The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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On to Sat and a bumper nine races with the rearranged Denman Chase & Betfair Hurdle added to the card at Ascot.

Clan Des Obeaux won the Denman with the minimum of fuss, jumped & travelled well and on my figures ran right up to his King George win here. He's around 5/1 now for the GC although imo there is a concern with his handling the different configuration of Cheltenham (form figures 2262) when compared with his last two outings on right handed flat tracks with a short run in after the last obstacle.

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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Al Dancer continues to progress from the last time I saw him at Cheltenham in Dec and based on my figures put in a very impressive performance to land the Betfair Hurdle. Now 7/2 fav for the Supreme, he'll have to overcome that stat of running in a handicap prior to going to the Supreme, think it's something like 0 from 49 runners now. Narrowing it down even more to novices that actually won the Betfair hurdle since 2010, six have run in the Supreme (four in first two in the betting) and none have managed to win it although tbf there has been some near misses in that time.

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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Remarkable performance from Cyrname in the Betfair Chase. Saw him win Class2 Handicap at Ascot last month recording a good time in the process but was doubtful pre race that he could repeat that level let alone surpass it in a G1 against 160+ opponents. How wrong was I, the removal of the hood and allowing him to bowl along in front would appear to have helped as Cyrname simply galloped & jumped them into submission. Connections have taken the view he's better going right handed hence no entries for (Cheltenham) although if they chose to supplement him you'd think the Ryanair would suit. More likely they'll step him up in trip and head to Punchestown (right handed) for the Punchestown Gold Cup to see if he stays the extended 3M and if all goes well the King George VI will be on the radar.

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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy wrote: Btw, haven't forgot about your poser, Pet. Planning on going to Sandown on Fri & Ascot on Sat, hoping to bump into some of the old regulars so I can put them on the spot :)


Well, I've got one name, I was reliably informed (by a fellow who had a share in him) that Shamayoun was an entire when he landed the Fred Winter in '06. I put forward your other two suggestions, Kribensis and Royal Gait, but the general consensus seemed to be that both were gelded prior to their festival wins. So, we have a contender but there must be a more recent example, the quest continues :)
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy wrote:
sammy wrote: Btw, haven't forgot about your poser, Pet. Planning on going to Sandown on Fri & Ascot on Sat, hoping to bump into some of the old regulars so I can put them on the spot :)


Well, I've got one name, I was reliably informed (by a fellow who had a share in him) that Shamayoun was an entire when he landed the Fred Winter in '06. I put forward your other two suggestions, Kribensis and Royal Gait, but the general consensus seemed to be that both were gelded prior to their festival wins. So, we have a contender but there must be a more recent example, the quest continues :)


:lol:


I am sure the oanel will pick up on the point the run up to the Triumph Hurdle.

In fact, it might ev3n be one of their Quiz questions on the Social Stable :)
Alex Young, Howard Kendall, Andy King, Timmy Cahill, Dixie Dean and Mike Parry.....we'll never see the likes of them again.

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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy wrote:On to Sat and a bumper nine races with the rearranged Denman Chase & Betfair Hurdle added to the card at Ascot.

Clan Des Obeaux won the Denman with the minimum of fuss, jumped & travelled well and on my figures ran right up to his King George win here. He's around 5/1 now for the GC although imo there is a concern with his handling the different configuration of Cheltenham (form figures 2262) when compared with his last two outings on right handed flat tracks with a short run in after the last obstacle.




Very impressive indeed.

Surely he must go off favourite on the back of his last two runs.

Plus Nicholls is in great form....and it appears his policy of innoculating his entire yard for the flu just after Christmas, as is his custom, is standing him in great stead given the BHA five day edict.
Alex Young, Howard Kendall, Andy King, Timmy Cahill, Dixie Dean and Mike Parry.....we'll never see the likes of them again.

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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Presenting Percy remains 7/2 fav despite not jumping a fence so far, just the one outing over hurdles that didn't tell us anything other than he was fit & well. Connections declined to take up his entry in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park last weekend and with time running out the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse this Sat is his last chance for a run over fences before the GC. Market may change even if PP doesn't turn up on Sat but CDO currently widely available @9/2.
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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All the latest Cheltenham news from Gordon Elliott's media stable visit earlier today.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Jad ... plqCmFKfjk
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Laurina comfortably lands the Listed Quevaga Mares Hurdle this afternoon.



Willie Mullins on Laurina: “Job done. She took a good blow after that run. The Champion Hurdle is next up. When Ruby asked her to move up, she did everything he asked for. She probably jumped a bit too slow for my liking, but it did sharpen up in the closing stages.”
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Big Orange 2017 Gold Cup winner has been retired after a leg injury flared up last week.

Trainer Michael Bell, "He gave us so many happy days but the highlight of his career was the Ascot Gold Cup – his only Group 1 win. It was a fantastic race and all his qualities came to the fore. Everyone loves a horse that seemingly gives their all. He stuck his neck and head out and made himself even bigger when in a battle. When he was on song and got some fast ground he was very hard to get by. Those characteristics, I think, really endeared him to the racing public."

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/ ... ury/367337



Happy retirement old boy.
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Latest Willie Mullins Cheltenham news from Closutton media day

Al Boum Photo
"He is likely to run in the Gold Cup. I don’t think the trip will be any problem for him there. We had considered running him in the Red Mills Chase last weekend, but after thinking about, we decided we’d be happy to send him to Cheltenham without another run. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet."

Aramon
"He will go for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. He has kept coming forward all season and has surprised me with how far he has come. He was only just touched off by Klassical Dream at the Dublin Racing Festival, so he’ll go there with his chance.
"

Bacardys
"He’ll go for the Stayers’ Hurdle again. He was running very well in the race last year when he fell at the last, so we’ll have another go."

Ballyward
"It looks to be a done deal at this stage that Patrick will ride him in the National Hunt Chase. He wasn’t entered for any of the other novice chases at Cheltenham, so Patrick must have been in charge of the entries that morning!"

Bellshill
"The Gold Cup is the plan for him. He stays well and jumps particularly well, which will both really stand to him in a Gold Cup. Cheltenham hasn’t been his luckiest track, but hopefully this will be the year he changes all that. He’s now starting to become the horse we always thought he would be and seems to be putting it all together. We can see improvement in him all the time and I think there is still more to come from him."

Benie Des Dieux
"She’s in good form and will go for the Mares’ Hurdle. The only reason she hasn’t run so far is the ground, she has been fine all season. We were considering running her at Gowran Park last weekend, but she had to get a flu vaccination last week, so that ruled her out of that."

Blue Sari
"We won’t have nearly as big a team for the Champion Bumper this year as we did last year and Blue Sari looks to be the main one. He isn’t a flashy work horse at home. He certainly doesn’t show the sort of pace he showed when winning at Gowran Park. He’s very laid back, a child would ride him, so I wouldn’t have any doubts that he is mentally mature enough to run in a Champion Bumper as a four-year-old."

Cilaos Emery
"Cilaos Emery schooled around Navan the other day, but he pulled a muscle there which is why he wasn’t ridden this morning. We’ll have to see what he’s like in the next seven days and if he isn’t back right by then, we’ll have to draw stumps for Cheltenham. That would be disappointing, but there you are."

Duc Des Genievres
"I was very pleased with his performance at Gowran Park the other day and I’d imagine he’ll go to the Arkle Challenge Trophy now."

Easy Game
"It looks like he’ll go for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. We freshened him up after his last season as he has been busy through the summer and he seems in good order now."

Faugheen
"He is on track for the Stayers’ Hurdle and he seems to be in great form. Ruby hadn’t stirred on him when he fell at the second-last behind Apple’s Jade at Leopardstown last time, so I don’t know what would have happened. Ruby was very confident that he hadn’t asked him any sort of a question at the time. He was very, very sore after it. I was very worried about him afterwards and am delighted that he has come back as well as he has."

Footpad
"Footpad would have the option of either the Champion Chase or the Ryanair and that is a decision that is likely to be made late. Based on his pedigree and his form, running over the longer trip shouldn’t be any problem for him. It’s been a tough season for him as he has come back from his both of his runs this season with overreaches that have interrupted his preparation. That is an issue that we hadn’t had with him prior to this season, so we’ve been riding him and working him without hind shoes since his last run and that seems to have helped. He schooled very well without them at Navan the other day and seemed much more like the Footpad of last season. Hopefully that’s a good sign that he’s coming back to himself. We are likely to consider running him without hind shoes at Cheltenham."

Invitation Only
"The Gold Cup is the plan for him at the moment. He’ll have to improve to come up to that level, but we’ll give him his chance to come up to it. Sometimes horses can lose their way for a little while and then come right back to themselves after a while, so hopefully he’s one of those that can kick on from here."

Kemboy
"He is being aimed at the Gold Cup and I think his chance might boil down to what the ground is like. He put up a huge performance at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on good ground and that suits him very well. Trip wise, I think he’ll be better the further he goes. We wouldn’t really have foreseen him becoming a Gold Cup contender, but he sort of jumped out at us at Leopardstown where David gave him a very brave ride that paid off. The improvement he has shown on the track hasn’t really been evident here at home, but maybe the longer trips and riding him differently has been the key."

Klassical Dream
"He’s going to be a tricky one to make a decision on, as he could go for either the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle or the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle. He’s a very good jumper will a lot of experience, but I think ultimately he’ll want to go further than two miles. He has always shown us plenty and I think he will improve again."

Laurina
"She runs at Punchestown today. It isn’t ideal to run her so soon after getting a flu vaccination, but we had this race in mind for her for ages and after getting a bit of rain last night, we are keen to run. We’ll know more about where she is after today. We’ve always thought she was a very good mare and hopefully she’ll go and show it. Her temperament has changed dramatically since last season. Back then, you’d wouldn’t pass too close to the front of her stable as she’d come out over it at you. She’d get upset when anyone went into box and didn’t really want anyone in there. You’d nearly want a bodyguard to go in with you to her! She has settled down a lot this season though, which I find fascinating. We haven’t changed anything with her, so she might just have matured."

Melon
"I’m very happy with him at the minute. We have our own reasons why we think he disappointed in the Irish Champion Hurdle and we are going to change a few things for Cheltenham that will hopefully help him. I don’t want to go into what those things are just yet, but we have a few ideas. I know Buveur D’Air’s connections think that he is better than he was on Champion Hurdle day last season, but I’d be hopeful Melon can be better than he was that day too."

Min
"Min could run in either the Champion Chase or the Ryanair and I’ll be leaving that decision until much closer to the time. That decision will be guided by a lot of things such as the ground, what the opposition are doing and what Ruby wants to ride."

Penhill
"It has always been the plan to send him to the Stayers’ Hurdle without a prep race. He is in good shape. He went away to work yesterday and that went well. It’s a day-to-day thing with him. He’ll always be one that you are paying particular attention to every day to make sure he is OK. He has a few more searching bits of work to get through in the next fortnight, but it’s a case of so far so good."

Real Steel
"I have declared him to run in a rated chase at Thurles tomorrow, as he has to have a third run over fences to qualify for the novices’ handicap chase at Cheltenham. If he wins, he’ll probably be rated too high to get into that and will probably end up in the JLT Novices’ Chase instead, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow."

Relegate
"We are looking at the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle with her. I was very disappointed with her last run at Leopardstown. Maybe the ground wasn’t soft enough for her, but she’ll need to do much more than that to compete at Cheltenham again. Hopefully she’ll come alive when she gets back there."

Sharjar
"He has been a nice surprise this season and has improved out of all recognition. He’s probably now become what we thought he was going to be halfway through his novice hurdle season. He’s on target for the Champion Hurdle."

Un De Sceaux
"This has been a tough season for Un De Sceaux. He wants really heavy ground, perhaps even more so than before now that he is that bit older, but he hasn’t got anything like that all season which is why he has only run once. All his enthusiasm is definitely still there. He actually did a piece of work yesterday that was better than anything he’s done all winter, so he seems to be coming right at the right time. He just needs some rain now. We’ll be dictated to by the weather and what other horses are doing, but the Ryanair would look to be the race for him."

Uradel
"He has been entered in a couple of handicap hurdles at Cheltenham and is in good form. We’ll pick a target for him closer to the time after we see the weights."
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy wrote:Presenting Percy remains 7/2 fav despite not jumping a fence so far, just the one outing over hurdles that didn't tell us anything other than he was fit & well. Connections declined to take up his entry in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park last weekend and with time running out the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse this Sat is his last chance for a run over fences before the GC. Market may change even if PP doesn't turn up on Sat but CDO currently widely available @9/2.


PP not declared for tomorrow, CDO now fav on the machine.
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Lovely weather for a change on Sat at Kempton and a decent card including the G2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle & the G2 Dovecote Novices Hurdle.

Fusil Raffles was sent off fav for the Adonis and duly landed the spoils with an impressive display which earnt him a 9/2 quote for the Triumph. Unfortunately he sustained a cut to his hind leg and latest from the Henderson camp is he's highly unlikely to make it to Cheltenham.

"Sadly we have had to make a decision where Fusil Raffles is concerned and I’m afraid it's bad news and highly unlikely he'll make Cheltenham and therefore not get the opportunity to take his chance in the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Our team of vets have assessed the situation and we all agree he'll need at least ten days' box rest, which gives us no time to get him right in two weeks. The important thing is he's not lame, but he hit his off-hind shin bone and a flap of skin has to be stitched back and it’s vital that the stitches hold it together otherwise we could even be forced to miss Aintree."

Angels Breath came into the Adonis as something of a hype horse, saw him on debut at Ascot in Dec where he comfortably won the G2 Kennel Gate but with four of the hurdles omitted that day and a slow pace it was difficult to assess what he actually achieved. On the back of that performance he was sent off the 8/11 jolly here which was short enough considering he was one of the Henderson inmates that had to be vaccinated along with missing an intended engagement at Newbury, all in all not the ideal prep. Despite going down by ¾L to Southfield Stone we learnt much more about him here, his jumping was quick & efficient and he also travelled well on a track that wouldn't play to his strengths, also gave the field 5lb so all things considered he put in a decent performance, imo. Some talk of the longer Ballymore suiting but his original intended destination (Supreme) still looks a plausible choice, again imo.
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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Le Richebourg out for rest of season, very disappointing news :(

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/ ... son/367996
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Re: The Horse Racing Thread - Part 2

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sammy wrote:Big Orange 2017 Gold Cup winner has been retired after a leg injury flared up last week.

Trainer Michael Bell, "He gave us so many happy days but the highlight of his career was the Ascot Gold Cup – his only Group 1 win. It was a fantastic race and all his qualities came to the fore. Everyone loves a horse that seemingly gives their all. He stuck his neck and head out and made himself even bigger when in a battle. When he was on song and got some fast ground he was very hard to get by. Those characteristics, I think, really endeared him to the racing public."

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/ ... ury/367337



Happy retirement old boy.
Great horse and had some good fun following him. Very apt words by bell, always gave it his all

Interestingly, when I met Michael Bell, he wasn’t as friendly or interested as you’d think he would be

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