Aintree/Punchestown prospects

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BennyB

Senior Jockey
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I'm always fascinated by the juxtaposition of Cheltenham and Aintree - which horses will run at both, which horses can cope with the very different demands of the two tracks, which horses are hardy enough to run well twice in quick succession, and the dark horses which are kept fresh for Aintree.

To that end I thought I'd start a thread about prospects for the Aintree races (other than the National, which is sure to be covered at length elsewhere).

So:

Which horses that won or were placed at Cheltenham are likely to turn up, and in which races?

Are there any horses which ran badly at Cheltenham but will be much better suited by Aintree?

Which horses have been saved for Aintree and should go well?


I am normally keen to oppose horses which have had a hard race at the Festival when they appear at Aintree, but I must confess I would be quite keen on Barizan if he turns up in the 4yo hurdle. Of the horses saved for Aintree, I assume Nacarat falls into this camp, and if so I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

Any thoughts?
 
I have no idea about how good a horse Barizan is for taking his races.

But I couldn't imagine him having as hard a race as he did in the Triumph. And seeeing as the Triumph is the last day of Cheltenham, and the Glenlivet (or whatever they now call the 4yo hurdle) is the first day of Aintree, I would take him on.

Nicholls has a juvenile hurdler who he has held on to for Aintree (name escapes me).
 
He has Escort Men and Royal Mix but I know the latter picked up an injury as I backed him AP for the Triumph - It wasn't widely covered though at the time.
 
Riverside THeatre for me - looked good round flat tracks earlier in season but struggled at Cheltenham poss didn't like undulations as he ran on well up the hill when at one point he looked like tailing off.
 
Escort'Men certainly looks the one to beat in the 4yo Hurdle - no idea about the chances of Barizan turning up but he did seem to handle his races well during the early part of the Hurdling season when running up a sequence, albeit in far easier races.
 
The nightingale has been saved for aintree. a lot to like about his Kempton performance, not least the very accurate jumping
 
Indeed, and the RSA is never an easy race to come out of well for those that ran there, especially with the shorter-than-usual gap between Cheltenham and Aintree this year.
 
Had forgotten about The Nightingale and Escort'men - very taking victories from both last time.

Albertas Run would be of interest if reappearing and the ground was on the quick side.
 
Galileo said:
I'll be interested to see what The Nightingale finds when push comes to shove.
Click to expand...

Agreed but he jumps really well and ran well around a speed track like Kempton so I think he will go well. May well have Ogee in opposition who has to be respected given his previous course form.

I would be looking to take What a Friend on if the ground was quick.
 
Willie Mullins -

I’m glad to be able to bring you some positive news on Hurricane Fly, who has responded well to the treatment for his injury. He looks good and strong, is back on the gallop and we’ll have a go at getting him ready for the Punchestown Festival now.

His injury is fine, but whether we have enough time to get him to Punchestown is another thing. That will be a big ask.

He has done lots of prep work, but it won’t be until I get the first few bits of fast work into him – which will be quite late in the day – that we know exactly what chance we have of getting him there. I’m happy that he is ready to be cantering away anyway, and Punchestown is a track that he loves, so it would be great to get him there.

Mikael D’Haguenet is just being rested for now, having been stiff and sore after his last schooling session before Cheltenham. I’m going to have a good look at him this week. Hopefully he’ll have recovered fully from all his aches and pains, and then it’s a question of deciding what to do. At this stage, I imagine we’ll probably just try to get him ready for next season.




Festival plans…

As for those that did travel to Cheltenham, most have returned in good shape. Quevega has come out of her win well, and will probably go to Punchestown now. She’ll be entered in the three-mile race as well as the Champion Hurdle that she ran so well in last year. I’m not sure Punchestown brings her stamina into play enough over two miles, so for that reason she might run over the longer trip.

The likes of Cooldine, J’y Vole and Quel Esprit are others to look forward to at Punchestown, though Enterprise Park won’t go there. He lost his action at the second hurdle at Cheltenham before Paul Townend pulled him up, and he looks to have strained muscles in his hindquarters. He’ll have a break now.

The post-Cheltenham planning is less straightforward than usual this year, with the big festivals at Fairyhouse, Aintree and Punchestown all falling quite close together.
Punchestown is scheduled for a week earlier than usual, which will make it tough on horses recovering from their travels and so on.
I’d prefer to save most of mine for Fairyhouse and Punchestown, so we won’t have a big team going to Aintree. That is a shame, especially when Punchestown’s traditional week at the end of April is free.
 
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