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No brainer… maybe he’ll be recognised for the horse he is when he wins it again… and if not then, perhaps after the third win he’ll be regarded as a great horse – who knows…
Come on K!
OK – sad i know but I’ve just voted for myself (DSJP)… and I’m the only one that has… c’mon, how many of these others participate in the forum?
How many times can i vote? (I feel the need to win this…)
Binoclular will pass Katchit justbefore the last and storm up the hill to win by an easy 5 lengths. Crack Away Jack will finish strongest of all to take second.
and I will have a huge smile on my face
More likely egg…
I think Punjabi is the one fancied by the yard, and that should mean that Binocular is beatable.
This is a huge race and one that we aren’t underestimating, but the fact remains for me that there’s huge amounts to prove for these other horses.
I’m sure that an outsider reading this thread would’ve thought Katchit was the outsider who’s not proven himself yet.We’ll see on Saturday (let’s hope I’m not eating my words)
it’s like I’ve just stepped into a surreal world… maybe I’ve got a different entry list to you guys but CAJ, Serabad, may as well throw in an each way on Won in the Dark!
sorry – just noticed that someone has already suggested ew on him… bonkers!!
Not sure we learned anything on Saturday and March is a long way off.
I thought Sublimity looked better this weekend than all of last season, Punjabi is the horse that NH’s yard think is probably the strongest CH hope (so I understand), so that might not make Sublimity such a bad bet
I don’t think i’ve seen anything in CAJ that looks too worrying in top company
Saturday will tell us so much more about Binocular
Not given up hope on Black Jacari but he isn’t the most straightforward.
We may well have just come up against some smart performers in the defeats but he lost some of what he was doing at home when on the course and he needs to demonstrate something special to convince Alan he’s worthy
Another run in the next couple of weeks should tell us a little more
Prior to Katchit winning last seasons renewal,there were three five year olds in forty years who won the CH.
They were Persian War-ultimately a three time winner of the race.
Night Nurse-a dual winner and placed in the race
See You Then-ultimately a three time winner of the raceDo you think we might all be underestimating the value of Katchits achievement?
I love this post… in my usual objective way!
Seriously though, I agree of course
The only difference I could see was the jockey never pulled him up… that’s what created 101l otherwise it would’ve been only 20l… i think he looks a class horse but one that is possibly flawed.
20L compared to the 2L on Sunday is a big difference IMO. If you think this horse is flawed based on Sundays performance alone i suggest you get Kingy to bring Katchit over for the AIG!
Good idea! Because of my "possibly flawed" point we should change all of our plans to try to prove a point. My comment was based upon visual similarity between March and Sunday only.
If, come March, Sizing Europe finds loads coming up the hill then not only will i be eating humble pie but I’ll be very disappointed about our own position in the race.
Come on lads, a "milder stopping incident" – Like a mild chicken corma you mean?
If you can’t see the difference between being beating 101 lengths whilst absoloutley going from on the bridle to stopping quickly like in March, to running a solid race all the way and just getting tired near the end after a long lay off (which was probably the effect of what happend to him in the champion anyway) then I suggest you know something about this horse I don’t?
His trainer was really positive today and for me he’ll take the beating in the AIG.
The only difference I could see was the jockey never pulled him up… that’s what created 101l otherwise it would’ve been only 20l… i think he looks a class horse but one that is possibly flawed.
it’s unlikely that we will learn anything from this race… Harchibald not running, Hardy Eustace needs further now, Won in the Dark is good but arguable not in this class and that leaves the two.. .what can we learn from a match race at this time of the year?
Ginge,
yes, it’s only the route to the champion that may change. Ultimately Alan will plan the route and he’s proven pretty good at getting him absolutely ready come March. He knows that we’d be happy to lose every race this season if we can win the big one.
Mike Catermole mentioned that he didn’t think Night Nurse had won a race the year he won his second CH… don’t know if that’s true and nor am I making comparisons, it just means it’s possible (I’ll await a barrage of comment/correction on this)
Bula dictates all from here
Interesting statement, Katchit. Out of interest, what would happen (or at least be considered as an alternative) if he flops in the Bula?
Good question and given the statement I’d made you’d think I’d have thought of that
I don’t think we know yet – that said I don’t think its very likely that he’ll flop… not winning and flopping are very different. We’re convinced he hasn’t regressed, the yard think he’s better than ever at home and so when he gets back to what he loves (Cheltenham) we should see him back to himself… even when finishing 2nd in the Bula last year he was convincingly ahead of the others.
I think we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it but I don’t think there is any way (health permitting) that he won’t be there to defend in March.Katchit didn’t exactly beat a bunch of trees last year and the Champion Hurdle scene hasn’t improved a great deal.
He’s never been unplaced in 15 starts over hurdles and his Cheltenham record is 5 from 6.
He was well beaten by Osana and Harchibald at the end of last year before turning the tables in March. This followed an impressive defeat of Blythe Knight in February.
He’s a much better horse at that time of year.
He’s currently a best priced 10/1 with Ladbrokes. This horse will be primed for the big one and his constitution is solid. A whopping ante post bet.
Binocular looks a serious threat, but we have yet to see him this term. Katchit became the first 5YO to win the CH since See You Then in 1985, so it doesn’t happen too often.
Jered looks very talented, but he will need to be foot perfect at Cheltenham to beat the fast and fluent Katchit.
Katchit is the still the one they all need to beat.
You don’t need me praising your comments but I’ve got to say that it’s really nice to read such a positive view of Katchit at the moment… not to say that I’ve lost any faith in him and he owes us nothing but I think we feel the pressure and fear of him regressing etc…
We don’t think he has and think we’re just learning about what he needs… a longer trip on a flat track and larger fields.
After the Bula I hope I’m still reading positive messages!
Thanks Bos!
This Christmas Hurdle could end up being a cracker. I wouldn’t mind having a bet the winner will be made fav for the big one.
wouldn’t expect to see us there though – big changes to prep for our boy following yesterday. Not to say it didn’t go as we expected but there’s nothing to be gained from running him on courses that don’t suit him and getting him beaten.
I should add that he’s fine as well.
Bula dictates all from here
Interesting opinions as usual. It’s tough at the moment to know quite what to think about Katchit, other than he owes us nothing and we’re waiting for the Bula.
This run was about race practice, he’s fit and raring to go but is being prepared to win the bula at Cheltenham where we all know he’s 7lb better (at least). I don’t think there are any excuses just lugging 18lbs more than the others in that ground was always a big ask.
Yesterday, Takeroc and Chomba Womba ran smart races… made every pound tell and it did – I was as surprised as the rest of you that he came off the bridle so soon I don’t think he’s ever been beaten so far from home.
He was running off 166, a mark that he has only run to once (at Cheltenham), last year he ran 158-159 pretty much every race… had he been running off that yesterday he would have been hassling Chomba Womba all the way to the line. We also need to think about running him over 2m 4 or so on flatter tracks.
Alan isn’t worried (at least not overtly), we needed this run if we were going to win a Bula… that’s what we expect to do. If he doesn’t show up at Cheltenham then I think we have to have a long hard look at the rest of the campaign.
As for the "how did this horse win a champion hurdle" point made earlier, it’s one for you to debate – he runs every time with every bit of effort and if he isn’t the quickest or most talented, who cares – he epitomises guts, graft and determination… he DID win a champion hurdle and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he went and did it again!
