For me the most exciting piece of news to emerge, re the NH sphere, this weekend was the fact that the elder of the Mr Waley-Cohen has purchased leading âAintree Foxhuntersâ hope, Warne. His son, the forumâs favourite Corinthian, Sam, will ride him in that heat next week. The 10YO, Warne, certainly has the form for the race as he was a close 4th in the contest last term, whilst his ânumbersâ this calendar year read -131. He won by a distance in a point first time up, prior to running an excellent 3rd behind 2014 âCheltenham Foxhuntersâ winner Tammyâs Hill. Last time up Warne looked very, very good in defeating both Seabass and turning the tables on Tammyâs Hill who he beat by 3.75 lengths in receipt of 8 pounds. Sam went over to Ireland to school Warne, last Friday, over some Aintree types fences and the view from many an experienced eye is that the two of them are the perfect combination. In my view they are sure to go very, very close next week. In fact this purchase could set up an unbelievable week for the Waley-Cohenâs over the Grand National fences as amazingly, and I do mean amazingly, they could win all 3 of these type of races â Warne (Foxhunters), Rajdhani Express (Topham) and Long Run in the big âun itself. What do we think members??? Will the forum be cheering home Sam W-C three times next week?!? Briefly, in other news Mr Henderson has just returned home after a relaxing 6 day holiday in Switzerland. He advises that his horses now all look wonderful and are in magnificent health. His recent results certainly confirm this as 6 out of the old boys last 9 runners have won. He could still hold on to his âTrainers Crownâ you know, people as he, like the W-Câs look set for a top, top Aintree with Long Run leading the charge for both parties.
Your unbounded enthusiasm and goodwill to your fellow man does you great credit Sir Barney. You are seemingly incapable of a cynical thought: long may it be so.
I am not sure why some owners go down the route of buying a fancied horse for a big race the week before as I am unsure how much satisfaction can be derived from such a venture. I can see how Long Run winning the National would obviously be a huge thrill to the connections but how much can you get out of buying a winner the week before. My personal view is the most likely of the three horses to win will be Rajdhani Express who was sensational at this meeting last year. I am not sure how many on here actually consider SWC their favourite anything however, a very decent amateur certainly but I feel many would like to see how Long Run could actually fence with a pro on board. How many Taxi's will Sam be hailing could be a comp this year.
