The Horse racing thread

[charlieTully]

The ground at Leopardstown is shaping up to be quite decent. Kempton on the other hand could be softer than at any Christmas in living memory. I cannot recall a heavy ground renewal of the King George.

Any fancies for the king George DH. Do you rate kauto stone?

[Donnellys Hollow]

The ground at Leopardstown is shaping up to be quite decent. Kempton on the other hand could be softer than at any Christmas in living memory. I cannot recall a heavy ground renewal of the King George.

Any fancies for the king George DH. Do you rate kauto stone?

I don't really to be honest. The ground will be in his favour though. It could be a very attritional race this year on that ground and a lot of horses might just struggle to get into it.

I had a look through the cards there earlier on for Stephen's Day. Plenty of good racing but I can't really spot a standout bet.

[bridge fan]

The ground at Leopardstown is shaping up to be quite decent. Kempton on the other hand could be softer than at any Christmas in living memory. I cannot recall a heavy ground renewal of the King George.

Any fancies for the king George DH. Do you rate kauto stone?

I don't really to be honest. The ground will be in his favour though. It could be a very attritional race this year on that ground and a lot of horses might just struggle to get into it.

I had a look through the cards there earlier on for Stephen's Day. Plenty of good racing but I can't really spot a standout bet.

take a closer look donnelly 

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

My advice would be to ensure you have someone involved who has prior experience of ownership or better still, prior experience of having a horse with the same trainer. A lot will be dependent on your budget but even a large wedge of cash is no guarantee of success - look at the amount of six figure purchases from the p2p field who are too slow to win any half decent race. I've seen horses go through the ring at Goffs with a leg in every parish that have fetched ridiculous amounts and then can't win a bumper or a maiden hurdle after they go into training. Horses can be picked up off the flat relatively cheaply but a lot of these have had the hearts trained out of them as 2 and 3yos and they can sour quite quickly.

Apart from the initial cost of buying the horse, you're probably looking at approximately €20k per annum to keep a horse in training with any of the better trainers. Training fees, entries, schooling, vet, transport, jockey - it all adds up. Don't expect to make money.

To put Donnellys Hollow's final piece of advice into perspective, a recent survey has suggested that on average, racehorse owners loss 75% of the money they put into racing. Of course they other side of the argument is the intangible thrill of watching a horse race in your own colours. A relatively unknown trainer from a small yard will cost about 700 euro per month.

[the greatest jockey]

Been reading through some form and here's a few selections for st stephen's day:

leopardstown
12.50 - anonis
1.50 - daggers bond ew
2.20 - glibin ew
2.55 - oscars well

down royal
3.00 - great oak

kempton
1.25 - coole river nap
3.10 for non stop ew

[ONeill]

12:25 Down Royal. Something like Slippers Percy.

[ziggy90]

One for the Vile fans in the same race O'Neill, "Not Before Eight"  . Btw is the above a serious tip (nice price).

[ONeill]

4th. Holiday dough blown.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Don't think we saw a Gold Cup horse today, can't see Long Run doing it again with his jumping.

[Lecale2]

Don't think we saw a Gold Cup horse today, can't see Long Run doing it again with his jumping.

A lot to do with the jockey I suspect.

[boojangles]

Any opinions on the Lexus tomorrow?
A few horses putting their Championship credentials on the line. Sir Des Champs was being talked about for the Gold Cup even before Cheltenham in March. Both him and Flemenstar looked impressive in the John Durkan a few weeks back. Flemenstar had a run under his belt already that day and his fitness probably showed. It is interesting that although Flemenstar is favourite for tomorrows race Sir Des Champs is still ahead of him in the betting for the Gold Cup in March. The Fat Controller brings Tidal Bay over also and on his best form he would be a big threat.
Most people would love to see Peter Casey's success story continue but by this time tomorrow I have a feeling the big boys (Mullins and O Leary) will be laughing.

[Donnellys Hollow]

Shaping up to be a cracking race. It's the first time in a long while that the Lexus is going to have more of an influence on the Gold Cup market than the King George. Whoever wins tomorrow will be at least joint fav with Bobs Worth for Cheltenham. I'm already on Sir Des Champs for March so will be a watching brief for me. If Flemenstar improves for the step up in trip then it is hard to see him beat but the tactics will be important. Lynch will have to have him handy and ride him as if he's going to get the trip. There was enough confidence behind Sir Des Champs the last day to suggest that he was fairly forward but I don't think the tighter inside track at Punchestown did him any favours. It should be closer tomorrow. Far from a two horse race with First Lieutenant, Pandorama, Hidden Cyclone and that rogue Tidal Bay in opposition. It's potentially the best staying chase to be held in Ireland for a long time.

[sammymaguire]

I hope Flemenstar can do the business in impressive style as I have been mightily impressed by him so far and would love to see that continue this afternoon. Done the popular Zaidpour / Flem double

[Hardy]

I'd like to see one of the Irish contenders prove a real class act here and liven things up for the Gold Cup, but I have a bad feeling we'll be disappointed and I have a small punt on Tidal Bay.

How did Paul Carberry get that run out of Monksland there? I'm sure he must have been 50/1+ in running at the last bend.

[drici]

These boys still in.