Cheltenham 2012

Sport
41

The final thing in my mind on the topic is on 2 horses tonight.

I’ve mentioned Jetson earlier on either this thread or the equine one. Was pulled out today due to ground change. He won well over Christmas at a time when Jessie couldn’t buy a winner. With her stable now back in form I’ll be watching this fella next time out. If she sends him across for the Pertemps he has to be watched. Being pulled out today could help his handicap mark but you’d hope he’ll get a run into him between now and March.

Noble Prince is the other. The curly headed fucker has been making a fool out of this horse. Again, his stable is in rank form and bar a small few, hasn’t had a proper winner in a long time. Considering Noble Prince has been sent to tackle Big Zeb twice, and then sent over 2m1f to be beaten by Blazing Tempo - when it’s been proven his ideal distance is longer than that then you’d wonder what Nolan is at. On the off chance that sanity prevails, Noble Prince is now becoming a backable price for the Ryanair. He’ll get around Cheltenham easily enough as he showed last year, it’ll be his best distance, and by then you’d hope the cunts stable will be back in form. At 7/1 now, I’m interested, but I reckon I’ll get longer before March. Nolan needs to stop pricking around with the only horse he has that’s worth keeping in form at the moment.

42

Think Rubi Light is much improved, like him for Ryan Air…
fp, that xxxgemerlain or whatever his name is is still quoted at 16/1 for the bumper?
I cannot see that Champagne Fever winning, desperate head carriage which you can put down to inexperience/green but its the high knee actions that bothers me, could well hack up on soft but of the gnd os good dont touch him, poor fav, more to do with the trainer

43

Agree with Jetson.

I was keen on noble prince but form of last year’s jewson is shocking. No doubt 2m 5f on good ground is his optimum conditions but feel that he may find a couple better than him in the ryanair. I would be more keen on rubi light but would prefer if connections did not expose him to a tough race by running him in the Henessey in a couple of weeks.

At this point in time I’m probably coming down on the side of somersby. Think this is his optimum trip and his record at the Festival ar grade 1 level is impressive. He was third in a supreme, second in an arkle and fifth in last year’s champion chase. He was tanking to third out in the king george until he started running on empty, backing up the assertion that 2m 5f is his best trip.

Hen’s yard are in much better form this year and the cheekpieces definitely sharpened him up last time out.

44

Take no notice of that, most of the firms are stilll quoting horses that have since run over hurdles.

45

i backed sommersby there in his supreme and arkle runs,he’s a tough horse,but both times he lost his action and position coming down the hill before turning in…he would have won the arkle if that hadnt happened, definitely a top contender…would worry a little about said kink…think there will be one better on the day

46

Tom Scu said on morning Line on sat that his time next yr GC might not alone not be best horse in yard but may not be the best horse in the family, in relation to this lad

47

form of hobb’s 3 principal chasers very worrying, menorah, wishful thinking and the captain all going from bad to worse? any insights? I was never a huge menorah or Captain Chris fan, good animals but i just throught they were going to plateau, but i thought Wishful was a super prospect…? Still wont give up on him but i would say there is a lot of pressure on his schooling assistant…Dicky not covering himself in glory either…

48

captain chris is a spring horse. He needs to go righthanded. He got away with this tendency in arkle due to the quality of opposition and due to the fact it was over tro miles. When a horse steps up in trip this tendency to jump right or left is more pronounced due to slower pace. I could easly see him winning at ascot next time out and then waiting for punchestown.

I think wisful thinking is/was slightly over rated. He never won a grade 1 as a novice and his high rating was the product of good weight carrying performances in handicaps. He reminds me of poquelin in that respect.

Menorah was a high class hurdler and its too early to write him off as a chaser. Plenty of high class chasers were less than foot perfect in their novice year. big zeb springs to mind immediately. If this year’s arkle was not such a hot renewal he would still be near the top of the market in spite of his concerns surrounding his fencing.

49

FFS Oscar Whiskey is in the welsh champion for Sat? we’re back to 2m again! Forget about him for the World Hurdle

50

Kid,
Dai Walters owns both Ffos llas and oscar whisky. He was always going to run there (as he did last year). He will deffo run in stayers, bar an injury to the fly.

51

ok, but still bad placement in my view, totally different approaches required…i wouldnt touch him for the 3m

52

The Welsh champion hurdle being called off could be good news for Oscar Whiskey , doubtful he’ll go over 2 miles now.

Good news for Backstage followers. Baby Run out for the season with a leg injury.

53

Anybody hear anything re a potential jim Bolger entry for the champion bumper?

54

@KC,
Im beginning to see where you were coming from with regards to Boston Bob. I would be slow to back him on good ground regardless of what race he runs in. Good spot :clap:

55

Tickets sorted for Gold Cup day. Possibly getting an owners and trainers badge. I presume that’ll give me an access all areas pass?

56

I’ve had a very very speculative 1 point e/w on Berties Dream for the RSA at 50/1 with Sporting Bet. It’s a bet that’s banking on some changes to the field to be in anyway successful. For start, I’m hoping that Grand Crus will go for the Gold Cup. That’s doubtful enough but I’m sure a lot of the horses near the top of the market won’t make this race. I can’t see Last Installment, First Lieutenant, Bog Warrior and Sir Des Champs all competing with each other.

Berties won an admittedly poor renewal of the Albert Bartlett 2 years ago in a mess of a race but he stayed on up the hill like a horse possessed. He was only 5-6 lengths behind Grand Crus in the World Hurdle last year. It’s taken him a while to get sorted over fences but I’ve seen some positive reports on the work de Bromhead has been doing with him and I’d expect him to turn up in Cheltenham a much better horse than the one we’ve seen recently in Ireland. He holds no other entry for the festival so this is the only option for him if he’s right and ready to run. There was reports a couple of weeks back that he was unlikely to run but his price has shortened ever so slightly to a general 25’s / 33’s so I’m happy to have a nibble at 50’s and sit on it. I don’t see him being anything close to 50/1 on the day if he runs.

57

Anyone going to any of the preview nights

Will head along to Café en Seine on 8th March myself anyway

58

Who’s on that panel DB?

Finally some sense regarding Oscar Whisky as well. Not idea for him not to have a prep run but not much they can do about it.

Owner Dai Walters believes Oscar Whisky could head straight for a mouth-watering clash with Bug Buck’s in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Walters, the owner of Ffos Las racecourse, had hoped to see his star performer defend his crown in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at the track on Saturday, but the meeting fell victim to the freezing temperatures. With the race looking unlikely to be rescheduled, Walters believes opportunities to run the Nicky Henderson-trained gelding between now and the Festival are few and far between.

“It was disappointing the meeting had to be abandoned the other day. The reason we decided to have the Welsh Champion Hurdle in February was because it was a good stepping stone to Cheltenham,” said Walters.

"Our next Saturday meeting is on March 17, which is the same week at the Festival, so it won’t work out the way we wanted.

“I’ve spoken to Nicky about where we could run Oscar Whisky. There is the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell (February 26), but that is probably too close to Cheltenham. I think there’s every chance he’ll go straight to Cheltenham now and run in the three-mile race.”

Oscar Whisky also has a Champion Hurdle entry, a race in which he finished third last year, but he looks set to tackle three-time World Hurdle winner Big Buck’s on his first attempt at three miles. While full of respect for the hot favourite, Walters hopes Oscar Whisky might give him more to think about than anything he has faced so far this season.

“Big Buck’s is a great horse, but he hasn’t had that many really good horses run against him,” Walters added.

“It would be nice to win, but we know it’s a difficult task and as we know with horses, anything can happen in the next few weeks. I think Oscar Whisky will stay three miles and I’m looking forward to it.”

59

The Voice
Barry Geraghty
Donn McClean
Dave Keena
Kevin O’Ryan

60

Good luck mac, but cant see it myself. That albert bartlett he won must nearly be the worse novice hurdle race ever run at the festival or close to it. If the ground came up absolutely bottomless them maybe there is a slight chance he could run into a place.

This looks like a very very hot renewal.