Forum Replies Created
- Posts
Could this be an area of development for the BHA to consider? Cameras are so advanced nowadays, especially in sport. Look at the super-slomos used in Sky Sports’ cricket coverage – you can even see the bat bend at the moment of contact with the ball. Channel 4 Racing also have such technology with their arty super slomos of horses in flight. You can even see some chasers crossing their front legs in mid-air!
I know it would be expensive to upgrade every racecourse, but it’s not acceptable to have such grainy b+w images in photo-finishes when much better options are available. Things haven’t moved on at all from the Kauto Star v Imperial Commander photo, which featured a blur of cocktail stick legs.
Tizzard comes across as a real horse lover too. Sure, he’s a big self-promoter and not averse to a snide gamble, but I always get the impression that the horses come first.
He seems genuinely awed by Thistlecrack. It was lovely to hear him speak about his old flagship horse Joe Lively on TV at the weekend – he clearly hasn’t lost sight of the horses who put his yard on the map in the first place.
He’s known as ‘Bottler Johnson’ though isn’t he? Johnson has a terrible reputation for bringing horses down or making mistakes at the last.
Sam Thomas was aboard Kauto Star that day TYF. I’ve got a signed photo with MWDS in the shot, I’ll have to dig it out.
At times Kauto would find his own stride by either or a combination of skipping, bouncing, almost floating foot perfect into the perfect take off and like you say he could take lengths at his fences.Yes please! I’d love to see that.
I’ve never rated Sprinter Sacre as a particularly ‘aesthetically pleasing’ jumper. I think people get this impression from all the arty super-slomos of him jumping the last fence, or that one fence in the Shloer Chase he met spot-on.
I think he’s a bit of a fiddler – efficient and clever but happier to shorten-up and flick his front legs through rather than stand-off like some of the really electric jumpers mentioned. SS is as safe as they come, but he rarely gives you any ‘wow’ moments.
On the subject of Kauto Star, I think Nathan is right. He could make you gasp. There was a moment in his second Betfair Chase where he was matching strides with My Way De Solzen down the back straight on the second circuit. MWDS put in a perfectly acceptable jump, but Kauto leapt from outside the wings and stole nearly two lengths. Perhaps this is anthropomorphism, but MWDS immediately came off the bridle and dropped away, then lost his form completely in future races. It was as if Kauto Star completely soulcrushed that horse in that moment.
So Beloved disqualified from Betfred Mile win after testing positive for bute. Trainer fined £1k and barely a mention in the racing press.
In light of O’Meara’s magic touch with recruits from other yards, surely this merits more investigation and coverage?
The authority also disqualified So Beloved from his July victory in Goodwood’s Betfred Mile, having discovered an unspecified quantity of bute in the horse’s system, making Belgian Bill the winner four months after the event. David O’Meara, So Beloved’s trainer, was fined £1,000.
“I’ve no idea how it got into his system,” said O’Meara, who added that the horse had not been treated with bute at any time in the months before the race. “The BHA have conducted a thorough investigation and they still can’t find how it got into his system.”
Lovely thread, big fan of this.
Best Mate certainly springs to mind right away. I always felt that his jumping was the root of his success – perhaps even to the degree that that some horses he beat at Cheltenham would have beaten him in a three mile flat race. His sense of anticipation was sublime. He could approach a fence on any stride and take it without losing momentum.
Look at the final two fences of the 2004 Gold Cup for example. In desperate trouble after finding traffic on the home turn, he was launched at the second-last, took off third and landed first. Then Culloty steadied him into the last and broke the horse’s rhythm, but he found a precise, neat jump to keep Harbour Pilot at bay.
Others that always gave me pleasure were Flying Instructor, Monet’s Garden, Bronson F’sure and Fair Along (novice season).
It’s a quiet night at work, so here’s my very very brief spin through them. Cliff notes: I think Winner Massagot is the likeliest winner and Three Kingdoms EW @ 50s is the bet.
Devilment: Handles all conditions but arguably better on good. Ironed-out in the Greatwood and needs more.
Renneti: Will he start? Obviously very talented but untrustworthy and edged up in the weights from the Greatwood.
Three Kingdoms: Interesting. High class novice chaser until he lost his bottle last year, previously beat a then 121-rated Vibrato Valtat in a handicap hurdle (giving 10lbs, pair clear). Solid comeback behind Winner Massagot – got behind after jumping big early on but eventually adjusted to the hurdles and ran on. Should improve, will love conditions and stamina will come into play with a strong pace.Sgt Reckless: Tricky to pin down his ideal conditions. If he was up to winning a race like this, wouldn’t he have tried already?
Sort It Out: Very solid. 2nd in County and improved to win 60k pot at Punchestown. Possibly not a case of a Geraghty ‘choosing’ Waxies Dargle over him since M P Walsh knows the horse and Barry knows WG. Big player no doubt.
Waxies Dargle: Often goes well fresh, but no excuses in the Greatwood. I prefer Sort It Out of the McManus pair.
Noble Inn: Interesting form back in the day: beat Clarcam in a maiden hurdle. Won well last time, but Ruby stays at Fairyhouse to boot home a few odds-on shots.
Jolly’s Cracked It: Big buzz around this horse all week, apparently did some sizzling work. Needs to improve from previous handicap runs though, also not an easy ride – current price seems poor value unless the hype is correct. Still, interesting that such a big horse has been kept hurdling this year…although brother Crack Away Jack wasn’t very co-ordinated…
Some Plan – I was a big Seedling fan, so his meeting with the ill-fated hurdler last year reads like strong form to me. Still, it’ll be hard to make all the running (assuming Sam T-D lets him loose this time) in a race like this.
Rayvin Black – Smashing horse, great attitude. Probably one of the more exposed ones in the field, though. Wouldn’t enjoy a pace war with Some Plan.
Hurricane Hollow – Typical Skelton snatch, improving steadily but has been beaten in easier contests.
Unanimite – I’m a big fan of this one and backed him in the Fred Winter last year (diabolical ride btw), but soft ground is not good news.
Vercingetorix – Dramatic loss of form last year and worrying run in first-time blinkers last time. Lots of questions to answer.
Bidourey – Another who might get involved in the bunfight for the lead. Thrashed twice in big handicaps but will probably enjoy more cut underfoot. David Pipe’s horses are going better than they were at the time of the Greatwood, though. Still, his novice hurdling form didn’t work out too well. Tiny stakes bet all the same.
Winner Massagot – Deservedly favourite after cantering away with a decent race last time. Thumped by the handicapper but completely unexposed and sure to enjoy creeping into the race off a strong pace. Stable in great form, especially in big Saturday races.
Sternrubin – Won a poor renewal of the Gerry Feilden, but previous form has worked out very well. Another who might be compromised by the pace war, though.
Zarib: I’ve got “attitude?” in my notebook for this one. Ran very well in the Elite Hurdle from out of the handicap and will appreciate the strong pace. Not one for maximum trust, though.
Galizzi: Chosen by Coleman from 3 John Ferguson horses, including my fancy Three Kingdoms. Chased home handicap plot A Hare Breath last time but nailed by the handicapper as a result. Needs more in a stronger race.Vincenzo Mio – A few excuses last time out behind Devilment, but probably needs to find at least 15lbs more improvement.
Song Light – Tailed-off behind Sternrubin last time and seems miles out of his depth.
Five votes for Down? What has he contributed in the last decade? He just sits by the phone waiting for people to die.
Remember Nichols Canyon desperately needs soft ground. He managed to get beaten off a mark of 85 (eventually peaked at 104 on soft/heavy) on the flat when very uncomfortable on quick ground.
He did manage to win a weak renewal of the Aintree 2m4f novice G1 on good last year, but is vastly better with cut. As was the case in the Neptune last year, Cheltenham’s undulations really find out a horse who isn’t comfortable on the surface.
If it came up soft in March (though when does that happen?), he’d be a cracking bet. If it comes up good, he’d be a diabolical bet and will do a Melodic Rendezvous impression.
As the prices stand at the moment, I think he doesn’t offer much value.
I think Sam will be with Nicholls for the next five years at least. We forget how much criticism Ruby Walsh copped in his first couple of seasons in the job – he had a series of ill-judged rides or mishaps including those aboard Fadalko, Whitenzo and Cornish Rebel.
The same all-knowing voices piped up saying Twiston-Davies would get the boot when he misjudged his ride on Zarkandar in last year’s Long Walk. Again, Nicholls was publicly critical but stuck by his jockey.
I’m not sure about that, Nathan. I’m writing him off.
Faugheen and his belly wobbled along on seasonal debut but he still almost beat the very talented Nichols Canyon in that horse’s ideal conditions. Peace And Co, in contrast, got utterly ironed-out by a clutch of third-raters.
Not only would he have to improve, he’d have to hugely out-improve Faugheen and the rest.
I appreciate the nomination, yeats, but I haven’t done many acts of heroism this year!
Is it for that week where I went to work with man flu?
Was it really a good G1 race, though? Not at all.
You get three camps of horses in the warm novice chases in the first half of the season. There are the ‘now’ horses who will eventually fall short of the best, but are quick learners who are being campaigned to take as much prize money as possible. Tap Night and Hobbs Hill are a couple who played this role in previous seasons.
Then there are the true top notchers taking in each race as a learning experience, usually having enough class to keep winning en route to the big festivals. Last season UDS and Vibrato Valtat were in this group in the 2m novice division.
Then there are the plots who are being nursed along with the Grand Annual, 2m handicaps or even the Paddy Power in mind.
Given Ar Mad’s profile and Gary Moore’s Sandown blitz, he probably falls into the first category. He’s pot-hunting. Bristol De Mai had his limitations exposed last year, while As De Mee, Willow’s Saviour and Bouvreuil were all flagrantly plotted up for handicaps in their hurdling careers. You’re very naive if you think any of the horses behind ‘now horse’ Ar Mad were anywhere near their peaks here.
