August ‘23 Yankee

[Lobos]

Think at Newbury he didn't hug the rail which is his preferred style of racing. Cheltenham also suits him so much better. His jumping round there was a sight to behold. Great asset to have in his armour. He likes to get his toe in a bit as well to bring out his stamina reserves and it was Good ground at Newbury.

[Benjy23]

Thanks Dandrew99

Shouldn't be afraid looking deep into the markets then. That's my optimistic take anyway

[HesTheOne]

What do people think of Hercule Du Seuil?

Looking back over some comments last year Willie earmarked the Arkle as future target for him last November “”He does (look like a chaser in the future), he could very possibly be an Arkle horse down the line. I'd say that's where we might go next season””

Do we think he may still fall into that category as a Tier 2 runner or are they getting runs into him with the idea of a handicap down the road? His current chasing RPR high of 157 isn’t top of the charts but worth nothing. Could be another like Saint Roi for same connections last year who also ran over the summertime albeit over hurdles.

I think he’s not one to dive into but worth considering when placing other Mullins or JP horses in the novice chase categories.

[Zachx02]

What do people think of Hercule Du Seuil?

Looking back over some comments last year Willie earmarked the Arkle as future target for him last November “”He does (look like a chaser in the future), he could very possibly be an Arkle horse down the line. I'd say that's where we might go next season””

Do we think he may still fall into that category as a Tier 2 runner or are they getting runs into him with the idea of a handicap down the road? His current chasing RPR high of 157 isn’t top of the charts but worth nothing. Could be another like Saint Roi for same connections last year who also ran over the summertime albeit over hurdles.

I think he’s not one to dive into but worth considering when placing other Mullins or JP horses in the novice chase categories.

Grand annual written all over him imo, good ground horse who won't run during the winter then comes back for the spring festivals

[JackieMoon33]

Grand annual written all over him imo, good ground horse who won't run during the winter then comes back for the spring festivals

Yep - wouldn't be touching him for any of the graded races at present.

[Quevega]

Hercule given a chase rating of 147 in Ireland.
I'm not sure he's a certain Cheltenham grade one type myself, given his profile, but he looks like he may have the ability and could easily be one that forces his way into the picture.

[Middle_Of_March]

…..I’m not a great one for themes but I’m thinking Novice August Yankee is popular. A week in and MoM hasn’t surfaced to give us a steer so I suggest we go with 4 novice selections.

So far, I’m feeling the love for;

Mirazur West (Supreme)
Champ Kiely (NHC)
Ballyburn (Ballymore)
Corbetts Cross (BANC)
Inthepocket (Turners)

Lets keep the discussion going and hopefully MoM makes an appearance soon.

Evening all - once again apologies for my absence. Not a great trait to have but as I’m sure you’ll understand, real world is sometimes more important.

Thankfully things are much brighter my end now and it’s full steam ahead for me towards the jumps season, fatjockey and most importantly the Cheltenham yankees!

Do like the novice Yankee theme idea.

Also really like Inthepocket as a Turners horse.

[Eggs]

Evening all - once again apologies for my absence. Not a great trait to have but as I’m sure you’ll understand, real world is sometimes more important.

Thankfully things are much brighter my end now and it’s full steam ahead for me towards the jumps season, fatjockey and most importantly the Cheltenham yankees!

Do like the novice Yankee theme idea.

Also really like Inthepocket as a Turners horse.

….good to see you back, Matey.

[Istabraq]

Thankfully things are much brighter my end now

Delighted to hear that, onwards and upwards…

[Exar Essay]

Evening all - once again apologies for my absence. Not a great trait to have but as I’m sure you’ll understand, real world is sometimes more important.

Thankfully things are much brighter my end now and it’s full steam ahead for me towards the jumps season, fatjockey and most importantly the Cheltenham yankees!

Do like the novice Yankee theme idea.

Also really like Inthepocket as a Turners horse.

Good to have you back mate. Surely, in that case, Brighterdaysahead should be a yankee selection this month?

[Middle_Of_March]

Good to have you back mate. Surely, in that case, Brighterdaysahead should be a yankee selection this month?

Haha I like your thinking. Thanks all for the well wishes on here over the summer months - very much appreciate it.

As for the Yankee, what do we make of the Bumper last year? It looked a confusing race itself beforehand but afterwards I felt no clearer in mind than beforehand. The winner was very good admittedly but I couldn’t have him with counterfeit at that price for a supreme without having jumped a hurdle in public. The second that day Fact To File looked an Albert Bartlett type to my eye (took 40/1 after the race thanks to someone highlighting on here) but then connections have gone on about him probably going chasing and that somewhat scuppered that.

And then you’ve the also rans and the ones who didn’t even turn up. All in all, I’d be at this point looking at the novice hurdles from a fresh perspective of ignoring the cheltenham bumper horses somewhat.

Have been reading through the last couple of months Yankee thread and the question I’d ask is have we definitely missed the boat with Willmount and his price? We know Hendo will target the supreme with him if he’s good enough and he did admittedly look decent last year on the little we saw of him in lesser grade. I think at double figures, there’s worse selections out there in my view.

[Quevega]

I've not backed A Dream to Share yet.
But think his price is actually just Ok. It's certainly not bad vs Mullins bumper winners prices at this stage.

His bumper wins were impressive enough and he was strongest at the finish every time and looked probably better than the bare results. I think given a bigger test he'd be even better, as he looked like he was only just getting going at the end of his races in his three grade one wins at the festivals. He has a big tank.

He has to show he can jump but looks nippy enough physically, it's just whether he has the mentality and enjoys obstacles that may be the issue.

I'll likely back him in the win today market at some point when he comes up against two or three of Willies.
But Willie has to get some improvement from his masses of bumper runners from last season to get near him, and I think that's unlikely, so Willie will have to come up with some unraced/french types, which or course he will.

But 9-2 as part of a yankee, he'd be my only choice out of all the novice hurdles, as the rest are very guessy and the price is solid based on proven ability.

[Istabraq]

Given charlie and Faugheen_Machine have a strong view that Inthepocket is Turners bound I could get on board with his inclusion in a yankee.
Some 14/1 around…

[Eggs]

Given charlie and Faugheen_Machine have a strong view that Inthepocket is Turners bound I could get on board with his inclusion in a yankee.
Some 14/1 around…

…he looks a certain inclusion with MoM highlighting him.

[Middle_Of_March]

…he looks a certain inclusion with MoM highlighting him.

Yeah I’d be fully on board with having him in this month. For a variety of reasons. I really like him. My strongest fancy for Cheltenham at this stage speaking right now asides from Gaelic (he’s been in enough Yankees at this stage for any further inclusions for a while for what it’s worth). I think Inthepocket reminds me of the ill-fated Three Stipe Life who’d have been a turners horse last year had he made it. Inthepocket did nothing wrong last year in top grade and any improvement over a fence at all and he’s automatically in the reckoning.

Have had a bit of a shock the last few days. Good friend of mine from uni died the other day of an asthma attack. Took me well by surprise. Lived with him in first year and he’s been a regular Ipswich away-day-frequenter in the five years since. He was never a gambler (bar the odd footy special or basketball acca) but I did get him into Cheltenham one year a few days before the festival. He actually backed one of these very Yankees the year after too when I was telling him about it. A really good lad though and the world is far poorer for his absence. Rest Easy Matt. X