BTW welcome back TTK
yes, all nicholls horse improved incredibly from their first run this year, this wasnāt a first run we are talking about hereā¦BTW I dissed his SCās chances in the GC after his KG win which was silly, he prob deserves to be fav, watched last year GC again on Friday and he was still bang there, I didnāt realize how well he was travelling in that
Ok,
Would you have fancied Hardy Euctace to win his first or second Champion Hurdles after any of his prep runs?
Point iām making KC, is that ratings are best ignored outside of Championship races. Horses are trained to peak for one or two such races. Itās the reason why many horses fail to deliver at Aintree as they are āover the topā.
Trainers bring their top horses along slowly, otherwise they greatly reduce their chances of Championship success.
Thanks KC - Iām not so sure Mac, heās very different to most other young pretenders in fairness. This idea that he does too much is wide of the mark. The horse doesnāt know how not to go that pace and the scary thing is that he can keep it up. You wouldnāt have known he had a race post race in Navan and he went an unbelievable clip there. It could be the case that he runs and makes every post a winning one, becoming a revelation in the process. WP Mullins doesnāt know the extent of his ability as heās afraid to take him on on his own gallops!
Also KC, i think you got a hard on for TNO after he beat ROR? What mark do you think both ran to that day?
welcome back. I agree re Mullins on this.
Hard to see where he is going really - this is Mullinās quote after UDSās first run;
After race at [B]Punchestown Wed, 20th Feb, 2013 (1st)[/B]http://www.irishracing.com/images/quote1.gifhe has been doing that sort of work at home and is one Iāve been looking forward to getting out. He jumped well for a horse first time over hurdles, carrying a penalty but heās very hard on himself and weāll see how he comes out of this before deciding where to go. He is certainly a nice addition to the team and they went some āclipā - the time was huge for the ground (4m09.9sec).http://www.irishracing.com/images/quote2.gif W P Mullins
What do you all make of the Arkle after the Irish equivalent?
Thing is that if he runs thereāll be something put in to take him on up front and not give it to him all his own way. I could see him being placed but not winning. Especially as Ruby is likely the only jockey in the stable who could control him.
your last sentence is not true. but I understand the point you are making, you can take a horse to near peak and them let him of for 4-5 weeks to freshen, and bring him back, thatās not unusual at all, Kauto was just as devastating in dec that he was wining GCs in march. Re Hardy, I backed him ew in his first ch (2 euro ew 
)and in his second I was telling people on AFR to lump on from the irish CH to the day if you want to check archives, he ran close up 3rd in irish champion on soft and he was 7-8lbs better on goodā¦and macs joy ran to form that dayā¦they pulled 10L clear of sollerina on softā¦
I would fancy Dodging Bullets but would greatly respect Champagne Fever if running here (as now looks likely)
Rock on Ruby possibly the most underrated.
Canāt tell much from Sunday. DF burst so put a line through the run. FY is a different animal on better ground. Trifolium will have no problems with the course and I donāt buy that he needs a bog. Willie saying that FY needs a further trip is not something I agree with.
I was hoping mozoltov would put down a marker, he was def on easy list as he went 2f farther than the others in the race (wide)and I am thinking heāll get another run and go for Jewson, his jumping is not sharp enough for arkleā¦I think Trifolium will be bang thereā¦I donāt see how Felix will reverse
I am not sure rock on ruby has the scope for fencesā¦?
[quote=āMac, post: 893814, member: 109ā]Rock on Ruby possibly the most underrated.
Canāt tell much from Sunday. DF burst so put a line through the run. FY is a different animal on better ground. Trifolium will have no problems with the course and I donāt buy that he needs a bog. Willie saying that FY needs a further trip is not something I agree with.[/quote]
I was greatly underwhelmed by his debut Mac. I hate to say it, but i think his best days are behind him.
I got a hard on for him the way he slammed pont alexanderā¦in the Neptuneā¦and heās done nothing wrong since. heāll be bang there I can absolutely guarantee you of that
As well you know, Iām a big fan.
If CF takes command he wonāt be passed in Cheltenham is my view. Never gets headed unless he has to fight for it back. Much like Big Bucks, CF knows how to win a battle
Iād side with ROR at this stage. He was a different level to these over hurdles and has shown he can jump. He needs another race pre-festival, any idea where? Ground is vital to him but heās a two time course winner and has finished no worse than 2nd around there. Heās the best bet at current prices surely?
Youāre missing the point Mac, nothing can take him on! Itās irrelevant if they put something else in, they wonāt live with him after 6 furlongs and the rest will be too far back to close on one with his ability. The only thing stopping him winning a champion hurdle this year is his trainer by not running him.
Didnāt run at weekend due to ground, odds not good re horses who spend 2-3 seasons hurdling and going for arkle ( sizing Europe was the only one I can remember and ror is very compact for 2m fencing where jumping wins or loses it , but at the prices possible ew value but I would doubt he wins it. Champagne fever or trifolium will out jump him you would have to think