2022 Arkle

[DeeBee]

There are arguments for and against either going up in trip and both staying in the Arkle. What I would say is if Mullins says one should move up… and the one that doesn’t ends up falling or failing to win the Arkle, and the one that moves up fails to beat Bob.. a) the owners of who were moved up will be pissed and b) Mullins wins neither.. at least keeping them both in the Arkle keeps the owners happy and further enhances Mullins’ chances

[Carnage at Taunton]

Vautour was imo one of the best horses they have had in the yard and owned by his top owner at the time……ran in the JLT and Ryanair.

[Al Boum Photo]

Who are you going to tell that their horse doesn't deserve a crack at the Arkle when it's unbeaten in two mile chases easily putting the opposition away? The Masterson's or Cheveley Park? I suspect neither is the answer ABP, and I doubt Willie would either.

I'd expect either for them to meet in the Irish Arkle or for one of them to have stepped up in trip before the festival, and in that case the choice will be obvious. There aren't many graded novice chases in Ireland. If they both stick to 2 miles, they'll almost certainly meet.

[Birds Nest]

Vautour was imo one of the best horses they have had in the yard and owned by his top owner at the time……ran in the JLT and Ryanair.

Didnt willie compare appreciate to vautour after the supreme...Vautour was just avoiding the the odds on uds though to be fair..

[Carnage at Taunton]

Didnt willie compare appreciate to vautour after the supreme...Vautour was just avoiding the the odds on uds though to be fair..

Most people,if not all, at the time, thought Vautour was his best 2 m chaser, and he ran him in the JLT.
And boy was he impressive and imo would have won the Arkle easily. As you say he had UDS so decided to try and win both races.
Cannot remember Ricci saying much at the time? but I imagine he would have liked V in the Arkle .

As said before on here, the owners may well have a preference for the Arkle but they won’t have the final say.

[Kevloaf]

Vautour and Un De Sceaux were split so Ruby could ride both.

I don't think it's clear cut that the year they ran, had Ruby not attached the the yard, they may well have taken each other on.

My personal opinion would be that Paul Townend wouldn't have as big an influence (although obviously still some), so it's more likely they'd clash now than back in the example given.


They both have to be winning at 2m between now and over Christmas for it to really be relevant though, as defeat for either will see a step up in trip.

[DenmanSacre]

I think UDS and Vautour is a good comparison.

Vautour won the Supreme but UDS was a very good 2m hurdler and I was disappointed at the time he wasn't given his chance in the Champion Hurdle as he had a great chance.

He was however a tearaway and at the time, there was absolutely no chance you could step him up in trip. Vautour was talked about as a potential Gold Cup horse and was more relaxed than UDS and a step up in trip wasn't an inconvenience.

However, Vautour was given his chance at Xmas over 2m and blew his chance. He went up in trip in January and won, while UDS won over 2m in January.. The Marsh was then the obvious route for Vautour, especially with Valseur Lido (a stablemate) being his biggest challenger in the race.

If this year follows, each will be given the chance over 2m and it may be that one of them fluffs their lines over Xmas and the choice is made for them to step one of them up in trip.

[Carnage at Taunton]

I think UDS and Vautour is a good comparison.

Vautour won the Supreme but UDS was a very good 2m hurdler and I was disappointed at the time he wasn't given his chance in the Champion Hurdle as he had a great chance.

He was however a tearaway and at the time, there was absolutely no chance you could step him up in trip. Vautour was talked about as a potential Gold Cup horse and was more relaxed than UDS and a step up in trip wasn't an inconvenience.

However, Vautour was given his chance at Xmas over 2m and blew his chance. He went up in trip in January and won, while UDS won over 2m in January.. The Marsh was then the obvious route for Vautour, especially with Valseur Lido (a stablemate) being his biggest challenger in the race.

If this year follows, each will be given the chance over 2m and it may be that one of them fluffs their lines over Xmas and the choice is made for them to step one of them up in trip.

Had to check as I could not remember , and see that Vautour made a bad mistake in the race at Xmas, having earlier smashed the winner Clarcam.
Im pretty sure in my mind that Vautour would have pissed the Arkle , with or without UDS the way both performed at that festival, and UDS is one of my favourite horses ever.

[Carnage at Taunton]

Vautour and Un De Sceaux were split so Ruby could ride both.

I don't think it's clear cut that the year they ran, had Ruby not attached the the yard, they may well have taken each other on.

My personal opinion would be that Paul Townend wouldn't have as big an influence (although obviously still some), so it's more likely they'd clash now than back in the example given.


They both have to be winning at 2m between now and over Christmas for it to really be relevant though, as defeat for either will see a step up in trip.

Absolutely agree that Ruby had a big influence, and wanted to ride all the good horses, therefore wanting them split .
At the same time, I know Mullins likes to win as many races as he can at Cheltenham.
I would be surprised if they turn out to be his best two chasers, they then run in the same race.

[Birds Nest]

I remember ruby mentioning that Vautour and uds had worked together and Vautour had only just been able to keep up with uds, which imo would have been also have been a factor for Ruby/willie in the decision.

[Kevloaf]

Absolutely agree that Ruby had a big influence, and wanted to ride all the good horses, therefore wanting them split .
At the same time, I know Mullins likes to win as many races as he can at Cheltenham.
I would be surprised if they turn out to be his best two chasers, they then run in the same race.

Yeah I would too, but a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then.

I still maintain Appreciate It would win the Arkle, Marsh or RSA and he's the one others should fit around.....

but he hasn't jumped a fence in public yet so I'll have to remain open

[Kevloaf]

I remember ruby mentioning that Vautour and uds had worked together and Vautour had only just been able to keep up with uds, which imo would have been also have been a factor for Ruby/willie in the decision.

There is no way he said that publically prior to the festival, surely?

Not that I don't believe he may have said it, but would he have given that away? I doubt it?

I suppose maybe when Vautour had been beaten and UDS had looked good?

Still, I just can't imagine him saying it before the races.... and it'd have been highlighted on here (therefore I'd have remembered!)

[Carnage at Taunton]

I remember ruby mentioning that Vautour and uds had worked together and Vautour had only just been able to keep up with uds, which imo would have been also have been a factor for Ruby/willie in the decision.

I think they knew both could win the Arkle, but wanting both races, V was the only option for the longer race.

As far as keeping up with UDS, I would certainly agree if over hurdles, but not so sure over fences.
I don’t remember Mullins saying that either, but if he did I’m surprised as well.

[The Giant Bolster]

The bottom line for me is that Mullins doesn't really need to decide which race he sends them to until just before the Festival. By then, he'll know if they are both fit to run and have more evidence to base his decision on. As Saxon Warrior has shown, he can be relatively flexible about running the distances he runs his Arkle and Marsh horses. There's no need for him to sweat making a decision now.

Personally, I've built a lot around Appreciate It to date. I felt that he was a great Arkle bet given the record of horses who have won the Supreme with similar ratings. Ferny Hollow - however - had a lot more questions because of his injury and because it wasn't clear until relatively recently that he was going chasing. Ferny's return means that part of my thinking is already wrong but I took that risk in my bets. I'm not panicking since there's plenty to happen for both horses between now and March.

[Quevega]

Ruby and Willie combined could make a case to any owner, even the stubborn ones. They both held/hold a lot of sway.

It's partly expertise, salemanship, ambition, selfishness, bullshit and common sense.
Pretty sure they'd use a little of all of those to try and get their way.
This would work in a lot of situations.

But they won't always get their own way, as I'm pretty sure the more powerful owners (especially non syndicates) would have the final say.
Willie would probably only fall out with a more involved owner if they were way off the mark.

It can't have been hard to convince Ricci that Vautour may win a gold cup so the JLT would be a good stepping stone, and add in that UDS was probably a tough nut to crack based on his recent work etc etc.
They even got him to look a proper Mug when they did the same with Vautour the year after. Where they pretty much convinced him that Djakadam would win the Gold cup. They also threw in that they were not 100% happy with Vautour in his work, So he should run in the Ryanair.

Willie, and his team will do the same every year where they see fit, but this could mean horses being split or not. It will be discussed and agreed nearer the time.
Loads of shit happens in the week of the race never mind this far out.