A flat start to the NH season

A

Ardross

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
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Has this been the worst start to an NH season proper in some time ?

Top horse after top horse being ruled out for at least a while and stars suddenly appearing to have feet of clay .

Or just the horrible ground after this soggy November ?

I can't remember being so unenthused by what we have seen so far in a jumps season at this time of year .
 
Seen Faugheen, Vautour, Tullow Tank and Tell us more

Many more and a cracking Drinmore tomorrow

Hurricane won his 20th G1 and Sizing won at Gowran

It's not even December yet
 
2005/06 takes some beating when it was just one death after another.

Best Mate and Rooster went within a few weeks of each other, but then Lingo went which I remember thinking 'what the hell is going on'. In itself Lingo would be least significant of the trio in terms of acheivement, but it just seemed that every week a high profile horse was dying. If memory serves me right the Champion Hurdle cut up very badly
 
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I've really enjoyed the start of the season, Hurricane Fly's win was special as was Sizing's win at Gowran, and Champagne Fever really impressed me. We have possibly a vintage crop of novice hurdlers in Ireland this season, though last season's weren't too shabby either. Vautour's debut over fences was breathtaking and Un de Sceaux's was exciting while it lasted.

Tonight, I'm really looking forward to the appearance of AC in the Royal Bond tomorrow, and the Drinmore looks a cracker. Just disappointing that Annie Power is a non runner in the Hatton Grace.
 
I've really enjoyed the opening weeks of the [proper] jumps season.

Not many of the big guns would really have run by now anyway so a lot of this stage is about promise for the spring. I have more ante-post bets so far than usual and am happy with them all.

Sign Of A Victory (a/p for the CH) was majestic at Ascot.
Road To Riches should arguably be favourite for the Gold Cup and would almost certainly have shortened dramatically if Rocky Creek had run to expectations yesterday.
The Carlisle race won by Many Clouds is emerging as a really informative marker (so all eyes should be on Eduard when he reappears).
The Mackeson was a really exciting race.
I'm not a Silviniaco Conti man but the returns to consistent form of Menorah and Wishfull Thinking have been heartwarming.

The only real disappointments so far have been the [imo] less than helpful comments by Nicholls regarding the fitness of some of his runners. He'd be best just to keep quiet rather than be seen to mislead punters.
 
Would tend to agree with the sentiment that this has been an exciting start to the season with the Paddy Power being perhaps the most exciting race I've seen so far. Great to see the old rogue Wishfull Thinking back at the top table and that jump of his at the last at Aintree was particularly memorable. The form of the Hobbs string and Dickie Johnson has been great to see.

Sure there have been disappointments - alongside the shabby way PFN has treated the betting public with his pronouncements on horses' fitness I'd add the Sprinter Sacre and Simonsig saga where I think NJH has been less than forthcoming
 
i think way too much store is put in trainer comments, the form book and trainer's previous form with similar types are there to see. A trainer is hardly likely to give the general public the full score is he really? owners would be weeping as they like to be "in the know". Best you will get is part of a story, so why listen to em? Read the form of trainer + horse..clues are there
 
I largely agree and I tend to try to 'read into' the trainer's comments rather than the actual words. For example, when a certain trainer says he thinks his horse's handicap mark is "fair", I read that as "he can win off this mark". But when, for example, Nicholls says, as he did with Al Ferof, something along the lines of the horse being in late and not doing a lot of work, etc, etc, that's much more specific and as it turned out possibly a blatant lie. With the comment he made, it would have been reasonable to expect Al Ferof to have run more like Unioniste did yesterday.
 
All the best horses are in Ireland, which is why it seems flatter than usual. Mullins, Ricci and Gigginstown have got a plethora of novice hurdle/chase talent.
 
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