Was a terrific win that. Had one backed that was tailed off and was willing that one home at the end, had them all going from the drop of the flag.
Great shout, with Annual Invictus, Pilgrim, very gutsy performance by your selection, and what a price!
While Costitution Hill is around they won’t even try. Mares Hurdle mopped up for the next five years most likely.
Yeah, your spot on Stick. I am only playing Devils Advocate. Do you think she would be worth a try even, or would it be a pipe dream? Judging off CH last run vs Rubaud (all which I know are very subjective) given the way she took care of them at HQ today, just had me questioning It. Too much options nowadays to avoid a proper showdown.
Stick, let’s face it . These “cotton wool trainers and owners” lack ambition. I can understand giving Lossiemouth another year to mature, her being only a five year old. Yet Willie Mullins has often stated his policy of going for the easiest option when he targets his horses for Cheltenham. Nonetheless take 2020. Both Honeysuckle and Benie Des Dieux followed that policy in going for the Mares Hurdle- and, by taking each other on, let an inferior mare, Epatante, mop up the Champion Hurdle- a special achievement only previously achieved by three mares (I think). And what would be better- running a great race to be second to Constitution Hill or beating inferior stablemates in the Mares Hurdle?
I do agree, we talked about it yesterday at the meeting and we’re all of the opinion that she would come second in all likelihood but still earn as much as she would by winning the Mares.
Spot on Tam. For me connections of CH also lack ambition - he is an extraordinary talent and deserves the chance to do something extraordinary. For example becoming the first horse to win the Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase. What do they do instead? Treat us to him demolishing inferior horses 3 or 4 time per season. His talent deserves so much more.
Yes, Oddy, but I can understand keeping a horse to hurdling, if that’s his forte. What I can’t understand is having a great horse to be just a show pony. Why not run CH in a handicap? OK, the long held policy is not to promote that through lack of prize money- and that’s sad because when CH has retired, I’ll just remember a horse that won poor Champion Hurdles as opposed to say a great Champion Hurdler like Persian War who carried top weight in the prestigious Schweppes Hurdle and won against a fantastically competitive field. Likewise everyone remembers Arkle for his great feats in handicaps- as opposed to cantering home in the Gold Cup. In essence, National Hunt Racing only promotes small fields in stake races for the top horses and, in reality, the Cheltenham Festival is killing the sport as a be all and end all. The rest of the season is pure mediocrity. Yesterday’s competitive racing is rare- when it used to be every week from November until April. Let’s put money into handicaps and encourage trainers to run their horses more than three to five times a year! PS. Do you remember Dextra Dove, from the same family created by that fantastic mare, Red Dove. He won 17 handicaps in his career. That’s racing!
I think they are trying that with these Premier handicaps and Nicholls has certainly supported them with Stage Star. Of course he also pushed Denman’s legend to new heights by running him in the Hennessy. It will take time and it might be necessary to do something radical with Cheltenham. Imagine you had to run in a class 1 handicap in the current season to qualify for the Championship races ………
Or we could stop pissing about with rules and get back to the best horses being trained for the best races and stop avoiding each other. Cull more races, especially those graded races with small fields.
