What about Mogul? Has taken time to come to himself this season but maybe he has it in him to run Enable close..could really improve back end of this season and we all know how high a regard he is held in. He was pretty impressive over course and distance last time and is a pretty big beast that could go well in the mud. Interesting that Ryan Moore takes the ride.. Out of the O'Brien battalion which one would you rather be on? Japan, Mogul or Serpentine?
Mogul is not consistent and even his best form is nowhere near good enough, ill give the game up if he is the last man standing in a heavy ground Arc, id expect Japan to do best of Obriens if at his best but hes been well below that on his last 2 runs. The supplementing of Serpentine for 70 grand is just a show that the lads are living in a different reality from the rest of us.
Looks increasingly like a bog will be the nearest description of the going on sunday , it’s already heavy , with torrential rain tommorow and a series of fronts to keep it that way on sat ..........what chance abandoned ?
I remember watching that race where Raabihah was beaten. My wife was convinced that she was better than the winner. So yes, if she likes the ground, she could be a real danger at the weights. Who knows what Serpentine might do. Taking out Love and supplementing him is interesting. I still think Mogul could be a massive danger if he goes well on the ground. To me, it is still a fascinating race and, much as I love Enable, I fear that something will come out of the woodwork and spoil the party. As they come inside the final furlong I will either be ecstatic or switching off the TV. I hope it's the former
Raabihah's dam was unraced, so there's little to go on there. Her granddam won the Oaks and was by Nashwan's hb Unfuwain who was a mudlark and when beaten was mainly beaten on good to firm ground or worse (for him). The great granddam is Oaks winner Midway Lady, who won on anything and did little wrong in her 6 race career (winning 5 including the Boussac and 1000G as well). A good family you might say, and as the sire Sea the Stars seems to get horses that go on any going she must have chances in a tricky year..
My wife is keen on taking more notice of the sire plus the granddam (ie Sea the Stars and Unfuwain) so given that, and her thoughts on her run against Tarnawa, she looks a real danger
Jean-Claude Rouget seems to have been bewitched by Raabihah for most of the season. When asked about the Arc earlier in the season he said that he felt Raabihah and Love were the two who could win it. No mention of Sottsass having a shout at that time and he also left Enable out of it because he felt she could not concede the weight to the younger fillies. With Love out now you would have assumed Rouget would be confident about Raabihah but that doesn't seem to be the case, so does the trainer feel that the ground will not suit her? I don't see the form being good enough to be honest. She got 8 lbs from Tarnawa and was still well beaten last time and the earlier form with Fancy Blue doesn't look strong enough given that they finished in a heap that day and even though Fancy Blue went on to win the Nassau it is a race that has worked out terribly since. On the plus side Raabihah is not fully exposed by any means and there is a dearth of quality in this field. Paddy Power seem to be going 4 places along with Bet Victor so three places are up for grabs if we assume Enable will win it and there is every chance the Rouget filly could fill one of those spots in this obliterated and mediocre field. I noticed that Baattash is OUT of the L'Abbeye on account of the heavy ground, so that opens that race up but I don't really fancy anything and probably won't play more that two or three races at Longchamp this weekend.
Will the great mare stagger in the final furlong due to the ground? Even though a lot of people blamed Frankie for the defeat last year, she certainly hit the wall well before the line in better conditions than she'll face this time. Just a thought.
The time of the opening race at Longchamp today was more than 19 seconds slow for the 1m 7f trip. Watching the race though, the winner Valia seemed to pick up nicely enough and pull away for a 2 length win:- https://www.attheraces.com/atrplayer-popup/VOD/1165035/true?showResult=yes Certainly didn't seem to be out on her feet to me.
Gob smacked, bewildered "On Friday evening, Gain Equine Nutrition issued a statement advising trainers to refrain from feeding horses its equine products, which O'Brien uses." What does this mean? That AOB feeds his horses on this French product all the time, or he didn't bring their own feed with them and fed them this contaminated food? I can't believe an Irish trainer would be importing a French product for their horses. And if it is the latter (ie a change of feed) it would be extremely naïve and/or incompetent. You always take your own feed with you to avoid a change of diet. I find this very difficult to comprehend Unbelievable
just cashed out , they haven’t removed them from 365 , i’ll put bet back on when they’ve formed a new book
Gain have a big warehouse not far from my home place here in Wexford but they do have offices in place in Kilkenny Nass, correct. I originally put up that it was just outside Gowran but I am a bottle of wine and 2 glasses of Poitín in so mixed it up with the Red Mills factory. They are a part of the agricultural co-op here Glanbia and you will find their stores in almost every other village throughout Ireland distributing animal feed to farmers and the like. They distribute throughout Europe then as well I am sure. Takes a slight bit of gloss off the race whichever way you look at it now, even if you didn't think any of the runners would go well.
