Mares Hurdle probably. Scandalous given her talent but that's what happens when the festival races are diluted.
yeah,shes just incredible!! what a turn of foot,spectacular. fairyhouse,3 10: a wide open contest,but i think,BLAZER has a good profile for this race.still quite unexposed,and his galway hurdle form is working out really well.so can run a big race.e w value
I do worry about the lack of opposition for Buveur D'Air though - could be a walkover at this rate. O'Leary said they will stay hurdling with Samcro as he is the best hurdler they have. I think Apples Jade just showed he is talking bollocks. I hope they send her to the Champion Hurdle. I wonder whether they are tempted to revert to hurdling with Min? He split Altior and Buveur D'Air in the Supreme and I think it is already obvious he is no match for the best chasers around. Might be something to ponder ....................
Yes Samcro was clearly better yesterday than Apples Jade today .................... Keep taking the medicine.
More likely to take on Benie Des Dieux in the mares and regain that crown. She wasn't the same horse last season. I believe Samcro can go very close in the Champion Hurdle...I think come March will be ridden very differently at a track that will play more to his strengths.. I couldn't believe how they rode him at Newcastle... no pace and surely they should have made it a better test of stamina? Come March that will I m sure be the case...
I thought they would have tried to set better fractions from the off yesterday, knowing Samcro's stamina is an asset. I just do not see him having gears - Buveur D'Air came to him on the snaff yesterday and just changed gears and was gone. For me he has 3 mile chaser written all over him and they are wasting a season with this Champion Hurdle bid. But they pay the bills and make their choices so fair play to them.
It took a while for the penny to drop but Envoi Allen did it nicely in the end. Plenty more to come there and Cheveley Park certainly have some nice horses for the winter.
BVD the obvious likely winner of the Champion hurdle but if it comes up soft or soft/heavy in places, plus different riding tactics it will make it very interesting.
Agreed he is the most likely winner but I want to see something come out and give him a race. It is going to be a long winter otherwise.
Buveur D'Air deserves all the respect and credit in the world BUT I really do want something to emerge to give him a real challenge as I feel that would help cement his greatness. I know he can only beat what is put in front of him, but if you look at what he has been beating since going back over hurdles it really isn't that impressive - Melon, MIck Jazz, The New One, MTOY, Irving etc are no world beaters. Hopefully something will emerge between now and March, otherwise I feel it could be a very boring Champion Hurdle (speaking as a racing fan).
Nothing is likely to emerge though. Sometimes you have to accept the situation for what it is and try to use it to your advantage. For all that Istabraq was considered a legend, he didn't ply his trade against great horses either. Istabraq had three Champion Hurdle wins and they were rated 174, 171 and 170 on Racing Post Ratings. Buveur D'air was rated 173 for a cosy win over Samcro yesterday, so who is to say he could not have won the three renewals that Istabraq did? I thank as fans, that we tend to get more sentimental about the older champions and perhaps see them in a better light than the cold, hard form tells us on deeper analysis. Someone compared Buveur D'air to last season when he hosed up in the Fighting Fifth but only won narrowly at Cheltenham. There is no real comparison because he was 1/6 Fav in the Fighting Fifth last year but not even favourite this time. Apples Jade got a narrow PB from the Racing Post on ratings today. It was a 1 lb better than her previous best but Supasundae was given as running 16 lbs below his best figure today and Limini ran to 18 lbs below her best in third place. With runs so poor, I always take the view that it is possible they actually ran a few pound worse still and that perhaps the winner has actually scored impressively without actually running any better than CLOSE to their best. Wide margin winners is an area I tend to avoid. The average punter is beguiled by seeing horses hose up and poor value is normally automatically factored into the price of such winners in forthcoming events. It's a serious concern for me that Apples Jade has simply not been trained and targeted like a true 2 mile hurdler. Going and Distance are the two factors that horses get found out by time after time and they are the starting points for me in analysing any race.
I think someone called me egotistical on this forum earlier in the week when I was getting a character assassination Anyway, it’s good to know that your credentials are so impeccable. I continue to be a devoted reader.
you're being generous there , mug punters yes , but if you are anyway curious / engaged a different perspective is easy , does need discipline and patience though , which for many is unattainable . in my town there are a few regulars in the shops who you would class as shrewd , the bulk fall into the fodder category. On here though the demographic is very different , i'd say it's the other way round .....
