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I have the book and it is a wonderful read
1 Generous Ransom
2 Kings Palace
3 Cocktails At DawnThis guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
No bet on Irish Cavalier, can’t bet em all, although I fancy him strongly.
He has ‘The’ profile of a Paddy Power winner, doesn’t he VtC?
I’m afraid he falls into my ‘can’t bet ’em all category’ too! I can’t ignore how better off at the weights Generous Ransom is for their Festival efforts last season, and if you fancy GR, you must put Cocktails at Dawn bang there.
Watch the little bugger bolt up! :-D
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, indeed
Anyway, who guessed that Channel 4 were grooming AP to be the next Big Mac?
Matt Chapman is crying like a baby girl…Sorry, crying like a ‘Baby’ after that comment, DB. Surely he holds the copyright privileges to ‘Big Mac 2.0’?
I think A P is more akin to ‘Greatest Jockey 2.0’, and let’s hope he will be just as forthright. Let’s see A P upset the mollycoddled members of society with more direct common sense.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
What about the fact that women aren’t as strong as men? Are you put off by a female jockey? AP McCoy thinks they should be given an allowance as they are weak girlies. Do you agree?
Hot Off The Press : A P McCoy Speaks The Truth…And 2 + 2 = 4 !!
“Tactically they can be as good but if it comes down to strength in a finish, a woman is not going to be as strong as a man. There aren’t many sports where women compete against men and on a day to day basis are women as physically strong as men? No they’re not. It’s just fact.” ~ A P McCoy RP Online
How dare a man with such unparalleled success in the saddle speak such common sense. No doubt a ‘Liberal Trendy’ will get word of this comment and form a petition to have his contract with Channel Four terminated with immediate effect.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
Lovely post, Bos – thanks
Thanks, Joe. Although I would like to clarify that the horse is ‘Generous Ransom’ not ‘General Ransom’ HaHa. I had a Willie ‘Flame And Glory’ Carson moment
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
Very shocked to hear the news. One of the all time greats. So many great memories but my favourite will always be the day he rode Bosra Sham to beat Halling in the ’96 Champion. I have never heard a roar like the one from the crowd that day. RIP Pat.
Here you go… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9IU0TveHyM …1996 Dubai Champion Stakes
I was fourteen at the time, but still recall Pat Eddery being interviewed after the race and saying ‘There’s not a horse in the world that could give her eight pounds’. I still have yet to see a better looking filly.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
I completely agree that one of the greats has gone.
When I got into racing it was the (Sir) Henry Cecil, Pat Eddery, Khalid Abdullah connection that captured my attention. I followed these three men religiously during my embryonic years following the sport.
We will never forget this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9gDKdZ3qzA …Eddery gives the go on Zafonic.
RIP, Sir
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
This could potentially be an outstanding renewal of the race.
Only three horses competed off the 150 mark or greater when Caid Du Berlais won last year – Johns Spirit, Oscar Whisky and Edgardo Sol – but a plethora of unexposed, quality horses have stood their ground at this stage – let’s hope that remains the case come Saturday.
The winning mark has varied in recent years, but Johns Spirit (2014), Hidden Cyclone (2013) and Al Ferof (Won 2012) have all hit the frame off 156, 152, and 159 respectively in recent years.
I generally look for a 6YO / 7YO, second season chaser, rated in the 140s.
One horse that stands out is General Ransom. He hasn’t looked back since reverting to the bigger obstacles, and was a model of consistency and gradual progression last year. His two chase efforts at Cheltenham have yielded a win and place, the latter when chasing home Irish Cavalier at The Festival (beaten 3L, 15lb better off). He was arguably OTT at Sandown when well beaten by Cocktails At Dawn, but on a line through Howlongisafoot (whom he beat over the same CD earlier in the campaign), he clearly didn’t give his true running.
Cocktails At Dawn is unbeaten in two starts since a tactical change by connections, and duly romped home at Sandown on his final start last term and on seasonal debut at Chepstow. He has gone up 8lb for that success and, as a result, has passed the 150 threshold, but looks a improving animal. Prior to his average showing at The Festival (behind Irish Cavalier & General Ransom) Nicky Henderson said “Golden Hoof has got to give weight to Cocktails At Dawn but they could easily be handicapped the other way round”. He is obviously held in some regard by connections.
Of the others, Present View is 1lb lower than when third in this race last year, Kings Palace is open to any amount of improvement, while Sound Investment will do well to win off 159 – the same mark Al Ferof won off three years ago.
I backed Cocktails At Dawn for this race prior to his seasonal return, but I’m going to side with General Ransom and Kings Palace on the day. Cocktails At Dawn will find it difficult to dominate this field but is one to keep an eye on this season, while Kings Palace must prove he has the toe for this. However, the fact that he is well fancied for a race steeped in family tradition speaks volumes.
Josh Gifford trained the last dual winner of this race when Bradbury Star triumphed in 1993 & 1994, and I think the Nick Gifford trained General Ransom can go very close.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
Well, you have to say that is helluva retirement plan the old boy has got waiting for him! The sun on his back, people making a fuss over him on a consistent basis…shame he’s going to be surrounded by Aussies!
Teach that uncouth lot some manners, Red!!
Seriously, a big thank you to the veterinary team that took care of him, and ‘Living Legends’.
Enjoy your pampering, Red!!
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
When I was contributing under my original alter-ego ‘Bosranic’, this site was a bustling metropolis of well informed characters and diverse opinions. Some posters were borderline arrogant, others just playful, while the range of experience and knowledge varied. When you amalgamated this with the diverse, individual approaches to the sport, it made TRF the best forum on the horse racing circuit.
Above all, I think TRF is still the best of its kind. Corm and his team have dome a wonderful job over the years, and I hope the community can enjoy if for many years to come. The popularity of social media has done such sites no favours (it’s too easy to submit an opinion without much depth), but I would much rather visit a forum where I can rattle off a few paragraphs and have an intelligent debate.
I’ll certainly be around more in the future
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
Its an accurate observation Joe,I have definitely seen less contributions since the forum changeover and I wonder if some just cant be bothered to move with it.I was impressed with the turnout for last years 10 to follow comp that was brilliantly run by VTC and I thought this years would definitely attract less interest as the forum has seen little traffic of late.Surprisingly I’d say we have at least the number of entrants if not more than last year so that is re-assuring.Again that is down to Bob running it.I know from experience that whereas I loved the flat and Jumps equally in the past I now love the jumps way more and that has seen me quieten down during the summer.Thankfully we’ve had Jonibake to carry us this past 6 months as far as giving us a good read with Winners thrown in and anyone who starts a Big race thread is always inviting for those with foresight,now that the Jumps is warming up and the proper season gets under way at Cheltenham this week with Johns Spirit winning the Paddy Power Gold cup at 16/1 we should see things liven up again…Hopefully! TRF has become part of our lives and has given me the chance to meet some interesting characters,including the Ginger one.Lets hope it stays that way.
This place hasn’t been the same since Calgary Bay retired. Eh, Gord?
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
The panel ruled that the two incidents of interference, at around the 2f pole and half a furlong out, had not improved Simple Verse’s placing relative to Bondi Beach. The second incident had “little or no effect”. ~ Racing Post
I mentioned this in my post on Page 6. The first incident should have been ignored when making a decision because it clearly had no impact on the result.
Atzeni banned for careless riding : Yes.
O’Donoghue banned for using whip above the permitted level : Yes.
Simple Verse the best horse in the race and official winner : HELL, YEAH!This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
One word : Justice :)
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
In our sport, a jockey can break the rules and win a race, but only in British horse racing can a jockey break the rules and be awarded a race.
The extent of Atzeni’s interference is open to debate, but O’Donoghue blatantly broke the rules. That is where our rules defy logic. It you look closely, right at the bottom of the official rules and regulations, you will see 2+2=5.Can’t argue with that, it’s the rules…
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
This contest provided a similarly unsatisfactory conclusion as the St Leger, but it was more of an open-and-shut case. There was no way Golden Horn would – or should – lose the race. It would have been interesting if Free Eagle had finished second, but it’s ridiculous to suggest an amended result when they all raise further questions:
1) Why should Golden Horn be placed behind Found when she obtained the best possible position?
2) Why should Free Eagle be placed ahead of Found when she did nothing wrong?It’s a rare scenario and, sadly, one of those incidents you just have to accept and move on because any amendments to the rule book would result in more arguments…and an end to the ‘first past the post’ rule in most betting shops!
The only debate worth having is whether or not Golden Horn was a fortuitous winner. From a sporting perspective, I’m of the opinion that Free Eagle would have won. You could see that he lost momentum (stride shortened and slowed briefly) before lengthening again near the finish. A lot has been made of Golden Horn’s stamina, but it has often been the opinion of connections that Free Eagle will be at his very best over twelve furlongs.
On the subject of interpreting the rules , I think it’s a ridiculous notion that we should have ‘universal rules’ in horse racing. Each country has a respective style, and rules should be introduced to serve the best interests of the sport in each country. For example, American racing is competed exclusively on flat, oval tracks, and the emphasis is very much on fractions. As a result, there is a very different approach to riding a race.
Trying to consolidate the rules of racing and translating those rules to, for example, the UK, where we have a variety of idiosyncratic tracks would be futile. Any jockey will tell you that each country presents new challenges due to respective styles and course configurations, so how can we have a universal rule book when such differences exists?
Variety is the spice of life, and I have no desire for horse racing to become an ‘Orwellian’ state! :-D
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
After reading the respective posts on this thread and hearing those of the panel on The Sunday Forum, it would seem that there of those of us who will view the incident from either a sporting perspective, or rigidly refer to the rule book. Jason Weaver stated that the best horse had won, but the decision to disqualify Simple Verse was correct. When the rule book encourages the ‘best horse on the day’ scenario, such contradictions will sometimes be impossible to avoid!
My initial, and present, impression of the interference was that it six of one, half a dozen of the other, and that the filly was very brave to both rally after the incident(s) and to hold on. From a sporting perspective, the best horse passed the post first and would have done so if both Simple Verse and Bondi Beach had a clean passage. In my opinion, they could have duelled for another two furlongs and the Ballydoyle inmate would not have gone past.
If you strictly refer to the rule book and ask yourself a simple question that requires an often opinionated response (!) ‘Did the interference prevent Bondi Beach from winning?’ then……the answer is inconclusive. The first incident (Atzeni barging his way out) did not, in my opinion, influence the result. Bondi Beach was given sufficient time to respond, and made limited – if any – ground on the eventual winner. The second incident is the only one that should be analysed when deciding the outcome, and is very much a matter of opinion. I firmly believe that Colm O’Donoghue was as much to blame as Andrea Atzeni. Simply put, they were two young horses running over a marathon trip, rolling onto each other at the business end of the contest.
The pivotal point of any sporting contest is to try and find a winner within the confines of the rules. Certain rules will provide a grey area and, therefore, are open to interpretation. If you can not conclusively prove that the result was affected, then the winner should always be given the benefit of the doubt…but that is open to interpretation!!
I believe that connections of Simple Verse can feel hard done by. She was the best horse in the race on the day and the only incident that had any bearing on the result was six of one, half a dozen of the other – the type of incident you see on a daily business on a racecourse. I will leave you with this thought…
Atzeni broke the rules, received a ban and lost the race. O’Donoghue broke the rules, received a ban and was awarded the race.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
New Bay slapped his nuts on the table. Treve decided to stamp on ’em!! Wait, there’s another trial…who cares after that?! She is a freak, in the most beautiful sense of the word.
New Bay looks a more serious Arc type than Golden Horn to these eyes. The aforementioned duo look a step above everything else.
This guy is a machine. All he does is work out and pick winners. Talk about fit. You should see him without his shirt off, serious side of beef.
