My point exactly KS...but such rationale is basically intolerable to the AP "thieves" who have gushing about him since last August,citing Al Ferof as his only danger. He apparently had excuses for his defeat at Kempton.I must admit I find that form hard to take at face value,but what choice does one have since McCain refuses to disclose even the smallest detail of the malady responsible for the below par effort. As I said,this isn't a festival race i'll be playing in,save a PP free bet...I just hope PC turns up fit and well and adds to what is shaping up as a cracker..his groupies already have an excuse if he loses..one doubts their bookies will buy it anymore than the rest of us mind you. All that seemingly glitters isn't necessarily gold.
Dexter....There are always excuses made when a hype horse gets there comeuppance, and some are stupid enough to buy them. I'm not as I wasn't suprised by how PC performed at Kempton, and I even predicted that SS would win easily. I wouldnt take any notice of the 'AP thieves' you refer to, as there opinion on this race is worthless in my eyes, they all backed Peddlers Cross before a ball was kicked, so it doesn't matter how any other horse performs before the Arkle, they will still believe Peddlers Cross can win. They can't just ignore the bets they've had antepost and look at the form of every horse objectively. I should be thanking these people realy though, as there all keeping Peddlers Cross at a short price, allowing us smarter punters who actually read the form, to get a decent price about Sprinter Sacre
I wouldn't exactly describe him as a "hype horse". I can remember similar remarks being made against another top hurdler when the initiation to fences don't work out at first. She won the Gold Cup. Too early to write PC off...not for me but,despite being assessed and calibrated on timber form by most,is not the no hoper you think in this contest.
PC has raced three times over fences, don't people think it might be a bit early to dismiss him as chaser? Lets see how he does at Cheltenham and then maybe have more to go on to form an opinion. It's ridicualous to talk in absolutes. SS may well be the second coming of Pegasus but lets try and keep an open mind on how good the novice class of 2012 are until after the Spring festivals.
QUOTE=Furiousiceman;2395483]PC has raced three times over fences, don't people think it might be a bit early to dismiss him as chaser? Lets see how he does at Cheltenham and then maybe have more to go on to form an opinion. It's ridicualous to talk in absolutes. SS may well be the second coming of Pegasus but lets try and keep an open mind on how good the novice class of 2012 are until after the Spring festivals. [/QUOTE] Spot on!
I am a huge Sprinter Sacre fan and expect him to win the Arkle. But if I were on Peddlers Cross I would not write him off completely. The Kempton race should not be taken at face value. It was effectively a match and the form of such races is notoriously unreliable. The Arkle will be a completely different affair and to expect an exact repeat of the Wayward Lad race is a bit naive. Also, where has this idea sprung up that PC is built for hurdling and should go back to the smaller obstacles. What a load of rubbish - I seem to recall everyone (including the trainer) saying he was made to be a chaser and how we could not wait for him to go over fences.
What's peoples views on why he was beaten in last years Champion Hurdle ? If you believe he didn't have the speed to go with a top class 2m hurdler then what's to think he now has the speed to go with top class 2m chasers ? This I have to say is my thinking as I don't believe a Neptune winner can be outstayed over 5f shorter. Peddlers was great each way value at 5s and 6s but at 11/4 he offers no value for me unless you're happy returning 69% of your overall outlay, with horses the quality of S Sacre, Al Ferof, Cue Card and Menorah in the line up 11/4 is a poor price IMO
In the Champion Hurdle he was only outspeeded by Hurricane Fly, and I think most National Hunt horses, if not all, would befall the same fate. He clearly was not outstayed in the Champion Hurdle because we know he stays further, but going down by a length and a half (or whatever it was) to the proclaimed 'best hurdler since Istabraq' can surely be no disgrace. I'm his biggest fan but am amazed he has been as short as he has been for so long. I thought the 9/2 was fair after Kempton, but I'd love to know who it was backing him into 11/4 and even 5/2 in places. I still maintain that he is the biggest danger to Sprinter Sacre because he could well be capable of much better than he has currently shown.
PC has faults as a chaser but I just can not in any way shape or form agree with any comment that PC is slow. I don’t understand the reasoning. HF is an almost unheard of combination of stamina and speed and PC went with him in the 2011 Champion Hurdle. The third and fourth that day are out and out stayers in Oscar Whiskey and Thousand Stars and yet they were a long way back in the minor places. If PC was such a plodder why did he run the Fly all the way to the line when other plodders were ten lengths back and totally out of the race because of the Fly’s tremendous kick? Please explain that to me. The reason I think PC is in with a great chance of winning the Arkle is now based largely upon the fact we don’t know SS stays 2 miles at Championship pace up that hill. If SS pulls as hard as he did the last day can anyone who's happy to take odds-on on the day tell me why he will definitely stay up that hill when the pressure is on and horses are going with him. To my mind that's basically what you are banking on unless, of course, he's 15 lengths ahead of them with 2 furlongs to run in which case it probably won't matter if he stays or not.
I'd be amazed if they chucked PC in the Jewson. DM thinks the world of PC, and to see him defect from the race because he can't bear to take on a novice at Cheltenham is beyond me. SS may turn out to be awesome, but if your going to beat him anywhere I reckon Cheltenham is the place.
Peddlers Cross now 8.8 on the exchanges for the Arkle. Alarm bells are beginning to ring here. Practically 8/1, thats a huge drift.
I've been saying for a while that battle with the Hurricane has left a scar on him, hasn't been the same horse since. To use a memorable quote from Phil Smith picked up on the previews night thread “You could drive a coach and horses through Peddlers Cross’ chase form”.
It's too early to write PC off as a chaser despite Phil Smith's colourful language. But you could be right beef about the CH - in fact he had a hard campaign generally last season and he might be a better horse next season.
Utter nonsense that the hurdle season took a lot out of him. He was utterly brilliant all season bar the final Aintree run, and he has had plenty of time to get over that. He was found out by a potential superstar at Kempton in a match up race and the DMc yard now know what is expected to win an Arkle. The big problem he had at Kempton was a) Jumping speed v Spr Sacre, and b) Shorter stride than Spr Sacre. He needs a massive step forward, and rightfully is nowhere near favouritism. But if he puts in some big leaps, then the one course in the world that suits his speed/stamina combinaion is Cheltenham.
Toppy, I agree largely with what you say, but hurdling is not chasing. I shouldn't think there are too many horses- who won or were placed in a Champion Hurdle- who went on to reach the top rank in chasing. Any horse can be excused one bad run and, apart from that, PC has been a model of consistency. Re.the race itself, it's normally hard to find the winner- there's only been a couple of successful favourites in the last 20 years. Sprinter Sacre and Peddler's apart, there's some good horses when you scan the field. I don't know which of the Irish will go to post, but Bog Warrior and Sir Des Champs aren't exactly rubbish, and one of them may cause a surprise. Personally I shouldn't oppose SS (after seeing his last win) but for me, the race is "watch only." A few years ago, I felt about Somersby the way people feel about SS, and had a big each way bet. I didn't lose but Sizing Europe turned him over. It's a great spectacle and it's appropriately in honour of a "once in a lifetime horse."
Yeah totally agree Tam, chasing is a whole different ball game. I think the key is to not write him off on the Kempton basis. The Arkle will give us all the answers.
Bit harsh TopClass. I was responding to beef's comment that the CH may have disheartened PC. If there is a problem with the horse - and I'm not saying there is - it is more likely to be physical rather than psychological. All horses are different and two hard seasons at the highest level can have an impact. I agree Cheltenham suits him and have been saying all along that he should not be written off. Also, the form of matches can be unreliable.
Even if you ignore Kempton his form is hardly what you would call "top notch" and I can understand Phil Smith's comments. Having said that, he is still an unexposed horse, his 2 trots round Bangor, whilst hardly impressive on the form book, were done with consummate ease. If you look at previous Arkle winners, many were at (or close to) the top of the previous season's novice hurdling tree (Captain Chris a notable recent exception) but I do not subscribe to the theory that a top hurdler will automatically become a top chaser. In fact it is often the other way around - many top chasers manage to pick up some decent bumper and hurdle prizes before going on the what they were really bred to do - chasing. For me Peddlers Cross has been disappointing this season, whichever way you look at it. I was disappointed that McCain chose those 2 egg and spoon races at Bangor for his early season targets - they were never going to test him. OK the cotton wool approach is understandable given how much McCain thinks of the horse, but I do think he could have been a bit more adventurous. The Kempton race is frustrating because McCain says the horse was wrong afterwards but refuses to tell anyone what was wrong with him - doesn't seem quite right to me but OK, it's his horse and he tells us what he wants. But there is just the possibility that he was simply slaughtered by an awesome horse at Kempton. Certainly the bare facts in the form book (ignoring PCs falsely inflated rating in my opinion) would suggest that if we take SS rating as 169 then it is perfectly feasible to put PC at around the 150ish mark - has he done anything over fences this season to earn any higher mark?
Sorry Fulkes, I didnt mean it to sound harsh in any way, apologies mate. I just look at it as Peddlers was very neat and hard held in his opening chase victories, looked fine, but then made a mistake at Kempton against a superbly quick jumper and subsequently never got near him. I think on the day he was well beaten but Id be happy that his battle with HF will have helped rather than hindered him. Whats your take on Sprinter? Superstar or Hype?
Thanks TopClass. Yes, I fully agree the Kempton race should not be taken at face value. I hail from Lambourn and pop back there when my wife allows. I was there just before SS made his debut and was told then he was the best of a very good bunch of novices. So the yard expect great things but I am concerned he might struggle to stay beyond two miles and even over that distance could be too headstrong to be a great. Saw him in the flesh at Ascot last year and he is awesome. We'll know a lot more about him after the Arkle - if that's not a cop out I don't know what is!
