I came in at the tail end of the Flat Season and offered a newcomer to follow there....for the National Hunt season I will just name the three star horses I will be following in every race they run in this season ! Sprinter Sacre who could surpass Master Minded and become the best 2 mile chaser since Flyingbolt.....Grands Crus who should be campaigned more successfully this season and notch up more wins...and of course Big Bucks...the most successful inmate ever in the Nicholls yard who will continue his reign as Champion ! Let's hope the bookies don't start offering Frankelesque prices when both Sprinter Sacre and Big Bucks run in their races !
Others I am sure will pick 3 other horses to follow this season and some may feel that Sanctuaire or another unknown quantity can topple Sprinter Sacre,Grands Crus will not reproduce his hurdles form in his second season over fences,and that Big Bucks is coming to the end of his tether...so why not ? Would you have picked the same three then ? I backed them all last season when I wasn't contributing on any forum and will continue to so !
Ron,please sort the stalker out here !! GGW wrote a thread about That''lldoboy as being a horse to follow..the same age as Sprinter Sacre and there was no sarcastic comment made by WLYT there ! He is merely obsessed with following me around this forum now ! That is plain to see by all !
Hmmmm - Sprinter Sacre and Big Buck's definitely (all be it the former's price is a bit skinny in my opinion) but not so sure about Grand Crus especially round Cheltenham. Bob's worth saw him off well last year and if he goes in the Gold Cup i don't think he'd have much chance. That said I am a big fan of Bob's worth so may be being a bit biased. It will be interesting to see what the Pipe yard do with GC though as he's obviously a talented animal. His brother, Gevrey Chambertin, will also be worth watching I feel.
"Sprinter Sacre who could surpass Master Minded and become the best 2 mile chaser since Flyingbolt" Arkle are you forgetting about a certain Moscow Flyer!!! only joking.. Havent been as excited about a chaser as much as Sprinter Sacre in a long time just hope he makes a little trip across the sea would love to see him first hand...
Good comments from both Dan and WALHAH.... Gevrey Chambertin certainly has an interesting future ahead..I just love looking at Grands Crus and hope he can emerge as the Champion 2 and a half mile chaser and win The Ryanair also ! Of course I haven't forgotten about Moscow Flyer as I remember him running against the mighty Istabraq over hurdles before he went over fences, where he either won,fell or unseated !! I backed him several times taking the rough with the smooth...though feel the Master Minded who won his two Champion 2 mile chases would have had his measure personally. Certainly,very much looking forward to these three horses in particular with my usual soft spot for Binocular...who is far from finished yet !
Not being funny Arkle but do you really think Grand Cru would be fully effective over 2 and a half miles? Personally, I see him more as staying all day long and needing further to be honest. If it wasn't for the factor he'd get hammered by the handicapper I'd actually see him as a National horse.
Dan..you could be right there also...he does have the speed as well as the stamina,however, and several 2 and a half mile chasers have gone on to either win or run well in the Grand National....one of the best I remember was Gay Trip who won it in 1970 ! He is starting off in the Paddy Power Gold Cup chase and can see him going for the King George VI Chase after and hope he can do a Desert Orchid around there,though the Long Run of two years ago would be hard to beat !
That is one that we would never agree on!! All I know is it would of been a cracker!! Yeah i think the unpredictability was appealing... funny though that Geraghty missed out on that job because of Moscow... Binocular certainly isnt finished just as Hurricane Fly isnt but some of their runs last year were worrying and i certainly wouldnt be backing either Ante post for the big one!!
Exactly,WALHAH,though neither would have troubled Flyingbolt although Sprinter Scare has time on his side ...I mentioned both Binocular and Hurricane Fly again for this season...still puzzled at what happened to them in this years Champion Hurdle..though neither would be the first to regain that particular crown !
Im too young to remember Flyingbolt if im honest so cant really comment on his prowess.. All i know is the 2 mentioned above are the best ive seen! yeah its strange i know it cost me quite a few quid on Hurricane Fly unfortunately i bought into the theory there was nothing to touch him you live and learn i suppose!! be very interested to see how Rock on Ruby runs this year!
Indeed,Flyingbolt was a phenomenon in his own right,and I remember him starting off as an exciting novice hurdler and being nigh unbeatable when switching to fences and his most amazing achievement was aged 7 when winning the Champion 2 mile chase in a hack canter and then running in the Champion Hurdle the very next day and finishing a close third behind Salmon Spray whom I picked to win the race,and my older brothers choice,Sempervivum,who was second and Tom Dreaper was blessed to have 2 superstars in his stable at the same time with the imperious Arkle at the helm ! Rock On Ruby is a puzzle waiting to happen this season...either he will emerge a Champion again or a one-season wonder....I feel the latter may apply..though could be wrong.
Yeah my dad and uncle like to remind me about Arkle everytime we go to the races!! they are of a similar opinion to yourself about him been untouchable! I personally have no opinion I suppose for me the great gold cup horses are Best mate and Kauto buts thats only me and the horses I have been alive to see!! Rock on Ruby ill be very interested to see how he performs. I feel he is better than a one season wonder but i do think other horses underperformed that day.. Oh here we are 4 months out talking about a race!! gotta love Cheltenham!
Yes..Cheltenham is the Greatest Festival on Earth..always has been and always will be and I still remember the very first festival I watched on BBC in 1963 when the brilliant 6 year old Mill House destroyed another Dreaper star and dual Champion 2 mile chaser Fortria by 12 lengths in the Gold Cup,only for Arkle to win the equivalent of the RSA Chase today by the most insulting 20 lengths anyone will ever see,and Brough Scott who was stood at the last fence said he had never seen a horse approaching the final fence at Cheltenham at such speed and ping it in full flight,before being eased down on the run-in laughing at the opposition ! Great memories evoked there and countless memories of being there and watching on TV over the past 50 years almost ! It was a pleasure to be present for Istabraq's amazing 3rd Champion Hurdle win relieving the on-course bookies of a large wad placed at 4/6 and only the foot and mouth outbreak prevented him from winning an unprecedented 4th Champion Hurdle as the race wasn't run in 2001 !
Hard to disagree with the sentiments about Cheltenham. The great flat festivals are superb of course but none of them quite measure up. The only issue I have with Cheltenham is that it dominates the entire jumps season. When people watch the Charlie hall they immediately start asking whether a horse in that can win the Cheltenham gold cup, the fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle become Champion Hurdle Trails and the tingle Creek is seen as no more than a trial for the Champion Chase. It doesn't take away from the magic of the 4 days themselves but we're not really able to enjoy the other meetings as stand alone events. And before anyone states the obvious, of course if you ask a trainer if he'd rather saddle the winner of a grade 1 at Wetherby in October or at Cheltenham in March we know the answer will be the atter.
Cheltenham was magical even when it was only 3 days long ,and then we became spoilt as it increased to 4 days ,and I always remember my 8 years older brother and I having competitions against each other in the 60s and 70s picking one horse in each race,with my choices consisting of either Irish trained horses or those trained by Fred Winter,Fred Rimell,Bob Turnell and Neville Crump,whilst he chose any trained by Fulke Walwyn,Peter Cazalet,Ryan Price,Ken Oliver and Arthur Stephenson...though any competitions that I organised on the BBC 606 Forum gave everyone the chance to pick two as it is very hard to pick any winners there these days,let alone several !
Couldn't agree more Dan, I love the festival, and have been attending regularly since my teens, I'm nearly 30 now, so not that long I suppose compared to others! However, it does sometimes seem to detract from other big races in the calendar, and sometimes I feel like I'm wishing the season away just for that week in March to come around! Back to the original subject, and Sprinter Sacre's Arkle run last year took my breath away, I'd always doubted whether he's be able to do it round Cheltenham, after being dismissed by Al Ferof the year before coming up the hill, but he certainly won me over that day. He will be very hard to beat come the QMCC, but I also like the look of Sanctuaire, on his run at Sandown at the end of last season, and feel he might have a say in the race. Big Bucks is a living legend, and again should go the season unbeaten. However, as you say AS, who knows when he might start to feel his age, considering he has quite a few miles on the clock, and is, as we know a french bred who are notorious for going out like a light when they hit a certain age. I know I had a coronary when Voler La Vedette threatened to overhaul him in March coming up the hill, that would have finished me considering I'd had sizeable bets on Sizing Europe and Grands Crus the day before! That said, I've already started backing him for another World Hurdle. I just can't wait Grand Crus out though, he had some of the best form coming into the RSA, and on the back on his performance behind Big Bucks in the World Hurdle, felt he was a good thing. His performance at Cheltenham has certainly put me off him slightly, and I think his next run is crucial in terms of putting him back alongside the big hitters at whichever distance they decide to try him at. Having said that, I don't think Scudamore is the greatest jockey, which doesn't help.
