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Bit short sighted seeing as he is one of the nominated jockeys in the St Patricks Day Derby at the Cheltenham Festival and will be needing people to sponsor him and help him raise £5000 for charity.
Three of the Timeform team give their verdict
Tony McFadden – Moscow Flyer
They say that ratings are as much about opportunity as ability, and there is no doubt that Moscow Flyer, having crossed swords with two top-notch rivals in Azertyuiop and Well Chief, certainly had the chance to post a stratospheric rating. However, even in beating a couple of the top-two milers seen this century, you always got the feeling that Moscow Flyer was keeping a bit back for himself, never fully extended – at the peak of his powers, anyway – to keep up his remarkable unbeaten-when-completing record. Perhaps that’s why he lasted for so long, doing what so few horses have done by winning a championship race at the age of 11. Could anything really have given Moscow Flyer weight and a beating under his optimum conditions? Not to my mind.
Keith Melrose – Sprinter Sacre
We’re already in danger of forgetting how good Sprinter Sacre was- how good he just might still be. Let’s not. He was in many senses jumps racing’s Frankel. Would 8 lb be enough to bring him back to Moscow Flyer? Would 10 lb give Azertyuiop or Master Minded a chance? Really? Watch him pulverise Sizing Europe in the Champion Chase, 19 lengths without even trying, and tell me again.
We might never see the best of Sprinter Sacre in real life, but we can do in a fantasy Tingle Creek. Remember that ‘p’ that sat beside his monstrous 192 rating before his health issues struck. Remember how high he might have gone with a worthy rival, a benefit that Moscow Flyer had twice over. He is one of those rare beasts whose superiority is so vast that half a stone or a stone of weight simply would not matter.
Joe Rendall – Master Minded
As this is a fantasy race we must assume that all runners turn up at the peak of their powers – for Master Minded that was as a five-year-old, when running out a thrilling 19-length winner of the Champion Chase on just his fourth UK start. His final victory that year was a 10-length rout in the Tingle Creek, showing trademark accuracy at his fences and an abundance of natural speed. If that Master Minded lined up at Sandown for the aforementioned race, it’s him I’d be backing at the likely prices in receipt of weight from Moscow Flyer and Spinter Sacre. Those two rarely looked out of their comfort zones but I have no doubt they would face a new challenge if Ruby was allowed to dictate on Master Minded.
Saw him in the same guise as Triptych at the now defunct Hereford racecourse one sunny Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately the constraints of this board prevent me from posting any photos I took that afternoon, but he really was a magnificent beast.
Mark Pitman unfortunately the subject of much anger in various quarters for not getting him back on the racecourse after his injury.
Unfortunate postscript to the race with Leighton Aspell receiving a seven day whip ban for the winning ride
One subject of photos I tied to post one earlier this week and there seems to be some sort of size restriction preventing certain photos being posted. Hasten to add this was a photo I had put up on other forums with no problem. Hopefully the next version of TRF won’t haave these restrictions.
Good luck with it all.
Bookmakers Boylesports, Paddy Power, Coral, Betfred, William Hill and Sky Bet are paying out winning bets for the race and voiding all losing bets
