That was some race, let's hope we get another race as good at Cheltenham.
for me the difference was the performance of the jockeys .. De Boinville outrode Townend at the finish and kept Shishkin up to his work when he faltered a wee bit after a mile or so .. I do also wonder if Energumene got home .. perhaps 2 miles is his optimum trip at the very highest level
That was some race, let's hope we get another race as good at Cheltenham.
for me the difference was the performance of the jockeys .. De Boinville outrode Townend at the finish and kept Shishkin up to his work when he faltered a wee bit after a mile or so .. I do also wonder if Energumene got home .. perhaps 2 miles is his optimum trip at the very highest level
Shishkins jumping wasn’t at smooth as it was at Kempton. Heart in mouth when he pitched forward on landing half way round.
Only won because Brandy Love jumped out to the left all way round lost over 10 lengths at least going left handed round Cheltenham if they meet I would be on Brandy Love all day
Only won because Brandy Love jumped out to the left all way round lost over 10 lengths at least going left handed round Cheltenham if they meet I would be on Brandy Love all day
Quite possibly- and I wouldn’t back AdV at 5/2. Happier to lay it at that price now though ;-)
Edit: just watched the race again - I’m happy that my horse franks that form comfortably if they do meet at Cheltenham.
A little disappointed Nicholls looking to bypass Cheltenham with Stage Star was dreaming of a owners badge, he has a entry in Ballymore but more likely to go to Aintree
Evidently horses see the colour orange as a shade of green .. so all NH courses are to repaint their fence and hurdle take off boards and guard rails, currently coloured orange, white to make it easier for horses to see the fences .. 'The Times'
Evidently horses see the colour orange as a shade of green .. so all NH courses are to repaint their fence and hurdle take off boards and guard rails, currently coloured orange, white to make it easier for horses to see the fences .. 'The Times'
Who knew that horses had their eyes tested at Specsavers?
Great research though and anything that helps them to see the fences has to help
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Recently saw (for the first time) the 1973 grand national. I know Crisp carried considerably more weight than Red Rum but what an exhilarating race between the 2. I wonder if the exchanges were about then what the ‘in running’ prices would’ve been.
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Nicholls is starting to have a few winners. Henderson hasn't had a runner since Saturday and his next ones are on Thursday (in itself unusual) when he has three runners at Ludlow. With just the one winner from 23 in the last couple of weeks or so, those of us holding decent ante post wagers on the likes of Shishkin and Constitution Hill would like to see some evidence that the stable isn't still under a cloud.
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Nicholls is starting to have a few winners. Henderson hasn't had a runner since Saturday and his next ones are on Thursday (in itself unusual) when he has three runners at Ludlow. With just the one winner from 23 in the last couple of weeks or so, those of us holding decent ante post wagers on the likes of Shishkin and Constitution Hill would like to see some evidence that the stable isn't still under a cloud.
Well Henderson had three at Ludlow today. The first one, Barbados Blue, was pulled up in the 2.00 which was a four runner race - having never been pulled up in its first dozen career races, this is the second consecutive time it has done so. The second runner, Go Chique, was due to run in the 2.30 but was pulled at 1.25 and the third, Balkeo, was also taken out but this time at 2.17 i.e. immediately after Barbados Blue had rune so poorly. The reason for both was given as the ground.
Now we know Henderson likes to look after his horses but the fact remains that they haven't been running well (one winner and four placed with10 pulled up from his last 24 runners) and he is looking for an excuse not to run them rather than to do so. Another acid test will be the next two days at Newbury, a track where he loves to run his horses that have a real chance of winning. He has four tomorrow and two on Saturday including Buveur D'Air. I just hope that most of them run some sort of race.
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Nicholls is starting to have a few winners. Henderson hasn't had a runner since Saturday and his next ones are on Thursday (in itself unusual) when he has three runners at Ludlow. With just the one winner from 23 in the last couple of weeks or so, those of us holding decent ante post wagers on the likes of Shishkin and Constitution Hill would like to see some evidence that the stable isn't still under a cloud.
Well Henderson had three at Ludlow today. The first one, Barbados Blue, was pulled up in the 2.00 which was a four runner race - having never been pulled up in its first dozen career races, this is the second consecutive time it has done so. The second runner, Go Chique, was due to run in the 2.30 but was pulled at 1.25 and the third, Balkeo, was also taken out but this time at 2.17 i.e. immediately after Barbados Blue had rune so poorly. The reason for both was given as the ground.
Now we know Henderson likes to look after his horses but the fact remains that they haven't been running well (one winner and four placed with10 pulled up from his last 24 runners) and he is looking for an excuse not to run them rather than to do so. Another acid test will be the next two days at Newbury, a track where he loves to run his horses that have a real chance of winning. He has four tomorrow and two on Saturday including Buveur D'Air. I just hope that most of them run some sort of race.
it does look as though there is a bit of a problem with Henderson's horses .. can horses catch covid ? .. evidently dogs can
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Nicholls is starting to have a few winners. Henderson hasn't had a runner since Saturday and his next ones are on Thursday (in itself unusual) when he has three runners at Ludlow. With just the one winner from 23 in the last couple of weeks or so, those of us holding decent ante post wagers on the likes of Shishkin and Constitution Hill would like to see some evidence that the stable isn't still under a cloud.
Well Henderson had three at Ludlow today. The first one, Barbados Blue, was pulled up in the 2.00 which was a four runner race - having never been pulled up in its first dozen career races, this is the second consecutive time it has done so. The second runner, Go Chique, was due to run in the 2.30 but was pulled at 1.25 and the third, Balkeo, was also taken out but this time at 2.17 i.e. immediately after Barbados Blue had rune so poorly. The reason for both was given as the ground.
Now we know Henderson likes to look after his horses but the fact remains that they haven't been running well (one winner and four placed with10 pulled up from his last 24 runners) and he is looking for an excuse not to run them rather than to do so. Another acid test will be the next two days at Newbury, a track where he loves to run his horses that have a real chance of winning. He has four tomorrow and two on Saturday including Buveur D'Air. I just hope that most of them run some sort of race.
it does look as though there is a bit of a problem with Henderson's horses .. can horses catch covid ? .. evidently dogs can
Venetia Williams has already announced that she has had a virus in her stable and is trying to get her horses right. All stables go through something like that and it does spread from stable to stable through contact at races. Henry de Bromhead in Ireland had similar issues a couple of months ago in Ireland. This is the wrong time of year for it to happen with Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown coming up.
super Saturday for trainer Christian Williams .. Ist and 2nd in the 85 Grand + Kempton Coral Trophy and the winner of the 42 Grand+ Eider at Newcastle .. nice to see unsung trainers taking some big pots .. have the likes of Henderson and Nicholls too many horses to look after, do they charge their owners too much, do owners with just one or two quality horses get a better deal with less well known trainers ? .. the 'big boys' still train a LOT of big race winners but the smaller stables are catching up
The likes of Nicholls, Henderson and Skelton, at various times in the last couple of months, been in poor form given the calibre of animal in their care. For example, since the 10th February, Henderson has had 42 runners of which just 3 have won, half a dozen have been placed and no less than 13 have been pulled up. These horses, by virtue of being at Seven Barrows, all have serious engines and for 25% of them not to get round suggests all isn't well. Just 7 of Nicholls' last 50 runners have been first past the post. Only 6 of Skelton's last 50 runners have been successful. When one considers the small field sizes in a lot of the races they are running in and that these stables do run against each other, their respective strike rates are considerably lower than one would expect.
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
Nicholls is starting to have a few winners. Henderson hasn't had a runner since Saturday and his next ones are on Thursday (in itself unusual) when he has three runners at Ludlow. With just the one winner from 23 in the last couple of weeks or so, those of us holding decent ante post wagers on the likes of Shishkin and Constitution Hill would like to see some evidence that the stable isn't still under a cloud.
Well Henderson had three at Ludlow today. The first one, Barbados Blue, was pulled up in the 2.00 which was a four runner race - having never been pulled up in its first dozen career races, this is the second consecutive time it has done so. The second runner, Go Chique, was due to run in the 2.30 but was pulled at 1.25 and the third, Balkeo, was also taken out but this time at 2.17 i.e. immediately after Barbados Blue had rune so poorly. The reason for both was given as the ground.
Now we know Henderson likes to look after his horses but the fact remains that they haven't been running well (one winner and four placed with10 pulled up from his last 24 runners) and he is looking for an excuse not to run them rather than to do so. Another acid test will be the next two days at Newbury, a track where he loves to run his horses that have a real chance of winning. He has four tomorrow and two on Saturday including Buveur D'Air. I just hope that most of them run some sort of race.
Update - Henderson had two in the 3.30. Neither were fancied to win but Commodore Miller, despite being 20/1 was actually third favourite and finished last of 10 and his stablemate, Rudy Caprice, finished just one place in front of him. They were beaten a total of 104 and 65 lengths respectively and even taking out the front two in the market who finished in that order (30/100 & 9/4) they ended up 89 and 50 lengths behind the third placed horse.
It will be very interesting to see how Henderson's two entries run later, particularly Touchy Feely in the 5.05 as this is the 7/2 third favourite and clearly fancied to run a race in the bumper.
Comments
Traded at 1000/1 and Ruby Walsh said after 6f he should go back to the paddock!
Edit: just watched the race again - I’m happy that my horse franks that form comfortably if they do meet at Cheltenham.
Fingers crossed Nicholls changes his mind with Stage Star.
William Buick odds-on to land his first Flat jockeys' crown after Murphy ban
Great research though and anything that helps them to see the fences has to help
These stables might, of course, be preparing themselves for the big festivals in the months to come but I have been looking to oppose them and will continue to do so 'til they show some sign of an improvement in form and concentrate on those that are consistently running well - 15 of McCain's last 50 runners have won and no less than 17 of Rebecca Menzies' last 28 runners have finished first (10) of second (7). There are many others too including the aforementioned Christian Williams.
The biggest value to be had will always be from the smaller, less exposed stables simply because they are discounted by the general betting public. The same horse with a Paul Nicholls might go off 3/1 if under his care but two or three times that price from an unexposed stable.
I know Crisp carried considerably more weight than Red Rum but what an exhilarating race between the 2.
I wonder if the exchanges were about then what the ‘in running’ prices would’ve been.
Venetia Williams has already announced that she has had a virus in her stable and is trying to get her horses right. All stables go through something like that and it does spread from stable to stable through contact at races. Henry de Bromhead in Ireland had similar issues a couple of months ago in Ireland. This is the wrong time of year for it to happen with Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown coming up.
C'est la vie.
It will be very interesting to see how Henderson's two entries run later, particularly Touchy Feely in the 5.05 as this is the 7/2 third favourite and clearly fancied to run a race in the bumper.