouija Board – (obviously)!
Dubacilla – a very tough mare
