Placed my Invictus bet tonight - lumpy e/w at 10/1, don't see him going off bigger than that and the chances of him not running must be slim. Not so much about the money though - this is a horse who excited me as very few have in his novice season and I truly think he could be something very, very special. As always the main concern will be that he gets round safe and sound. I will be watching this race on the edge of my seat with a lump in my throat, I've been waiting 18 months to see this fella again.
Good luck. I would back Lord Windermere if i was bothering but it's not the type of race I usually get heavily involved in so i wish you well with Invictus.
The bookie of Dickie Johnson on Cloudy Too is incredibly eye catching. Will be his first ride for Sue Smith since 2009 and 4th overall (1-3). Always really liked Cloudy Too and think he has a really nice engine. 150 is a high enough mark but I don't think he's stopped improving yet and we'll find out how good he is on Saturday. He'll do for me at 20s.
I have backed INVICTUS at a lower price than he is now (very annoying) and if he is fit and well and runs his race I cannot see him not winning. That's a big if mind. The other horse I am sweet on is SUPER DUTY. He has a very similar profile to Rocky Creek, is getting a few pounds from Nicholls horse and is treble the price. He will do for a saver!
I'm also Invictus committed, as Oddy says he will surely be less than this on the day. I also have an ew bet on Katenko at 16's. Looks like it will be a fascinating renewal, and I can't wait
As well as OUR FATHER & KATENKO I am also on HIGHLAND LODGE 14/1 who looks well handicapped after he tried to give 26lb to Standing Ovation at Wincanton and was only beaten 2l.
Regarding the Invictus love in be wary when you hear the media hailing Alan Kings stable form. His Triumph horse Chocala's defeat in the first at Newbury is, I think, his 25th straight loser and he's had a fair few shorties in there! I prepare you all not to choke on your cornflakes tomorrow if you hear that Plunkett lass on the Morning Line hailing 'Kingy's' stable form and just remember that 0 from 25 is good form my
Can't seem to make this work today, so this probably will end up a repeat! Lord Windermere for me, especially if ground remains decent. See that Dougie Costello gets the ride...................
That is a worry Beefy - on the other hand, every losing spell comes to an end (maybe Wilde Blue Yonder in the lucky last at Newbury today?)
What Oddy said. WBY helped me to a nice profit today, so I'm not worried about the stable's form at all. The horse's form however ............ keeping everything crossed
A few things I would want to point out regarding the Hennessey. Invictus travelled very well and jumped very well indeed. If anything, he was too fresh early on- he looked really enthusiastic which whilst it cost him a bit on Saturday, is great to see that he still retains ability and will. Where he goes from here this season is anyones guess. First and foremost we want him to recover from the race well. On bare facts, he couldn't live with Rocky Creek, Triolo D'Alene despite being very fairly handicapped, so it is hard to get hugely over the top excited. However, I thought he travelled with real menace at points and I think if he can be switched off, he seems to have a bit of speed about him and I could see him winning races with his turn of foot and slick jumping- hopefully he just relaxes into his stride when we next see him- hopefully he has come out of the race well! Lord Windermere is one to take out of the race and he might pop up at some valuable prices. He jumped lovely and travelled fine- he got massively impeded at the 14th fence when Katenko felland lost around 5 lengths on the pack, where he was ridden along to catch up. He got back into contention but couldn't go on, having used up too much energy earlier on. Remember he was giving most of the field weight and he looked certain to be in the shake up, so off level weights I think he will be ready to give some good horses a real good race again. Would be interested to see him in a King George personally- has the speed to cope in a top class race that suits the strong travellers. Also would love to see Invictus have a go as I think he could really be interesting on a sharper track with jumping and rhythm a real key. I suspect that it might come too soon for him? I imagine Alan King will put him away until January at the earliest? Who knows. Rocky Creek ran a superb race- he got nailed on that long run in after the last but if it ever comes down to jumping tests he will take some beating, what a really rock solid performance from him. Frankly I was stunned that Triolo D'Alene won. Hard to see the seasoned chasers being beaten in the Gold Cup this year but Lord Windermere and Invictus are two to keep eyes on and if Paul Nicholls could stop talking about the National for Rocky Creek I'd be interested to see him staying on up the Cheltenham hill with his great jumping. There is talk of Al Ferof having a pop at a Gold Cup however and I think they hold him in some very high regard in that sense. I think he has the attributes to win a King George and nothing about him suggests he can't stay so far- he looks better over further for me, so maybe Rocky Creek will skip Cheltenham again (though he'd be a monster in that 4m race!). It's a case of potential over substance though at the moment- this Hennessey bare form and not taking into account the context of some runs, is not enough to shake up the Gold Cup favs.
I read today that Invictus finished lame Toppy. This was from a weekend review on the Sporting Life website: Invictus ran a very good race given the fact he'd been off the track for the best part of two years. He ran as if the race would do him the world of good and he was still threatening with three to go before tiring badly. Alan King wasn't exactly bullish before the race either and you get the impression he didn't want to have him fully wound up just in case. He came back lame as well which could be another reason why he weakened so badly. He's worth another chance and could easily figure in a big staying handicap later this season.
Did look like he emptied pretty quickly mate. How do we define 'lame' in horse racing terms. Is it injured, or is it sickness? Hope there are no flair ups. Hopefully its nothing serious.
I'm hoping just a strain - maybe over-reached or something? Hopefully nothing serious, I think the term "lame" is often used with horses even when it's not too serious. Nothing on Alan King's website yet but fingers crossed it's nothing serious.
