The Horse racing thread

[Donnellys Hollow]

DH,

Interested in your opinion on this,I thought the performance of Paddy Brennan and McCoy in the Gold Cup was the highlight of the meeting. I think it was 4 or 5 from home but the pair put in jumps that where breathtaking. Binocular is a hard one to work out, how was he beat last year is a question I havent been able to answer or is it simply that he is a bit of a mule?

The Gold Cup was a fantastic spectacle and I must admit, I thought Imperial Commander's stamina would empty going down to the second last but he kept galloping all the way to the line. I think Nicholls really missed a trick with Denman in not trying a pair of blinkers or cheekpieces on him. I've heard a lot of people saying that Kauto Star was still in with every chance when he fell but to me he looked well beat. Ruby gave him a reminder down the back and in truth he has probably been in decline for a year or two now. He beat a load of trees in the King George when IC was clearly wrong (the worst field he's ever beaten at Kempton) and it fooled everyone into thinking he was better than ever. The staying chase division will look an awful lot different next year I think.

Imperial Commander is only a year younger than the Nicholls pair so it is no certainty that he will be top of the tree for years to come. An Siorrac, Weapons Amnesty, Sizing Europe, Somersby, Pandorama, Cooldine (with a full campaign under his belt) and Long Run (provided they put a proper jockey up) could all be in the Gold Cup picture next season.

Binocular had the form in the book going back to his comprehensive defeats of Celestial Halo at both Aintree and Ascot a few years ago but he'd never done it at Cheltenham. I assume he's a suspect stayer so he needs really good ground to get a stiff two miles. Its hard to explain his runs in the Fighting Fifth and the Christmas Hurdle but I suspect he was going through a growth spurt at the time and that is what caused his lack of fluency at his obstacles. The hurdling division is very weak at the moment (A stayer in Big Bucks is the top rated) and it won't take much improvement out of this year's novices to reach the top level. Hurricane Fly is potentially the most exciting hurdler since Istabraq but there have to be doubts about him now given that he has missed the last two festivals.

[Declan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/8582315.stm

Some gambling in this game isn't there

[Louth Exile]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/8582315.stm

Some gambling in this game isn't there

Even Sea the Stars, the greatest of them all, has "staying" problems 

[Puckoon]

120 rides a year? I want to come back as a horse.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Giggidy!

[Treasurer]

120 rides a year? I want to come back as a horse.

Just make sure you're not a national hunt horse

[new devil]

3.50 ayr.. PHONE IN 17-2

[Donnellys Hollow]

Disappointing enough fields for the Guineas trials at Leopardstown on Sunday. Ballydoyle's horses looked a bit behind at the Curragh on Sunday so I wouldn't be backing any of them until May at the earliest. Tommy Stack will probably be the man to follow again.

Speaking of Ballydoyle horses I've been hearing very good things about an unbeaten Galileo colt called Cape Blanco. Murtagh was very impressed with how he worked at the Curragh last weekend. I'm already sitting on a 14/1 voucher on St Nicholas Abbey for Epsom but I may have an e/w saver on this lad. I wouldn't be getting too excited about any of the English colts and Godolphin are up to their old tricks already with Kingsfort already on the easy list. O'Brien would've trained the first four home in the Derby last year if it wasn't for Sea The Stars!

[drici]

3.50 ayr.. PHONE IN 17-2

Rang 172 a couple of times to get the tip for the 3-50 Ayr but a voice just comes on saying 'the number you have dialled has not been recognised.'

[Homer]

Watched that programme with Paul Nolan on BBC4 last night. It was a very good insight into the horses environment, thoroughly enjoyed it even though I missed the first half of it. Think its being shown on Monday night on RTE.

For those of you who might have missed this last week – it's online here:

http://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/highlights.html?2720193,2720193,flash,256 (Probably Ireland only)

Excellent documentary and well worth the watch.

[Homer]

Disappointing enough fields for the Guineas trials at Leopardstown on Sunday. Ballydoyle's horses looked a bit behind at the Curragh on Sunday so I wouldn't be backing any of them until May at the earliest. Tommy Stack will probably be the man to follow again.

Speaking of Ballydoyle horses I've been hearing very good things about an unbeaten Galileo colt called Cape Blanco. Murtagh was very impressed with how he worked at the Curragh last weekend. I'm already sitting on a 14/1 voucher on St Nicholas Abbey for Epsom but I may have an e/w saver on this lad. I wouldn't be getting too excited about any of the English colts and Godolphin are up to their old tricks already with Kingsfort already on the easy list. O'Brien would've trained the first four home in the Derby last year if it wasn't for Sea The Stars!

Hope you listened to yourself DH

[Donnellys Hollow]

Disappointing enough fields for the Guineas trials at Leopardstown on Sunday. Ballydoyle's horses looked a bit behind at the Curragh on Sunday so I wouldn't be backing any of them until May at the earliest. Tommy Stack will probably be the man to follow again.

Speaking of Ballydoyle horses I've been hearing very good things about an unbeaten Galileo colt called Cape Blanco. Murtagh was very impressed with how he worked at the Curragh last weekend. I'm already sitting on a 14/1 voucher on St Nicholas Abbey for Epsom but I may have an e/w saver on this lad. I wouldn't be getting too excited about any of the English colts and Godolphin are up to their old tricks already with Kingsfort already on the easy list. O'Brien would've trained the first four home in the Derby last year if it wasn't for Sea The Stars!

Hope you listened to yourself DH

Noll Wallop at 5s into 7/2 romps home in the 2000 Guineas trial. Hope you were on Homer. 

[Donnellys Hollow]

He's only gone and done it again in the maiden with Mister Carter at 12/1.

Follow the form - Stack and Lordan for me until this winning streak ends. Ballygologue at 8/1 in the next worth a few bob e/w for the 4 places.

[Hardy]

Early season differences in stable form are huge. Laying the O'Brien horses today like picking money off trees. They seem a month behind everyone else, like most seasons.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Ballygologue gets the place money. Have to wait until next weekend when the Stack bandwagon rolls into Mallow for my next bet! 

Ballydoyle are always miles off the pace up until the Guineas yet their 3yo maidens will all go off at short prices even though they were either too backward to run last year or not good enough to win late season maidens as 2yos. Happens every single April yet people must still be backing them.

Prendergast and Stack always clean up at this time of year before falling away mid-summer. It might lack the excitement of the jumps but the flat season is far more predictable. Just wait for Godolphin to get rolling across the water. They'll run like goats until after Royal Ascot before coming into form in late-summer/autumn.