2022 Browns Advisory Novices (3m) Chase - ex RSA

[Carnage at Taunton]

Thank you Rooster for your post that puts complete reality to the discussion. Hope it didn’t take you too long!!
Dont think I need to continue with this now.

[Rooster Booster]

Top Top Class Post.

Thank you for explaining the reality so well, @roosterbooster

The NH racing calendar in Britain is an absolute farce.

Jockey Club Racecourses seem to control almost all of the fixtures at the top NH tracks, as they have Kempton, Sandown, Aintree and Cheltenham.
Outside of theses tracks only Newbury stands out as having decent top level action through the season (though not enough Graded races, to match the quality of the track).

This means the Jockey Club Racecourses control nearly all of the Grade 1 NH race, and they alone control the Cheltenham-Aintree dynamics and the BHA are toothless to do anything about that.

That business seems to have put together the two biggest Festivals three weeks after each other at the end of the season, and set prize money to ensure both meetings get decent horses, rather than imbalance the prize money a lot more to Cheltenham

Its a pity Newbury isn’t owned by a massive racecourse group, as it clearly should have more top class Graded action,
* at the end of Nov/early a December meeting,
* at the February meeting (as a DRF type prep for Cheltenham)

The JCR aren’t going to give up fixture dates and Graded race dates, so we are stuck with this Aintree or Cheltenham situation that some British trainers appear to use, very early in the season, to highlight that they’re not going to the Festival because the Irish are coming.

To be brutally honest, from a purely punting position, I love it.

I know that most big British races that the Champion trainers wins over here, with novices won’t mean a jot, re Cheltenham betting, because he will find the B race at Aintree, and head there.

That leaves me to look only at Irish trainers (Willie, Gordon, Henry and Gavin, mainly) plus Hendo, and Danny boy.
The rest are largely irrelevant to me, for antepost purposes, for the Grade 1’s, and Mares races.

I hope this lasts for another ten years, it makes it easier to discount British horses outside of Hendo and Danny, mostly.

I need to check my bets now to see how many I have on British horses not trainers by Hendo/Danny. (Ahoy Senor rings a bell, but not much else).

Just checked 90% of horses backed are from the 4 Irish and 2 British trainers mentioned.

Outside of them I have a 66/1 Irish horse who is going to be binned, and an Irish horse with Enda Bolger for the X-C.

Of the Brits, just Ahoy Senor, Silver Forever and Bravemansgame, all mentioned for Cheltenham, but of course, nothing always goes the way you planned.

Yep you couldn’t make this stuff up could you, how to take the most glorious product ever and design it in such a way as to do everything in your power to make it not succeed. They must be looking at boxing and darts and saying you know what we can fuck our product up equally as well as these guys do ...yes I know we’ll stage an olympics every year and then a few weeks later stage another one...that’ll work....At least darts eventually figured it out...thanks in no small part to the players. Boxing I fear is beyond help.

I am glad you brought up Dan. I didn’t include him deliberately as I wanted to split my post and have a separate post for him and how important he will become in terms of the future of our beloved festival.

If there are any folks out there with any influence at all over the big Cheltenham loving owners then please please encourage them to start giving this guy top horses. So JP, Robcour, RR and all the other Cheltenham big hitters....if you really love the festival and want it to remain special then you have to invest in this lad. Hendo can’t go on forever and Nichols has made his bed so make him lie in it. Skelton cannot just pull rabbits out of hats.

My Drogo was not just another high profile horse that will miss the festival. He was going to go head to head with arguably the best horse in training and the trainer had painstakingly mapped out his journey with precision many many months ahead to get there on the day to give us all a spectacle. I would argue the horse all festival lovers now need to get behind either financially or emotionally is Protektorat. He has minded this horse and very gradually and purposefully trained it with gold cup day in mind since the day he realised how good he was. We need him to go close because we need the big owners to properly sit up and take notice like they would have had My Drogo given BO a proper race.

i would go as far to say that with Hendo retired if Dan doesn’t get sponsored by the big boys I’m not sure where the Cheltenham festival can go. I’d say Cheltenham becomes very vulnerable to the DRF and far from being a stepping stone plus type festival it could easily replace Cheltenham unless things change. Whole empires have been defeated because of complacency and arrogance, I’m sure a racing festival is not immune to a similar fate.

ps Dan is an adjective. I would love to see Fergal and possibly one or two others receive more support from the big hitters just to spice things up.

[Craigy14]

Rooster Booster i won’t quote your response as it will clog up this race thread which is already being sidetracked.

The discussion regarding Nicholls will likely go on and on and nobody will likely give in, so we can agree to disagree, which is for the best I feel

As you and Saxon have touched on, there are other aspects which add to what we’ve spoke about, but the main issue for me is the almost instant dismissal of Cheltenham by PN, whether a novice just starting out or a top horse such as Bravemansgame.

[Rooster Booster]

Rooster Booster i won’t quote your response as it will clog up this race thread which is already being sidetracked.

The discussion regarding Nicholls will likely go on and on and nobody will likely give in, so we can agree to disagree, which is for the best I feel

As you and Saxon have touched on, there are other aspects which add to what we’ve spoke about, but the main issue for me is the almost instant dismissal of Cheltenham by PN, whether a novice just starting out or a top horse such as Bravemansgame.

Yes apologies for hijacking the thread...though not sure how much else there is to talk about on this race after what I just saw happen in a certain beginners chase....but I guess it’s still early days....

[Craigy14]

Yes apologies for hijacking the thread...though not sure how much else there is to talk about on this race after what I just saw happen in a certain beginners chase....but I guess it’s still early days....

Yip agreed, just seeing what Saxon and spectre are saying on another thread. As beginners chases go, that’s the best I’ve ever seen watching racing. He barely touched a twig! I thought monkfish was good last year but this was even better.

[Spectre]

I am glad you brought up Dan. I didn’t include him deliberately as I wanted to split my post and have a separate post for him and how important he will become in terms of the future of our beloved festival.

If there are any folks out there with any influence at all over the big Cheltenham loving owners then please please encourage them to start giving this guy top horses. So JP, Robcour, RR and all the other Cheltenham big hitters....if you really love the festival and want it to remain special then you have to invest in this lad. Hendo can’t go on forever and Nichols has made his bed so make him lie in it. Skelton cannot just pull rabbits out of hats.

I have. Now I hope he's a top horse!

By the way, I think you've captured this topic really well, and I completely agree with your take on it.

Essentially if you're looking for Cheltenham winners send your horses to a trainer that thinks the same. If you're not bothered, send them to Nicholls. Not alone, but this was certainly part of my consideration for sending Jeffery's Cross to Dan Skelton. Who knows whether he'll ever be good enough to get there, but I believe I've sent him to the trainer in the UK that will give him the best possible chance.

As much as I rate Paul Nicholls equally highly, I'd never send a horse to him, because dreaming of owning a winner of a race at Aintree has never crossed my mind. All that said, I'd obviously take it if that's how things worked out, and I'd still regard myself as incredibly lucky.

[Rooster Booster]

I have. Now I hope he's a top horse!

By the way, I think you've captured this topic really well, and I completely agree with your take on it.

Essentially if you're looking for Cheltenham winners send your horses to a trainer that thinks the same. If you're not bothered, send them to Nicholls. Not alone, but this was certainly part of my consideration for sending Jeffery's Cross to Dan Skelton. Who knows whether he'll ever be good enough to get there, but I believe I've sent him to the trainer in the UK that will give him the best possible chance.

As much as I rate Paul Nicholls equally highly, I'd never send a horse to him, because dreaming of owning a winner of a race at Aintree has never crossed my mind. All that said, I'd obviously take it if that's how things worked out, and I'd still regard myself as incredibly lucky.

Exciting times for you and I wish you all the luck. So he’s a full brother to knockgraffon have I got that right? He wasn’t too shabby and your fella already has one advantage over him

[Saxon Warrior]

Rooster Booster i won’t quote your response as it will clog up this race thread which is already being sidetracked.

The discussion regarding Nicholls will likely go on and on and nobody will likely give in, so we can agree to disagree, which is for the best I feel

As you and Saxon have touched on, there are other aspects which add to what we’ve spoke about, but the main issue for me is the almost instant dismissal of Cheltenham by PN, whether a novice just starting out or a top horse such as Bravemansgame.

Yes, he has got a chip on his shoulder about his best novices and juveniles missing the Festival, even when they are on wide-margin winning runs in Britain.

Makes life easier, to largely ignore them for antepost bets.

[Saxon Warrior]

because dreaming of owning a winner of a race at Aintree has never crossed my mind.

Summed up in one sentence.

Dreaming of Grand National winners apart, no-one buys a horse to win at Aintree in a Grade 1-ish race, when they can dream of winning the proper, top notch Grade 1 in Cheltenham.

Thats why the Irish swarm to Cheltenham, they all have that dream - Aintree isnt on their minds, while Cheltenham exists.

Thats why some top British owners use Willie, Gordon and Henry - because those trainers get Cheltenham, more than our Champion trainer does. So he wont get their best horses.

[Spectre]

Exciting times for you and I wish you all the luck. So he’s a full brother to knockgraffon have I got that right? He wasn’t too shabby and your fella already has one advantage over him

Yes he is RB, and thanks. Dan trained Knockgraffon too before Olly Murphy enticed the Hester's to his yard and he went there.

145 at his best over fences. Anything within 20lbs of that and I'll be happy. If he can match it I'll be delighted. Anything more and maybe we'll be 'Doing A Naiad'!!!

[Carnage at Taunton]

Summed up in one sentence.

Dreaming of Grand National winners apart, no-one buys a horse to win at Aintree in a Grade 1-ish race, when they can dream of winning the proper, top notch Grade 1 in Cheltenham.

Thats why the Irish swarm to Cheltenham, they all have that dream - Aintree isnt on their minds, while Cheltenham exists.

Thats why some top British owners use Willie, Gordon and Henry - because those trainers get Cheltenham, more than our Champion trainer does. So he wont get their best horses.

It’s a shame our champion trainer is not getting the proper horses that we used to see regularly at Cheltenham, but as said he’s making his bed. I’m sure though if he did get a Kauto or Master Minded eg, he would be seen at the festival, he’s just not getting them anymore, become a bit of a catch 22 situation in a way.
Main thing for me is we see the best horses at the festival wherever they are trained, but of course the less stables that have the best horses, the more competition becomes less likely, because a lot will be in the same yard.

[doctorwu]

Couple of great post Rooster & Saxon. Another big worry is the prize money at the Fez. Its not keeping up with the Irish festivals. If the magic of Cheltenham wears off they could be in big trouble. Time to start putting more prize money into the races & less into the corporate facilities at the track.

[Irish Rugby]

The price money is slowly becoming an issue with commentary for the first time this year with comparisons with the value of upcoming Fairyhouse races against
Cheltenham. The non attendance of owners had an effect on that.

[Stormez]

Nicholls edges to Cheltenham Festival with Bravemansgame and 'wouldn't swap him'

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/nicholls-edges-to-cheltenham-festival-with-bravemansgame-and-wouldnt-swap-him/530193

Great news, what a race it’s going to be!

[Carnage at Taunton]

Nicholls edges to Cheltenham Festival with Bravemansgame and 'wouldn't swap him'

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/nicholls-edges-to-cheltenham-festival-with-bravemansgame-and-wouldnt-swap-him/530193

Great news, what a race it’s going to be!

Yep, great to see.