I would like to get some opinions from forumites on what the best plan of action would be with Master Minded this season. I think the reason this question has been going round my brain all day is, strangely enough, the death of Ginger McCain earlier this week. That sad event had me reviewing those great triumphs of Rummy and of course his dramatic triumph over Crisp in 1973.
Now Crisp had made his name as a 2-miler in Australia, winning the Hiskens Steeplechase in 1969 and 1970, and in 1971 he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. A year later he was aimed at the Cheltenham Gold Cup but finished 5th behind Glencaraig Lady, having patently failed to stay. Notwithstanding this, connections aimed him at the 1973 National, a race in which 2 milers had a good record because the first half of the race was usually run at a steady pace which allowed horse to hunt around before getting into the race proper in the latter stages. Of course Crisp, famously, had his own ideas about how to run the National and he put in the most astonishing round of jumping ever seen over the National fences, coming to the last still 15 lengths clear of Red Rum. But his efforts had cost him and he was caught on the run-in by Rummy to become the unluckiest loser in the history of the race.
And this is where I come to Master Minded. This horse is probably the greatest jumper of a fence I can recall seeing. The way he clears the obstacle with the minimum of fuss is a joy to watch, and even where he has made the odd error it has usually been the result of over-zealousness by his jockey. Could Master Minded hunt round Aintree, lobbing along and jumping for fun, before pouncing with that murderous turn of foot to win the National??
Let us look at his options:
1) Stay at 2 miles - Beaten by Big Zeb (2010) and Sizing Europe (2011) he does not appear to have retained the speed to cope with the very best over 2 miles.
2) Campaign at 2m4f - Old Roan, The Amlin Chase, Peterborough Chase, Ryanair, Melling Chase? With all due respect to Monet's Garden and Albertas Run this is hardly the stuff of legends
3) Grade 1 Staying Chases - King George, Gold Cup, Aintree Bowl? Surely Long Run looks nailed on to dominate this scene and with young staying chasers coming through like Weapons Amnesty, can Master Minded really go Gold Cup pace over the Gold Cup distance? The evidence to date suggests no.
4) A programme aimed at getting him to the Grand National. Maybe a series of staying chases where his official rating could be "tuned" to get him into the race with a chance? I'm not saying he could win off 172 but if that could be brought down to the upper 150s or 160 ish could he go close to winning the National??
I would be very interested to hear people's thoughts on the best and/or most likely route for Master Minded this season. Cheers.
Now Crisp had made his name as a 2-miler in Australia, winning the Hiskens Steeplechase in 1969 and 1970, and in 1971 he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. A year later he was aimed at the Cheltenham Gold Cup but finished 5th behind Glencaraig Lady, having patently failed to stay. Notwithstanding this, connections aimed him at the 1973 National, a race in which 2 milers had a good record because the first half of the race was usually run at a steady pace which allowed horse to hunt around before getting into the race proper in the latter stages. Of course Crisp, famously, had his own ideas about how to run the National and he put in the most astonishing round of jumping ever seen over the National fences, coming to the last still 15 lengths clear of Red Rum. But his efforts had cost him and he was caught on the run-in by Rummy to become the unluckiest loser in the history of the race.
And this is where I come to Master Minded. This horse is probably the greatest jumper of a fence I can recall seeing. The way he clears the obstacle with the minimum of fuss is a joy to watch, and even where he has made the odd error it has usually been the result of over-zealousness by his jockey. Could Master Minded hunt round Aintree, lobbing along and jumping for fun, before pouncing with that murderous turn of foot to win the National??
Let us look at his options:
1) Stay at 2 miles - Beaten by Big Zeb (2010) and Sizing Europe (2011) he does not appear to have retained the speed to cope with the very best over 2 miles.
2) Campaign at 2m4f - Old Roan, The Amlin Chase, Peterborough Chase, Ryanair, Melling Chase? With all due respect to Monet's Garden and Albertas Run this is hardly the stuff of legends
3) Grade 1 Staying Chases - King George, Gold Cup, Aintree Bowl? Surely Long Run looks nailed on to dominate this scene and with young staying chasers coming through like Weapons Amnesty, can Master Minded really go Gold Cup pace over the Gold Cup distance? The evidence to date suggests no.
4) A programme aimed at getting him to the Grand National. Maybe a series of staying chases where his official rating could be "tuned" to get him into the race with a chance? I'm not saying he could win off 172 but if that could be brought down to the upper 150s or 160 ish could he go close to winning the National??
I would be very interested to hear people's thoughts on the best and/or most likely route for Master Minded this season. Cheers.
