Mares Chase 2021

[PresentingPercy]

Ruby confirming on Road to Chelt just now that BDD will not be running until the festival

[Magpie]

Ruby just said on Road to Cheltenham that Bennie is fine, and Will not be seeing her before Cheltenham, but hopefully will get there, nothing said about which race.

[jack1092]

Lads make your minds up lol....

[Magpie]

Same comment isn’t Jack?

[Silverbirch]

Ruby confirming on Road to Chelt just now that BDD will not be running until the festival

I think you might give a few people a few heart palpitations with this post when reading quickly...

[jack1092]

I think you might give a few people a few heart palpitations with this post when reading quickly...

As it looks like i did..........watching LFC playing this bad makign me blind.

[Nortons who]

Ruby confirming on Road to Chelt just now that BDD will not be running until the festival

Final Declarations it is then before we know for sure where she goes and if she is going to be on the boat. In the meantime we wait for any gossip from the gallops and whether she is jumping fences or hurdles. Surely we must know someone nearby with powerful binoculars who fancies a walk in the countryside every day.

Failing that, we carry on guessing or back her NRNB.

[PresentingPercy]

I think you might give a few people a few heart palpitations with this post when reading quickly...

Good to have Magpie follow up to remove any doubt

[charlie]

Final Declarations it is then before we know for sure where she goes and if she is going to be on the boat. In the meantime we wait for any gossip from the gallops and whether she is jumping fences or hurdles. Surely we must know someone nearby with powerful binoculars who fancies a walk in the countryside every day.

Failing that, we carry on guessing or back her NRNB.

IMO we are all over thinking the BDD situation. For all his multiple entry antics, Willie Mullins loves a plan. He said at the start of the season 'she's a fantastic jumper over fences and I'd imagine we'll be going over fences. We'll look at the mares' chase at Cheltenham, or there is the mares' hurdle too'. I mean, he's told us outright.

Then, a month or so later one random Monday in the wake of no news, she's punted from 14's into 6's over the course of around 24 hours.

We know Willie likes the 'easiest' race and there is fuck all easy about taking on Honeysuckle & Concertista, both of which have battle hardened seasons going into the fez, and one of which BDD couldn't beat last year.

Willie knows if he doesn't run BDD then he avoids a penalty, so Ruby's 'she wont run before Cheltenham' isn't bad news for this, its good! He doesn't want the penalty!

Of course, anything can happen and there are variables at play that don't necessarily involve Willie. Honeysuckle could piss up in the ICH, go CH and Concertista could get injured. Which race looks easier then? Probably the mares hurdle? So things change, but to those on the fence without BDD in the book I say take the 5/1 cause she'll go off nearer 7/4 IMO.

[Istabraq]

charlie
All fair points, and another simplistic reason for BDD absence is that being a mare they are trained differently as they tend to be more fragile and need looking after, someone far cleverer than me will be able to provide a more detailed response but many Mares just don’t seem to take lots of racing in the way most geldings do, Quevaga the obvious example...

[PresentingPercy]

BDD is pushing 10 years old also, Rich Ricci had retired Annie Power and Vroum Vroum Mag when they were 8 or 9 so it's possible this could be her last year racing. The 'easier' option of the Mares Chase might be more favourable versus the Stayers Hurdle

[jono]

I definitely see this being Benies last season. Though i'm coming from a position of thinking she would go to the Mares chase since the summer. I have started to doubt this being the case. If she comes here, it's almost certain that she has one final run, at Cheltenham and they call it quits from there, given she'd likely need plenty of time between runs over fences as they have highlighted previously. There's a grade 3 Mares chase at Fairyhouse in April but outside of that, she'd have no Mares option at Punchestown over fences.

Where as staying over hurdles, would mean they could likely get 2 or 3 more runs into her, all being well across Cheltenham, Punchestown and importantly the French Champion Hurdle. Connections have said it would have been her target last season once again to try ad follow up her 2019 win. They have history in the race (Thousand Stars) and I could see them wanting to have that as her swansong myself. For all Cheltenham is considered the be-all and end-all.

[Olliemagern]

BDD is pushing 10 years old also, Rich Ricci had retired Annie Power and Vroum Vroum Mag when they were 8 or 9 so it's possible this could be her last year racing. The 'easier' option of the Mares Chase might be more favourable versus the Stayers Hurdle

The stayers hurdle looks like arguably being the hardest race at Cheltenham, make a solid case for atleast 4/5 and the front two are certainly solid. Not sure willie will fancy sending an unraced mare this year into that sort of battle with the likes of paisley park when she could turn up against much inferior opposition over fences getting weight. Might be totally wrong but I’d have the stayers as the outsider of the 3 races

[Lobos]

Ruby confirming on Road to Chelt just now that BDD will not be running until the festival

I wish Ruby would one day tell us something we don't already know !

[Topofthegame2021]

I wish Ruby would one day tell us something we don't already know !

Ruby plays it like he knows nothing and it’s all up to Willie but he would know a great deal, and never gives us any sign. That pisses me off