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It seems unfair to judge a horse by the opponents it raced against, but Dubai Millennium’s legacy isn’t enhanced when you look at the fields that he beat.
He was a brilliant racehorse, but I struggle to put him among the very best for this reason. I think he still had untapped potential at the time of his forced retirement, and it is a great shame his career was cut short.
He was a strikingly beautiful horse, and certainly looked the part of a superstar.
It seems there are an increasing number of owners who will only have their horses with the perceived “best” trainer, and absolutely nobody else. I suspect we may be at the start of a long period of Skelton dominance as a result.
I think it’s a shame that people tend to assume nowadays that if an older horse is still racing it’s because the owners are greedy. If the horse is still performing well and appears happy as far as can be told, then I think it is entirely reasonable that the horse continues to do what it was born to do.
Edwardstone has had 42 runs, which averages 5.25 runs for each season he has raced. These are hardly the figures of a horse who has been ruthlessly overraced. I hope we get to enjoy his presence again next season.
“ A quick google search shows she is 61. I’m hoping to be “pensioned off” by this age.”
My quick Google said Alice Plunkett is 52.
I actually think Alice is fine as a presenter, though was amused by her slip up as I say.
CAS, perhaps I am being overly sensitive as she can’t be that much older than me, but she seems a bit young to be being “pensioned off”! I suspect your comment more related to her longevity as a presenter than her age though.
I was amused that during her paddock commentary Alice thought Thistle Ask was a mare. To be fair, she did describe him as masculine-looking.
I’ve long advocated to get rid of water jumps that have a lip on which a horse can catch its legs with catastrophic results. However, as RTB says, it did not look from the TV pictures as if Sandown’s water jump has either a lip or indeed any water nowadays.
Perhaps someone who has been to the course recently can advise, but it looks like it is just a patch of differently coloured level ground.
Seeing a grand veteran such as Edwardstone win should be one of the joys of Jumps racing. So sad that both of his big victories this year have been overshadowed by the death of one of his rivals.
RIP Thistle Ask
Very sad to hear this, he was a great standard bearer for his small stable.
RIP Cracking Rhapsody
Mr Vango has indeed returned home to Sara Bradstock’s to continue his recovery. I read that they have set up a baby alarm in his stable so that he can still be monitored at night.
There was also some nice footage of Quai De Bourbon on ITV’s Home Schooling feature on Saturday. He was shown running in a field looking none the worse for his unfortunate experience in the National.
While I do think it may be best for Dandridge if he tries to move on, I wonder if some of the resentment he bears is because Williams didn’t admit to the offence, and has presumably never indicated he is truly sorry as a result. It must be very difficult to be forgiving in those circumstances.
Loads of options for him still, and I think we are a long way from the stage where veterans’ chases are his best hope.
Haiti Couleurs is graded class when he gets his conditions. He reminds me of Royal Pagaille who was also a stamina-laden chaser who fell slightly short of the very best, but that did not prevent him from having a long and fruitful career.
The part I find most puzzling is that such an upstanding member of the community with over 570 character references appears to have lied about his actions.
While what he has been found guilty of is in no way justifiable, I would find it easier to empathise if he admitted he snapped and caused grave harm as a result.
Moehat, the Kauto Star remounting incident where he was injured was in a novice chase on 31/1/2005.
Best Mate died in the Haldon Gold Cup on 1/11/2005. You probably have that race in mind as it is where Kauto Star made his comeback from the injury, finishing second to Monkerhostin.
I had forgotten that Best Mate and Kauto Star ever ran in the same race. What a shame it ended so sadly.
My concern with rule setting is that knowing when a horse has nothing else to give is such an inexact art. Horses respond to the whip in different ways, and there will always be varying opinions on how much they have left in the tank.
Presumably the large majority of horses in Saturday’s National had reached the very borderline of what they could give, and many of the jockeys would be sailing close to the limit of what any rule deemed as acceptable.
One area where I would like to see more progress though, and which could be fitted into a rules-based structure, is in a further significant reduction in the amount of whip usage permitted.
Been watching some of the Aintree meeting again tonight, and Hitman looked to jump pretty well to me apart from a mistake four out.
He came down two out where he jumped the fence fine, but then had a coming together with Coming Up Easy and tripped after the fence. The fall was not due to bad jumping on his part. Thank goodness he got up as it was a very ugly incident.
