2014 Champion Hurdle

[mayo]

Blake's blog

It was the race we’d all hoped for. Old versus young. Proven star quality versus star potential.

Hurricane Fly and Our Conor eyeballed each other over the last hurdle, with Our Conor looking set to grab the Irish hurdling torch from the great champion, but The Fly wasn’t ready to give it up just yet and battled ferociously to forge away in the closing stages and finish well on top at the line.

What more can be said about Hurricane Fly? It wasn’t his best display in visual terms by any means, but when you examine the performance, taking into account that his connections stressed just how difficult a week Hurricane Fly had with a bruised foot, his effort looks all the more impressive.

The vanquished Our Conor is clearly going the right way. He was 1lb worse off with Hurricane Fly relative to the Ryanair, but that didn’t stop him giving the champ a mighty scare.

On Sunday he had an excellent chance to beat Hurricane Fly. He stalked the champion all the way, was delivered at just the right moment by Danny Mullins and out-jumped his rival at the last, but he couldn’t master him on the run-in and was ultimately well held. Considering he seemed to relish every aspect of the Cheltenham test last season, Our Conor’s connections will no doubt be relishing the prospect of having a third crack at Hurricane Fly on the biggest stage next month.

The only unsatisfactory element to the race, as was the case in the Ryanair Hurdle, was the ride given to Jezki. I wasn’t alone in being extremely surprised that A.P. McCoy opted to drop Jezki in last of all, given that he had been caught out for a lack of tactical pace in the Ryanair and has proven he stays further. As it transpired, he could only find the one pace in the closing stages, but there is every chance that he was made look slower than he is due to the combination of being the most poorly-positioned runner in the race and the testing ground not suiting.

So, what about the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham? For me, the race couldn’t be teed up any better. Hurricane Fly is undoubtedly the standard bearer and deserves to be favourite but, with niggling doubts surrounding his ability to show his very best at Cheltenham, there will be no shortage of rivals lining up to have a crack at the title.

The horse who enhanced his credentials the most has to be Our Conor. He travelled best of all, jumped as well as ever and promises to improve again at Cheltenham. Also, it would be ill advised to forget about Jezki. While he now has a bit to prove, things haven’t gone right in his last two starts and a stronger pace coupled with a sounder surface in the Champion Hurdle could well see him improve and he doesn’t have much ground to make up on his aforementioned two rivals.

A Champion Hurdle with those three contenders would be intriguing enough, but add the British challenge of The New One and My Tent Or Yours into the mix, not to mention the potential participation of a certain lady called Annie Power and the freight train that is Un De Sceaux and what you have is the deepest Champion Hurdle in quite a few years, a race that promises to be the highlight of the entire Cheltenham Festival.

[donka]

Never mind this being the best champion hurdle for years, this must be one the best festival races for years.There's been some fantastic festival duels in the past（my fav being hardy & harchibold）but this is no duel oh no! This is more like bar fight.

[mayo]

Donka you seen this @BigBucks09: Champion Hurdle 2014....Did I mention the Champion Hurdle?...The Analysis Room: Champion Hurdle 2014: Towards Raceday http://t.co/lGfgTWCoO8

He likes your horse

[donka]

Donka you seen this @BigBucks09: Champion Hurdle 2014....Did I mention the Champion Hurdle?...The Analysis Room: Champion Hurdle 2014: Towards Raceday http://t.co/lGfgTWCoO8

He likes your horse

Nice one mayo! Very enjoyable & interesting read.

Apart from the pleasure i got from reading his views about TNO he makes some very interesting points about MTOY potentially being a top chaser if he ever goes down that route,After reading that i hope he does go chasing next year.

@ mayo- Can you put a link to his review of the King George in the Gold cup section?.I completely share his view that Cue Cards connections are committing suicide by running him in the GC.

[Yeehaa]

Is there any chance Ruby will ride Annie Power ?

It would be a brave call to get off the record grade one winning champion hurdle holder wot hasn't been beat for two seasons but the fly is old and Annie is the future. Wouldn't be the first bloke to have his head turned by the younger female

I am only kinda fishin

[mayo]

Pat Keane

Hurricane Fly faces an uphill struggle to win a third Champion Hurdle, that’s the only logical summation surely of his less than impressive win in Sunday’s Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.

We know he worked exceptionally badly, at least once, in preparation for the race and that he suffered a stone bruise as well.

But Willie Mullins is such a professional that he would not have dared risk the horse unless more than satisfied he was mentally and physically ready to do himself justice.

The fact that 13-year-old Captain Cee Bee, who is rated 26lbs inferior to the Fly, was beaten less than three lengths raises major questions marks about the value of this race.

We can dress it up all we want, but there seems little doubt that Hurricane Fly will need to make a major step forward in the coming weeks.

I suppose a decent case can be made for Sunday’s second, Our Conor, on the basis he simply exploded around Cheltenham last year when winning the Triumph Hurdle.

But we cannot have it both ways. If we’re throwing cold water on Hurricane Fly’s prospects then Our Conor has to be lumped into the same pot.

Jezki finished fourth of four behind Hurricane Fly and the hold-up tactics used really were mind-boggling.

[Yeehaa]

Notably, Walsh declined to agree that he would definitely ride 19 times Grade One winner Hurricane Fly rather than Un De Sceaux (or, indeed, Annie Power) in the Champion Hurdle.

Although he relied repeatedly throughout the show on the line "it depends on how they are on the Sunday before", this particular poker face was a significant moment in the Half-Term Report.

"You never know," he responded, finally. That said, jumping this particular ship would be the boldest of bold shouts, even for one with the stone-cold confidence of Walsh.

He acknowledged that, despite winning two Champion Hurdles, Hurricane Fly was probably yet to match his absolute best Irish form at Cheltenham. Yet he was inclined to blame that on his own tactics, in differing ways, on both occasions rather than link it to the track's topography.

His description of Un De Sceaux is worth quoting in full: "He's just able to go a very strong gallop and sustain it right through the middle part of the race and on into the end of the race. He doesn't have to slow down at any point to get a breath," Walsh said. That witness statement only underlines the visual impression of this horse.

It was a huge shame that Sandown's hurdle races were abandoned on Saturday or else we Brits might have got to see this mighty young talent in the flesh. In the scenario that he runs in the Champion and Walsh rides Hurricane Fly, he said Un De Sceaux "won't get a soft lead", as he has been accustomed to under Walsh so far. He did question whether the young pretender has the experience for this race. However, it was crystal clear he doesn't question whether the horse has the talent for it. 12/1 non-runner-no-bet is not without its appeal - even in clearly the most widely competitive championship race of the 2014 Festival.

Walsh also acknowledged Our Conor as an evolving threat, expecting him to be a better horse at Cheltenham, better still at Punchestown and perhaps reaching his peak this time next year.

[Statto]

Paul Jones

With regards to Our Conor's Stan James Champion Hurdle prospects, probably the most trotted-out statistic at the whole meeting you will hear is that only one five-year-old has won since See You Then back in 1985, and 90 have tried in the interim.

And not without good reason: that is not good with one winner in a substandard renewal since 1985 but, then again, none of those other 90 five-year-olds had posted a higher figure as a four-year-old so, not only is he not your average five-year-old taking his chance, but he is also not your average JCB Triumph Hurdle winner either – so I don't think we are comparing like with like.

Not so much, however, will be discussed about the excellent record of five-year-olds placing in the Champion Hurdle of late and Countrywide Flame at 16-1 became the latest last season. In fact, over the last seven seasons a total of 19 five-year-olds have gone to post of which six have hit the frame including Katchit's success, and three others were also on the cusp of placing.

So, in examining the statistical chance of Our Conor, do we therefore ignore the paucity of winning five-year-olds since the mid-80s or instead prefer to concentrate on their overall good record of top-three finishers? Your call.

[Morning Glory]

UDS running or not will shape the race

If he takes his chance then it will be truly run rather than a stop start tactical affair. It might suit The Fly better if he doesn't run as he probably has the best turn of foot ?

[Old Vic]

The mare is on the drift World Hurdle beckons ?

[mayo]

Heres how I see things panning out for Mullins horses. Barmy I know but its just something ive been thinking the last few weeks.

Hurricane bows out at the top - wins at Cheltenham and A) either is only campaigned in Ireland next year or B)is retired at the top of the game altogether .

Un De Sceaux - goes to Aintree this year NOT Cheltenham. Will be Mullins champion hurdle horse next year.

Annie Power - will go world hurdle before going chasing next year - boston bob will move to Gold cup with Rubi Ball having been ruled out for the season.

Id say Ruby would be happy with that - gets to ride them all.

[mayo]

Bazza free to ride Jezki now

[Lester]

With less than four weeks to go until The Festival, the sense of anticipation intensifies today as the acceptors for the five main Championship contests are revealed.

The £400,000 Stan James Champion Hurdle on the opening day, Champion Day, Tuesday, March 11 has 11 entries going forward. Defending champion Hurricane Fly, the winner in both 2011 and 2013, heads the contenders and is one of six Irish-trained horses still engaged.

According to Timeform, the main threat to the Willie Mullins-trained superstaris his undefeated stable companion Annie Power, who has 1lb to spare on weight-adjusted ratings. The Halifax-based organization rate Hurricane Fly 184, with Annie Power on 185p. Which race Annie Power will contest at The Festival has still to be decided as she is also in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and has other options.

Mullins also has another unbeaten possible runner, Un De Sceaux (169P), and Thousand Stars (174) in the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

The Nicky Henderson-trained My Tent Or Yours is rated the best of the British hopes on 183, with last year's Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle winner The New One next on 182.

[cheltenham]

AP

Hurricane Fly was very impressive when winning the Irish Champion Hurdle and he is still the one they have to beat at Cheltenham. People will question the form and say Captain Cee Bee was not beaten far, but you have to remember that Hurricane Fly was in trouble coming to the last and still won by a length and a half. He keeps on winning and until that changes he is the one to beat. I rode Jezki in the race and we finished fourth, but looking back we have been riding him wrong as he wants two and a half miles and I think positive tactics will see him to much better effect. If he is more positively ridden in a strong-run Champion Hurdle then he has definitely got an each-way chance.

JP also has My Tent Or Yours in the Stan James Champion Hurdle and I’m not sure if he runs at Kelso on Thursday – that’s in the trainer’s hands – but I will be leaving a decision on who I ride in the Champion Hurdle until the last moment. Things are very much up in the air at the moment and I probably won’t make the choice until the day before.

[donka]

Nigel Twiston-Davies expects the stiffer stamina test of Cheltenham to suit The New One more than his Christmas Hurdle conqueror My Tent Or Yours when they meet again in the Stan James Champion Hurdle next month.

Winner of the Neptune Novices' Hurdle at the big meeting last season, The New One was successful at Kempton and Cheltenham in the first half of the season before his meeting with Nicky Henderson's Fighting Fifth winner at Kempton over Christmas.The New One appeared to hold the upper hand approaching the final flight but he hit it hard, handing the initiative to My Tent Or Yours and he went down by half a length.

However, Twiston-Davies feels a return to his local track will see him in a much better light.

"The New One is top-class, he did a very good bit of work on Tuesday and we're looking forward to Cheltenham," Twiston-Davies told At The Races.

"I think we can turn the form around with My Tent Or Yours, I think most people think Cheltenham will suit our horse more than My Tent Or Yours and a really true-run race, which it will be, will also suit him better.

"It's more of a stamina test with the hill and it should suit our horse more I should think."

Keep him sweet Nige ,Keep him sweet.