AL FEROF & BIG BUCKS Out for the season.

Monksland is a massive price for this.


We need to see where he runs next to determine his festival route though.

 

Yes, I would agree with that. This is why for me antepost betting on the festival isn't an option, silly prices and lack of market difference (bar probably betfair - which I don't use) makes it a no go. Add in the strength of markets at the festival and the antepost sphere doesn't interest me for the festival like it did even a few seasons ago.

 

If Zaidpour lines up in this then he wins in my opinion. Not sure why they ran him in the champion hurdle last year when he had been running so well over further all season.....

 

Zaidpour will never win at the Festival IMO unless it comes up soft.


He is outstanding on soft ground as we saw last time out when beating an excellent field including the one I really rate-Monksland.


Id fancy him to beat Zaidpour on good spring ground.

 

He's in the wrong yard for that to happen Oddy

 

Big Bucks to be moved to Hendo yard in time( 2 weeks before) for serious Cheltenham tilt

 

You are always living on the edge with racehorses, and yesterday we unfortunately lost Big Buck's and Al Ferof for the season.

I must stress that they are not career-threatening injuries, and maybe we could have even given them both a month's rest, and then kicked on again with them.

But I have learned down the years to stop and sort the problem immediately in these circumstances.

They were two separate incidents, and unfortunately these kind of injuries are part and parcel of the game when training supremely fit racehorses.

You only ever tend to hear about the good horses in these situations, but the injuries that Big Buck's and Al Ferof picked up happen to horses every day of the week in stables up and down the country. It's just that you never hear of them.

But, clearly with high-profile horses, we had a duty to inform the public as soon as the injuries were confirmed late on Monday afternoon and after I had spoken to the owners. And that is what we did last night in these columns.

Clifford is brilliant with legs and he first detected something possibly wasn't quite right with the horses on Sunday night. He wasn't overly-happy with them, so we called in Buffy on Monday morning to look at them and do some scans.

And when they came back and confirmed what we suspected, I immediately spoke to everyone concerned last evening and got the statement out as soon as I possibly could.

Both Andy Stewart and John Hales have been in the game a long time - they have been there and got the T-shirt - and both were as calm and understanding as I would have expected of two such professionals.

With Big Buck's, Clifford detected a tiny bit of heat on Sunday and that sent the alarm bells ringing. So Buffy scanned his near fore tendon on Monday, and that confirmed a tiny bit of damage.

He will now be given a month's box rest, and then be given 2-3 hours walking daily until the ground is better in April and we will turn him out.

Then he will probably come back in on September 1, with a view to running again next Christmas.

And the same recovery and training schedule awaits Al Ferof. He too had some heat in a leg at the weekend and I imagine he knocked himself either schooling or working, and suffered a bit of damage. But in these situations you never know for sure how and when it occurred.

If a footballer has a slight tweak then he will go to his manager and tell him. But horses can't talk - and that is where Clifford comes to the fore and excels.

Al Ferof is potentially so good that we will take our time with him, and he will have the same recovery schedule as Big Buck's, then go to Pat and John's for the summer.

Both horses will hopefully then be in a position to run at the Festival in 2014.

I have been in the game long enough to take these things in my stride, and so have my owners.

But, of course, it is hugely disappointing.

However, I always look on the bright side and it is now our job to meet the challenge, and get new horses to fill their places in the big races.

Ruby will now ride Kauto Stone in the King George and, looking at the World Hurdle, we have Wonderful Charm, Prospect Wells and perhaps even Tidal Bay to consider for that race.

Wonderful Charm has had a breathing operation since winning at Chepstow, and I may even consider Tidal Bay for the Cleeve Hurdle after he runs in the Lexus. For sure, he has enough talent and versatility to make his presence felt in the World Hurdle, as well as the Gold Cup.

You learn to live with disappointments in this game.

It is how you respond to them that marks out the resolve of the man, and the stable.

 

Barney,let's be realistic .Oscar Whisky was dead and buried two out at Cheltenham last season. How on earth could you fancy him to stay the trip next March?
If Big Bucks hadn't run in that World Hurdle, Voler La Vedette would have been the easiest winner at the Festival.
You should have taken the 33/1 on Betfair for the Champion Hurdle a couple of months back- that would have been more realistic.
Unless he goes there - which I want him to do- he'll more likely go straight to Aintree.

 

Tam, I wouldn’t say that I fancy Oscar Whiskey big time for the Stayers Crown this year (and certainly didn’t back him in last terms World Hurdle) but would guess, if I had to, that if he runs at Cheltenham that is where he will go. More than likely I could be wrong but think the race should be considered at any rate. Oscar Whiskey is never a horse that I’ve ever really got carried away about but this season he looks as good as he ever has and the considerably weaker make-up of the World Hurdle this time around (due to Big Bucks defection) may make connections steer him to the Thursday of the Festival.

Mr Henderson said at the commencement of the season that the ‘Aintree Hurdle’ would be his top priority and, at the moment, he is also being targetted at the Welsh Champion Hurdle at the beginning of Feb. So where such a programme leaves him re Cheltenham I don’t know.

The reason that I highlighted him for the World yesterday was because of what Mr Henderson said about him after Cheltenham on Saturday – he remarked that you could not say 100% that Oscar Whiskey wouldn’t stay 4 extra furlongs in the 2013 World Hurdle and maybe his poor run behind Big Bucks in last seasons 3 miler was down to some malady rather than him not staying. If illness or some ailment did do for him last time around another crack at the World should be considered as he comfortably gets 20 furlongs.

 

Barney, fair comments, but he seemed in good heart during the race- and his candle just went out.
Having said that, he's a wonderfully consistent horse and I'm sure he might have won last year's Champion, if he'd taken part.
He's comparable to Thousand Stars- both excellent at 2.5 miles, but he has a touch more speed than the Irish horse; but the latter has a bit more stamina.

 

For me he has not the stamina for 3miles round Cheltenham. I'd love to see him have a crack at the Champion Hurdle.

 

What about Simonsig for the World Hurdle? He makes his Chase debut this week and if it doesn't go to plan then I think this would be a live chance.

 

OddDog, Realistically what are the chances of Quevega running twice in the same festival? If this were the case wouldn't we be going back to the days of Flyingbolt who won 2 races races at the same festival? The Champion Hurdle and the Champion Chase if my knowledge serves me correctly........

 

He won the Champion Chase & was third in the Champion hurdle. I seem to remember Aurthur Moore running two horses at Cheltenham in succession at the festival around 88-91.( i remember the old man having a tip for it in the race it won) The name is on the tip of my tongue..

 

Getting confused here, it was Feroda who won two chases for Arthur Moore in two days at the Aintree festival in 1989

 

Galaxy, many thanks for clairifying. I remember a quiz question a couple of years ago regarding a horse that won back to back races at the festival (one after the other), it was a trick question though because i believe the particular horse won the last race of the that years festival (Bumper i think), and the first race of the following years festival (not sure what race). Apologies in advance for meandering of topic thread

 

Interesting trick question. What was the answer? Nothing wrong with going off topic

 

And the answer was *********