General Chat

[Lobos]

Has anyone got anything in mind for the king George VI chase?
I had previously backed il est francais but thats looking like wasted money now. Looking at the market I would personally be looking at fact to file but no idea if that's even it's target? Any suggestions?

Why do you say IEF is wasted money? He demolished them on his only other visit to Kempton and clearly that's his prime target next season. Willie has already mapped out FTF route to the Gold Cup and KG wasn't mentioned.

[Brooker17]

Just purely on it's last run. Also read a few things on here saying the field that day flattered il est francais.

[Ice]

Just purely on it's last run. Also read a few things on here saying the field that day flattered il est francais.

It was a visually impressive performance that day but the form doesn't look too good now and his next run was awful so I'd personally be waiting to see how he goes in his next couple of runs.

[Yosser]

Any chance of Storm Heart being sent Novice Chasing this season? Currently around 100/1 for the Arkle and Gigginstown seemingly having no other representative at this (EARLY) stage.

[YoungHustler]

Has anyone got anything in mind for the king George VI chase?
I had previously backed il est francais but thats looking like wasted money now. Looking at the market I would personally be looking at fact to file but no idea if that's even it's target? Any suggestions?

Fastorslow. I think connections mentioned the KG being a target next season and if so, I would have him as favourite and much shorter than the current 10s.

[BigBucksFlatSpot]

I noticed the race to cheltenham tweet

Via @Pmolony1Peter, it sounds like a big change is being proposed in the Mares Hurdle division:
- Any mare that won a Grade 1 during the previous 13 months would be ineligible to run in the Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

❌️ Would rule out the winner from the previous season, as well as the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse and any other Grade 1 race in the 13 months before the Festival.

So two things

1. that seems to rule out brighterdaysahead, lossiemouth, kargese, jade de grugy and golden ace..... dysart enos looks a good price if so

2. Is there any precedent for when they release details of next year's schedule...I thought we would know by now but not sure if there is an official schedule/pattern release?

[Ballybeen]

Mark Boylan had a piece about this in the Irish field the other day. Quote from the jockey club in it basically saying these decisions aren’t getting made anytime soon.

It’s definitely making antepost very restricted this year with prospects of big changes. I have basically just stuck to championship races so far and probably got my least ever amount on at this stage.

[Saxon Warrior]

I noticed the race to cheltenham tweet


So two things

1. that seems to rule out brighterdaysahead, lossiemouth, kargese, jade de grugy and golden ace..... dysart enos looks a good price if so

2. Is there any precedent for when they release details of next year's schedule...I thought we would know by now but not sure if there is an official schedule/pattern release?

1.
Golden Ace has never ran in a Grade 1.

She'd be Fav if they go through with a rule change, as suggested

(as long as she avoided winning a Grade 1 during the season, of course, and they did suggest they'd have a crack at the Grade 1 races Con.Hill runs in - doesn't run in - along the way, as they're very thin fields)

2.
The BHA Jumps Pattern Book gets later and later every year.

I diarise to chase them in November if they havent published.

Its usually produced in November.

Plenty of time to adjust any Cheltenham races, and they will know that.

Betting on some of these races does come with that added bit of jeopardy this season.

.

.

[BigBucksFlatSpot]

You're right of course forgot the Festival was a Grade 2 ! Thanks saxon

[Saxon Warrior]

You're right of course forgot the Festival was a Grade 2 ! Thanks saxon

Yep, and you don't get too many owners and trainers complaining about the conditions of that race, (The Mares Novice Hurdle, at Cheltenham) and how it wrecks their ability to breed and sell NH Mares.

The chap that was complaining about the Mares Hurdle changes (I don't blame him, he has a self interest), quoted the

●Mares Hurdle
●Mares Chase
●Mares Novice Hurdle

.....being added to the Cheltenham Festival that has created a whole new market for breeding and racing Mares, and how they shouldn't change the Mares Hurdle or the breeding of NH Mares will collapse.

But two out of the three races he mentioned, as being vital, are Grade 2's with penalties for Graded winners anyway

I could understand the argument for protecting the 3 races being at Cheltenham - but Id leave it open for discussion to tweak the conditions of the Mares Hurdle to ensure that a more significant race (the Champion Hurdle) is as competitive as possible.

It doesn't have to be what is being floated, but Im okay with them looking at options, as


● Mares races in NH racing are thriving
POSITIVE for Champion Hurdle, if the best Mares run in it
NEGATIVE if they dont.

● 1M to 1M4F horses rated 90+, 100+ on the Flat are being sold out of Europe to other jurisdictions and weakening the entrants coming into Hurdles races.
NEGATIVE for Champion Hurdle

● the uplift of high value P2P winners, doesn't lead to many quality novice hurdlers lingering over hurdles, and boosting the Champion Hurdle
NEGATIVE for Champion Hurdle

So if we don't get the top Hurdling Mares into the Champion Hurdle, then the biggest Hurdle race in the world suffers.

[BigBucksFlatSpot]

Hard to disagree with that saxon.. for the champ hurdle in particular

I think the best mares in championship races with the allowance works best... and the races need them

golden ace v dysart enos round 2 is not a bad race either

[Ice]

Would love to see con hill, state man and Lossiemouth all running in the champion hurdle, she would add so much interest to the race and the racing press could hype it up and draw more attention to it as a spectacle.

[Frankely My Dear]

What will the bookies do with antepost bets on horses that later become ineligible to run in the mares hurdle? Would they do the right thing and refund?

[HoldenTheReins]

What will the bookies do with antepost bets on horses that later become ineligible to run in the mares hurdle? Would they do the right thing and refund?

I imagine they'd be void.

[Istabraq]

Would love to see con hill, state man and Lossiemouth all running in the champion hurdle, she would add so much interest to the race and the racing press could hype it up and draw more attention to it as a spectacle.

I can only see an injury scenario where that doesn't happen....