Yet again a top class read made from the OP and the memebers of the board...!!! I cant add much to the discussion that hasnt already been made but would like to make a few points from what ive read... The 'farmer ********' quote made me laugh coupled with what Zenyatta has said about the schooling or jumping of Siliniaco Conti and it got me thinking... Have the Tizzards brought Cue Card along as quick as maybe a horse schooled with Nicholls/Henderson could have...? Did he just come up against 4 better horses in Menorah, Al Ferof, Sprinter Sacre and Spirit Son but had he been a Nicholls/Henderson horse he might have been up to speed with them... Im not trying to big up the Nicholls/Henderson yards, they are good enough allready, or trying to make a case either way. But it seems the general consensus of this thread is that no one really knows what his best trip is or where he should be sent to get the best out of him... There is no doubt that Cue Card is a very good horse, but i dont think we have seen to what standard he can get to... Just a thought...???
Have to agree with Zenyatta having just re-watched the race. Silviniano Conti looked a very, very good jumper. Cue Card in the last mile showed a nice ability to quicken, and jumped the last really well so if he can do that consistently he will put himself in the frame. It was when they were going slow and he had time to think that he seemed to get in too close. We'll learn a lot more in their next couple of starts respectively. Episode 3 looking set for Friday lads, that sound okay?
I thought Michael Flips ran a decent race as well, took off a bit early at a couple but put in some very nice jumps for a novice and was going very well 3 out before just blowing up a bit. Certainly one I'll be keeping an eye on
Toppy, I think a thread detailing ante-post Cheltenham bets is a splendid idea but would just add 1 proviso, if I may. I think it would be worthless for people to simply state things like ‘I’ve backed x in the Champion Hurdle’ or ‘just had £10 on y in the RSA’. This is because, in this form, its pretty meaningless and doesn’t really say how much the member fancies the horse and also allows an awful lot of ‘after timing’ and arguments to then subsequently develop after the races have been run. £10 for some posters would be a huge wager whilst for others it could be a comparatively small bet so I don't think it advisable to work in monetary terms. What I would therefore suggest is when members advise they have staked a certain ante-post bet to do so on a points basis (install a standard points tally at the outset, say 1-5 points or 1-10 points and stick to it from then till Cheltenham with the mid-point in the scale being that person’s average bet). That way it is instantly and easily identified how much the horse is fancied (a 8 point bet on a 1-10 point scale by a respected member will therefore obviously be noted as a significant bet and more noteworthy than them placing a 3 or 4 points wager) and at ‘stumps’, once the Festival is over, there can also be no claims from people that they put fortunes on a horse that won and almost nil on one that got beat!
Barney, completely agree. I thought an AP thread would be useful just to highlight the way people approach the festival, how wrong it can go, and how well it can work in terms of either getting a great value run for your money, or of course, no run whatsoever for your money. People have different lifestyles, backgrounds, and ideas towards betting, so I'm not at all interested in who staked what on whichever horse- I just want to see peoples thought processes in the lead up to March, and therefore your proposal of a points system makes absolute sense and will indeed be used I'm hanging fire with the idea at the moment as it is one of two ideas that I would like to implement, but I'll discuss that with everyone once Episode 3 of this series is posted either on Friday or over the weekend.
Next thread on Friday sounds excellento Toppy! I also agree big time with Barney about his ante-post thinking and especially the 'aftertiming'. I can only imagine reading articles with reams of this..... 'My main 10-1 antepost bet is now a non runner, as was my 6-1 as he's entered up in the 3 mile handicap tomorrow, my 50-1 runner ran a lovely race, coming in 7th and is definitely one for the future This doesn't sound great so far BUT I decided on the morning to play on the winner at 50-1 AS it was just too big a price and I also got the trixie, forecast, scorecast and reverse forecast up too mate. Lovely return should a done the lottery as well, my darts are THAT hot BUT I couldn't afford the ticket as all my money went onto 2546 ante-post bets ' I don't think anyone wishes to read that too much!
Cue Card looks like he'll struggle to make a mark over fences. Very much overrated, I expect him to quietly slip into the background during the coming season.
