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Hello and Merry Boxing Day.
Nicholls has Given Siliano Conti the right run around, as he bleedin does. What the horse has achieved over shorter trips can only be seen as a taster of things to come in my view. Nicholls has had dom alco’s before, most notably Neptune Collonges, so your not tellin me that he doesnt know that the bugger needs three miles to be seen at his best. Anyway I reckon this will be off for its life today and then will prove to be Nicholls next big gold cup horse to fill the void left by Kauto and Denman.
Thats the picture I have painted anyway.
Richard Hoiles looked, this morning on channel fours Morning Line , to have given the matter plenty of thought AND he came up with what appeared to be a workable soloution.
By Dan Farley(RP)
TRIPLE Crown seeker Big Brown has been reported to have sustained a quarter crack to the inside wall of his near-fore, but it is described as "slight".
"The horse is in nodiscomfort – he doesn’t know anything is wrong," said trainer Rick Dutrow of his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner.
"He is trying to figure out why he is not going to the track and he has been tough to walk. Missing a few days of training is not going to hurt us at all.
"If I can work him on Tuesday before the Belmont, that would be perfect. Or even Wednesday would be good."
Hoof lameness expert Ian McKinlay said: "The injury is nothing remotely close to the two foot injuries he had last fall and winter.
"Those were wall separations and were very tender. This is just a straight quarter crack that will pretty much heal by itself."
Dutrow said he noticed a small spot at the place of the quarter crack on Friday and broughtin McKinlay to treat the area.
By the following day the quarter crack appeared, measuring about five-eighths of an inch.
McKinlay said he would "lace it up" and if all goes well the horse could return to full training by Thursday.
"I’ve known Ian for years," said Dutrow. "He worked for my father, and he gives me a lot of confidence. Ian doesn’t sugarcoat anything, and if he says this is nothing, that’s good enough for me."
Severe hoof problems kept Big Brown off the track for the entire month of January when he was training in Florida.
On the BBC radio program FIVE LIVE last night there was a discussion on Mckelvey in particular and the show in general, there was a deluge of calls so many that the production team extended the length of the feature. The majority of the calls were from listeners who broadly supported Animal Aids view. The one or two callers who supported racing were of the type "we eat meat, so what if a horse dies".
In my opinion Balding and Struthers did little to repel the hoards with Anti Jump Racing views. The argument presented by Balding on the physiology of the racehorse preventing recuperation from broken legs etc fell on deaf ears. Struthers, in my opinion, actually aided their argument, when presented with a whole string of facts on horse deaths at various courses. by comparing horse racing where only "3 horses from every 1000 runners" die to cattle production for food, where a whole lot more die. It was laughable.
The whole point of Animal Aids argument seems to be that horses are forced to race for "Public Pleasure". The HRA should, in my view, stop trying to defend the sport and show the Animal Rights people up as the Hypocrites that they are (or reveal their true agenda) and attempt to highlight the facts of keeping and breeding any animals results in death. As they seem bereft of ideas when confronted with a "any death is wrong" argument the RHA might do well to research and present for consideration the number of deaths of animals bread in captivity for "public pleasure". From Zoos, pet shop production of birds and fish, production of live food for other "pets".
When faced with the argument is the life of a horse more important than that of a fish or snail, Animal Aid has two choices – It can either admit that one life form is more valuable than another due to "its Cuddlyness", or reveal its agenda that all animal production whether for sport, viewing pleasure, or food consumption should be banned.Attack is the best defense in my view, present the whatever next argument, far more of the population would realise what the real agenda is.
I think the BHA have it more or less spot on in their assessment of the situation. The trainer has only himself to blame for being so crude. But what else was he to do? The variability of courses and underfoot conditions make this country’s turf racing some of the finest in the world and gives some punters an edge which just cannot be replicated on flat oval tracks where the course material remains consistently the same. This is in part the reason why less proficient trainers hands are tied at courses like Wolverhampton and the other artificially surfaced courses. they cant take a short runner to Ponte for a couple of spins and then bang it in at Bath. The variability of British and Irish racecourse conditions are the essence of the coup.
The options available to trainers who specialize in these events- wrong trip wrong grade of runners would be spotted a mile away by most serious punters and the price required would not be met.
At the rate the handicapper is "improving" these top horses before the end of the decade we will be looking at horses rated 200+.
If any horse beats anything with a rating "up ten."
God forbid that Master Minded or Denman get beat anytime soon. We could have the situation where the next Pegasus had been hiding his light under a bushel all along.I have got Denman wrong twice this year, so I could be wrong again. How the hell did a handicapper get to within a neck of Kauto Star? I am not an expert race reader but to my eyes he looked like he could not get his feet off the floor even on the first circuit. It looked all over the same kind of race he ran at Aintree and we know how short he was there. He’s ok though so thats one consolation, all credit to the horse he ran so well considering.
Hard to say well done Denman when we were robbed of the race anticipated for so long.
If anyone thinks that Findlay would hold a horse back for a season if he knew he was better than the current season champion chaser they are seriously deluded. Fair enough Denman is a good horse, just not good enough.
Punjabi seems to me to be Henderson’s first string so he may do better than just place. I have just seen a program where the interviewer asked if he had an each way chance.
I thought Henderson was going to splutter, he didn’t however. He stated that "See You Then went there as an each way chance (champion hurdle) and three years later he had won three."Praise Indeed.
Punjabi must have a great chance of placing where the horses at the front of the market (Harchibald excepted
) all have questions to answer. He looks tailor made for a hold up ride I don’t think he will be outpaced.He looks to have improved this year, he’s only five, yet was one of the top Juveniles last season. Looks to have been readied specifically for the day, so he must be good. 
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