2022 Championship Division

[Eudipe]

Probably unlikely I know... but I'd send CPS to the Shloer to find out early whether he can perform on the old course. Would also love to see either one of him or Energumene (or both!) take on Shishkin in the Tingle Creek. Dreaming of Moscow Flyer v Well Chief & Azertyioup!

[Quevega]

Townend, or perhaps even Willie. It was crazy to switch to hold-up tactics when he's been at his best at the head of affairs. They also new that PTKO's best chance of winning was by being allowed to adopt the tactics that won her that Arkle. Whatever the thought process was, and whoever made the decision to hold Chacun up so long made a very poor decision in my opinion.

The Dublin race gave them the confidence to do it. They conned themselves out of it.
But IMO he probably wasn't at his very best on the day. He found nothing in the last 100yards. In Dublin on a stiffer finish he cleared away. So had he gone on, then I'm not certain he'd have won.
Different horses Different days Different performances, it happens.
Anyone who thinks it was the track, based on that 1 race is off their heads IMO. And just coming out with tired cliche's.

PTKO deserves enormous credit as the race didn't look like it was run to suit her either, you wouldn't have thought a sprint finish would be ideal having watched her race previously. However, maybe the slower gallop allowed her to stay near the front and her heart won the day.

I agree with everyone else though in that the 2 novices if they stay fit are probably better.
The price thing for Shishkin will be interesting as he's more likely to have the easier prep races, as like Saxon says, Energumene may face off vs Chacun at some point, and he looks a taller order on overall form than the UK lot. A very good division this season.

[archie]

I'm pretty sure that Paul said that he was never happy with the way they were travelling in the QM. They didn't have a definitive explanation so it might have been the course (not the hill) but it might have been a number of other reasons including just being one of those days.

[charlie]

The tactics for the ride Charlie. For me he should have been put in the race at the top of the hill, and not the bottom. All of his best ratings have been achieved when he's been allowed to travel smoothly into his races and to put a gap on the field early enough. Essentially he's generally gone to the front soon enough to dictate the race before it unfolds in front of him

In the better races he'd run in previously he'd moved forward earlier and dictated and put daylight between him and the rest of the field. It was much later this time. Even then he was still only beaten not much more than a length in the dying strides.

Ultimately I accept he may still not have been good enough, but my feeling is he potentially was and they got it wrong.

Had CPS settled and not raced keenly then I'd agree with you, PT should have put him in the race at the top of the hill, dictated from there, taken the line up the inner, kicked on and never looked back. I think what Paul did was spot on because he responded to how CPS was racing. He knew that CPS would have expended more energy over the first mile than he would have liked, and his job was to get him into a rhythm to settle him and save energy for the finish. He's done exactly that, delivered him over the last in front and I thought he'd go on and win there, but he wasn't good enough.

[charlie]

I agree Spectre,

The worst cases to watch are when there is a slow pace, which doesnt suit a fancied horse, but the jockey just sits and suffers instead of having the gumption to take it up, or at least force others to share or make the pace.

Maybe the riders think they have such a good horse that the horse can adapt, and show end-of-race speed as much as an ability to lengthen and stretch a field half-a-mile from home.

I would rather see a horse I backed, do what it does when its been successful, unless the race is run to prevent that.

CPS could easily have led that field last year, he didnt, and he wasnt adaptable enough to show an end-of-race kick, which we now know, he may not have.

It wasn't a slow pace though. Paul was stuck between a rock and hard place. All very well people saying go and dictate at Cheltenham, but better horses than CPS with experience around Cheltenham have paid the price for that, and it's not like CPS was super keen. Had he been ripping PT arms out in an Allmankind'esque type of way, then perhaps there is a case to be made for just letting him go to the front and try to dictate, but with the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure that would have been a mistake.

The fact he jumped the last in front and looked all over the winner having settled after being keen shows that PT did his job and delivered him there with every chance. People will say he should have been 4-5 lengths clear by this stage having been put in the race earlier, but given he wasn't good enough to win his race from after the last, and coupled with the fact he was keen early on but then settled, I think he'd have lost by even further and emptied had he tried to win from front. Just an opinion.

[Lobos]

'PTKO deserves enormous credit as the race didn't look like it was run to suit her either, you wouldn't have thought a sprint finish would be ideal having watched her race previously. However, maybe the slower gallop allowed her to stay near the front and her heart won the day.'


Very much agree with this. I don't think it suited her either as she's a multiple winner over further than 2 and stayed on in deep ground to win in the Shloer. If CPS does end up in the race and leads them a merry dance, she may well just sit behind him and pounce up the hill like in the Shloer. She'll be 8, he'll be 10, so there is the distinct possibility that, out of the 2, there's more improvement to come from the Mare. IMO the dangers to her will be Shishkin, Allaho and Energumene, not CPS.

[Quevega]

It wasn't a slow pace though. Paul was stuck between a rock and hard place. All very well people saying go and dictate at Cheltenham, but better horses than CPS with experience around Cheltenham have paid the price for that, and it's not like CPS was super keen. Had he been ripping PT arms out in an Allmankind'esque type of way, then perhaps there is a case to be made for just letting him go to the front and try to dictate, but with the benefit of hindsight, I'm sure that would have been a mistake.

The fact he jumped the last in front and looked all over the winner having settled after being keen shows that PT did his job and delivered him there with every chance. People will say he should have been 4-5 lengths clear by this stage having been put in the race earlier, but given he wasn't good enough to win his race from after the last, and coupled with the fact he was keen early on but then settled, I think he'd have lost by even further and emptied had he tried to win from front. Just an opinion.

I agree pretty much, although it was certainly steady paced for a Champion Chase.
Chacun ran a good 10lbs below his best on figures.

I think Saxon has forgotten what he did in Dublin a few weeks earlier, where you couldn't say anything other than he had a finishing kick, up a hill !
I suppose it could have been deceiving in that in Dublin the rivals were slowing to such an extent his apparent quickening was an illusion. But that's possibly a stretch to my eyes.

We'll never know for sure.
But what we do know is that he's beatable, and will be 10 next year and we also know that PTKO seems a far better animal at Cheltenham.
Probably suggests, rather like Melon, that she is best waited with for betting purposes if a fan of hers.
Although with a likely run in the Schloer this relies on another heavy defeat in between, and they may not even run her anywhere else.
So I can understand fans of hers getting on now.

[Kautostar]

No entry for Galvin at the weekend and isn’t entered anymore in the Kerry national on the rp entries.

[Faugheen_Machine]

No entry for Galvin at the weekend and isn’t entered anymore in the Kerry national on the rp entries.

That's good news in my eyes

[Istabraq]

No entry for Galvin at the weekend and isn’t entered anymore in the Kerry national on the rp entries.

That is welcoming news, though still a concern that Elliott is thinking early season targets as far as the National is concerned, nothing he does before February will help his Aintree cause if that proves to be the route…

[Atlantic Viking]

That is welcoming news, though still a concern that Elliott is thinking early season targets as far as the National is concerned, nothing he does before February will help his Aintree cause if that proves to be the route…

Depends how he does it I suppose, needs to appear at some point. Im taking it as a positive for GN bets, if they arent willing to chance their arm at €90k pots then it has to be good news.

[Istabraq]

Depends how he does it I suppose, needs to appear at some point. Im taking it as a positive for GN bets, if they arent willing to chance their arm at €90k pots then it has to be good news.

If the National is the plan then personally I can’t see any upside to running the horse over fences, I agree you want to know the horse is fit and well so a couple of early season hurdle efforts, he could even take in a Pertemps qualifier along the way giving him another festival option if they wanted, but I just can’t see there being any benefit him appearing over fences.
Of course they might decide that hoovering up a couple of big prizes makes sense but that has to be unlikely, working from a mark North of 160 next Spring makes life tough…

[Saxon Warrior]

That is welcoming news, though still a concern that Elliott is thinking early season targets as far as the National is concerned, nothing he does before February will help his Aintree cause if that proves to be the route…

Galvin avoids winter ground, so it makes complete sense to be ready to run in October/November then be put away until after the Grand National Weights are announced.

The trick, now he is no longer a novice, will be trying to find the right race to run in where he can get a run into the horse, without his handicap rating rising.

Maybe it will take three of four entries and non-declarations, until he finds the right race for that to happen.

(IGWT) In Gordon We Trust

[Lobos]

If the National is the plan then personally I can’t see any upside to running the horse over fences, I agree you want to know the horse is fit and well so a couple of early season hurdle efforts, he could even take in a Pertemps qualifier along the way giving him another festival option if they wanted, but I just can’t see there being any benefit him appearing over fences.
Of course they might decide that hoovering up a couple of big prizes makes sense but that has to be unlikely, working from a mark North of 160 next Spring makes life tough…

Boyne Hurdle then GN I reckon.

[Spectre]

Galvin avoids winter ground, so it makes complete sense to be ready to run in October/November then be put away until after the Grand National Weights are announced.

The trick, now he is no longer a novice, will be trying to find the right race to run in where he can get a run into the horse, without his handicap rating rising.

Maybe it will take three of four entries and non-declarations, until he finds the right race for that to happen.

(IGWT) In Gordon We Trust

Yup. It's possible the entries this week have been some kind of smokescreen. I think we all know what the best plan would be, and Gordon does too because he's run it successfully several times. Run out the back in the X-County in November so he's had his run over fences and the handicapper can't touch him. Plus he gains experience on the XC course. Back for a hurdle as prep for the Festival. Win the XC, and then win the National. Dead easy and nailed on!