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I agree fully with that Griff. However certain sections of the media , including the BBC , do make the most of horse injury and like to sensationalise the headlines and add fuel to the fire. If politicians feel they can gain political capital from animal welfare they will jump on the bandwagon- look at what’s happening to greyhound racing in Scotland and Wales. Somehow I don’t think Mr Polanski will be a GN supporter for example.
But aside from all that – It was a fantastic race yesterday, defying doubters who said the course is too easy now . It has produced a winner who on the 50th anniversary (the symmetry of history is mind-blowing sometimes) of Rummy’s treble can aim to repeat the feat and become another true legend . Ed Chamberlin won’t be able to contain himself !Another dramatic and historic National. An incredible weight carrying performance by the favourite and with a 121 record, Maximus deserves fully to be mentioned alongside Red Rum. Yes you can say the fences were much tougher in the 70s , but then the fences in 70s were easier than what faced Reynoldstown in 35-36 so let’s not carp. Willie M equals another of Dr Vincent O’Briens achievements in doing a triple, and remarkably a British trained horse finished 2nd . I wonder if Willie fancies having a crack at The Derby ? Thanks to a fantastic four timer, including Heidi Palin beating the mighty Townend , Dan can look over his shoulder without fear, despite the £600k or so added to Willie’s coffers.
A 41% casualty rate of falls or unseats is the highest since the modern National changes of 2013 were implemented- this is still not an easy race to win, so lets hear no more of the whingeing about the race being soft or just “a long distance hurdle”.Thankfully all horses are reported safe – you can imagine Monday’s headlines if Quai de Bourbon or Top of the Bill had not got up. Aintree have done all that they can, but you cannot eliminate risk — as racing lovers we as fans accept that as to all participants and owners – but there remain plenty who don’t. I respect the opinions of reasoned opponents, though not the extremists of some organisations, and we can only continue the dialogue. We must remain transparent about welfare and keep striving to look for those incremental gains, whilst preserving the character of this wonderful race.
The National owes Richie McLernon one, after Sunnyhillboy, so I would love to see him win it on Johnny Who. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spillane’s Tower go for the Bowl so JP ensures that Johnny gets a run. The Real Whacker and old Mr Vango are both very well handicapped on old form but have shown no spark recently , though at huge odds I probably won’t resist having a small each way flutter.
Well greenasgrass I thought i was the only one to spot The Enabler. Decent run in the Kim Muir, a course winner and carries a light weight here. Well worth a punt at odds and I shall add in Showyourappreciation in the old green and gold.
QF- Even if he won Topham, SGN, Bet 365, had a 1-2-3 in the National and picked up the Melling Chase and one of the grade 1 Aintree Hurdles, Skelton would still have a lead of around £750k . Willie’s realised that at nearly £4.1 million Dan is not for catching. He’s more worried about running Gordon Elliott down in the Irish title race. If Gordon were to win the Irish National, he’ll be £600k ahead going into Punchestown so he’ll need all his big guns for that meeting. Expect to see Lossiemouth, the Warrior and Il Etait Temps all lining up.
Well reading through the thread- it’s pretty clear we’re all a tad confused as to what happens next and who goes where. My suggestion that Townend might even switch to GW was scorned a few weeks ago but now it’s a possibility. An impressive win by Haiti Couleurs or Jango at the weekend will shake up the market anew. The only two things I am fairly sure about are that GDC is not the horse of old and won’t regain the Cup at 10 and that last year’s winner won’t get to Cheltenham.
The stats for Ryanair winners in the GC aren’t that great – Imperial Commander is the only horse to double up though Cue Card might have,had Brennan not put him on the floor. Fact to File to me is a Florida Pearl type, a speedy, genuine G1 three mile horse who maybe is not quite good enough to win a Gold Cup.What a performance by Fact to File . Gaelic ran very well and GDC a good run but like Novak yesterday, Father Time has caught up with him (excellent run by Firefox too).
Don’t think the Cromwell horse will even turn up in March now- last year is looking more and more like a fluke . Fact to File and Spillane’s Tower are now surely Gold Cup bound for JP and Gaelic has to go Ryanair (to meet Jonbon) as I don’t think he’ll get up that hill. Don’t know why Don and Gary sound surprised at a Mullins 1-2-3 though – he had 60% of the field and the first 5 in the betting so hardly earth-shattering.Kennedy is riding brilliantly at the moment . A great duel but probably not ideal for either horse to have had such a battle on heavy ground with Cheltenham coming up. Lulamba will probably have an easy cruise round in the Kingmaker and still looks the likely Arkle winner. Not sure that KDB will even turn up.
Yes no one fancies Affordale but the stable form of Meade, de Bromhead and Cromwell has been shocking so with Mullins having 8 out of 13, its very likely to be a 1-2-3 for Closutton. Lots of love for Spindleberry but Gaelic Warrior is a very talented animal. He didn’t get a good ride from Townend at Kempton and they missed a trick not bringing Cobden over, but the prodigal Patrick hopefully won’t mess it up and i’ll go with him to edge out GDC with the mare third.
On good to soft ground at Cheltenham, you’d still fancy Lossie to turn it around but will Ricci bottle it and go to the Mares?
Question then arises what is Willie M’s Champion hurdle horse- at this rate it will be Ballyburn ! Then he could run Final Demand in the Stayers- he doesn’t look like a future Gold Cup horse now .
Meanwhile Connell’s “unbeatable” 2 miler got stuffed – couldn’t happen to a nicer fella – but again he’ll be a different proposition in March (though I would love to see Hendo make a joke about Mickey Mouse :) )Proved again he can do it in their backyard, although somewhat ironic he got beaten by a horse called Bowensonfire. I expect to see him get some spares from those Irish trainers in March.
Not strong enough form to win a Gold Cup- the winner comes from the KG or February’s race at Leopardstown. Grey Dawning, giving 6lbs to the winner, only ran a couple of pounds below form (attributable to clouting 2 out) but that is mid 160’s form and that won’t be good enough this year.
Don’t think Mullins has ever faced the quandary of a talented Champion hurdler who has forgotten how to jump. Stick to the Southwell plan and then see. A change of jockey might be an option as the connection between NDB and the horse isn’t working for whatever reason(Cobden ?). The injury to Sir Gino will surely tempt them now – Buckley is a bit of an arrogant ass who will convince himself they can beat TNL and Lossie, so I reckon CH will line up in March unless he runs badly at Southwell.
Golden Ace yard will think the double is definitely on now.Totally agree Andrew- he’s a moron. Speed figure of 159 makes it a truly run race. I think the ground beat IET but he is not a Cheltenham horse so I wouldn’t have him in March. Marine Nationale is a Festival horse but last year’s race fell in his lap and Solness has beaten him regularly so he’s no world beater. QMCC is very open at the moment.
Lovely to see the old boy win that. Wouldn’t be massively surprised if they make an entry in the National – he’d be a bold sight dashing along in front and there’s no worry about the fences anymore.
Resplendent Grey and Handstands both ran well giving weight, and probably achieved a rating in the 160-165 range. I think that justifies both of them having a go in what is a really open and interesting Gold Cup this year.
