On the face of it she (Unaccompanied) should finish somewhere near Zarkandar, whether it be in front, behind or alongside. I suppose it depends just how much Zarkandar had in hand. Is there a recording of the race somewhere? Both nicely bred: Unaccompanied by Danehill out of a Sadlers Wells mare that was out of an Affirmed mare Zarkandar, half brother to Zarkarva out of Zarkasha who has a colt entered in the 2012 Epsom and Irish Derbies (One race so far when 6th of 12 at St Cloud).
Thanks Oddy. Have looked at that a few times now. Have you watched Sam Winner in that race. He came from a mile back and was travelling faster than anything up the hill. Must have a look at his races since. Difficult to gauge what would have happened re Unaccompanied. May have to watch that a few times more.
Been looking through the form. Very confusing. I just hope I have Al Ferof and Bobs Worth in my 10 to follow. I wouldn't be put off Sam winner either, despite his falls. Still. none of these are in the Champion Hurdle (I assume) so I'll leave it there.
Ron - they sent Sam Winner chasing, he tipped up twice and sustained a serious injury from the second fall and is out for the year, no guarantee the horse ever sees a racecourse again sadly
The thing with Zarkandar is the breathing operation. You would expect this to bring about singificant improvement on top of the progression from 4 to 5. He will have to go some to beat The Hurricane if he turns up but he would be near the top of my list of worthy challengers. At the moment it is all hype and expectation, with some very decent form to boot, but we need to see him (and Spirit Son) on the track again before too many conclusions can be made.
Poor bugger. First he's gelded, then he has to have a breathing operation. What is it with all these breathing operations?
Nice article Ron. Certainly very positive. I think the results speak for themselves. For anyone who hasn't seen it I strongly recommend you watch the Channel 4 Inside Nature's Giants programme on the racehorse. It was most interesting and the breathing issue was addressed including real life footage of what can go wrong.
Fascinating article, that. Did I see Master Minded on that list?! Zarkandar would have been a horse to follow regardless but the breathing operation is interesting because Nicholls said he was always making a noise when galloping I think (there is a Betfair column article somewhere). I know that Nicholls planned on just one run last season for experience, as he had all sorts of problems getting him right and he 'wouldnt jump a twig' initially. He unexpectedly bolted up beating Molotof and then ran on strongly to take the Triumph. If Nicholls is right in what he says, I suspect there is a lot of improvement to come when fine tuning this horse for the Champion Hurdle. Then again, he will need to if he is to trouble the Fly. That said, it takes a strong stayer to push him a la Peddlers Cross so lets hope its a rivalry to savour.
Will Ruby be riding Zarkander in his prep races I wonder? If HF is fit then it's 99.9999% certain Ruby will be on him in the Champion so will connections elect to give the Zarkander ride to Darryl Jacobs for all his races?
Why wouldn't Ruby ride the Fly ? Have I missed something ? Connections still believe Celestial Halo can be a Champion Hurdle horse so if Nichols goes down that route with the horse then Ruby has plenty of options
Maybe I didn't phrase that well Grizzly - it's a given that Ruby will be on HF so Jacobs will likely be on Zarkandar in the Champion Hurdle. Will connections therefore insist on Jacobs riding Zarkandar in his prep race (I've heard it may be the Kingwell)?
Oh OK, I understand. Jacobs riding in prep race(s) would make sense but you would think he's worked out at home with the horse so it's unlikely to be an entirely alien relationship, though there's nothing like race riding....
Zarkandar was impressive at Cheltenham, with Jacobs on board, but he looked to struggle home at Aintree with Ruby on his back. So perhaps jacob's is better suited to the horse. Afterall Ruby wrongly chose Sam Winner in last seasons Triumph, so maybe he and the horse just don't get along
I think Zarkandar was well over the top by Aintree. Also, I think this discussion arose last year because Daryl was expected to ride him at Aintree after winning at Cheltenham, and knowing that Ruby was almost 100% to ride Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle. I can only assume that Ruby was having none of it and said "I'm riding"!
