I will take your word for it lads, I was thinking fences might settle him down a bit if hes using more energy to jump them. Suppose thinking about it, the top 2 mile hurdlers of Champion class rarely seem to live up to it over fences, he is probably the classiest jump horse in training though.
And there we have it - a perfect example of the folly of ante post punting - not even into October yet and Defy Logic is out for the season. Boris - rumour has it they only mentioned that McCoy was coming over to school him and he shat himelf and bolted, thereby doing his tendon no, not really
Anyone got any thoughts on the targets for Riccis horses after his interview? Still no mention of Un De Sceaux!
I don't believe Un De Sceaux belongs to Mr Ricci the don - Edward O'Connell is shown as the owner on Sporting Life and I've not heard of him being sold
More of That staying hurdling is great news for daft accumulators Ive been doing. Regarding Vautour for the Arkle lads, I'm doing this on and off too but I'd definitely recommend a few quid on him for the JLT too... In fact I might have to reword my signature as I'm really not 100% certain he'll go Arkle! The Don- I'm pretty sure UDS goes chasing. Arkle almost definitely his target. Hence my Vautour uncertainty
You don't send a horse like Vautour to the JLT chaps. Not after what he did to a very fair looking Supreme field. He heads for the Arkle. If he can't jump he'll run in the Champion Hurdle.
Vautour always looked a complete natural over hurdles to me Bob - very low and fast, very economical at his hurdles, doesn't go big like he is looking for a fence. I'll be very interested to see what they do with him. wouldn't be in a rush to tackle fences - send him to the Morgiana first and see how that goes - if he gets beat they can still switch him to fences with plenty of time to spare.
There's a nice G2 event at Down Royal for second season hurdlers at the start of November that Jezki took last season. If he were to stay over timber then that might be a perfect starting point or Mullins may favour a go at one of the Irish November H'caps on the flat to sharpen him up.These are run at a longer trip than the Doncaster equivalent
I'm even more amazed there now 9/1 for him in the Arkle and into 5/1 for the Champion Schooling not going well down in Closutton I wonder ...
Very interesting. His hurdling fluency could be what tips the balance- he was a better hurdler (as in technique over the obstacle) than all of last years Champion field, but he'll have to go some to see some of the big guns off from the front. I think Annie Power would be a monster in the Arkle but I think she will go down the mares route, completely and utterly wasting her talent.
I'd rather see him in the Champion Hurdle but they won't send Faugheen over fences and they won't run the two against each other (i would have thought) so if he does go the hurdle route what prestigious race is there for Faugheen? The World Hurdle? I don't think he'd win it. I hope it turns out like this because i think, at this stage, it gives each of them the best chance of winning a race at the Festival: Faugheen - Champion Hurdle Vautour - Arkle Annie Power - JLT
Gosh - it's just like last season all over again .....................trying to guess where Mullins sends his Cheltz horses
I wish I didn't do antepost this summer at all now I was in complete agreement with Bob's predicted line-up for those 3 Ricci horses up until recently and having seen those saw Paddy's market shifts last night I just ain't got a clue. The one thing I cling onto is the belief that Faugheen ain't no World Hurdle horse, no way. Whilst he stayed 3 miles in an egg and spooner round Limerick I'm adamant the shorter the better for him. Are you reading Mr Ricci?!
Just be careful about Faugheen Beefy. Yes, i completely agree he's a beast but the reason he was such a great bet in last years Neptune was because that was a piss poor renewal coupled with him being super talented. No horse should be allowed to win a Cheltenham novice hurdle after jumping so poorly. He beat trees. Now, just because he beat trees doesn't mean he's not an absolute hero but favourite for the Champion? Wow. I just can't agree. As much as I don't really rate the New One as highly as a few others do, his level of form is, at the moment, significantly ahead of what Faugheen achieved. Jezki is probably around the same level as the New One if not slightly ahead. That's two horses who should be shorter in the market. I think TNO is effectively joint fav. Jezki is available at 13/2. I know which is the better bet at this stage. Having just brought up odds checker, Laddies go 7/2 TNO for the 2015 Champion Hurdle - that is a piss take.
