Binocular retired

A

Ardross

Senior Jockey
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Aug 8, 2007
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I think this splendid Champion hurdler deserves his own thread. Retired due to heart issues which perhaps explains his well below form runs last year .

His 2010 CH win was a delightful slap to all those shits who lay horses on Betfair knowing they are wrong , which is generally tantamount to fraud in my view , and a brilliant performance .

When fit and well a particularly brilliant jumper of a hurdle . Two Christmas Hurdles , a Bula and a Kingwell also to his name and probably should have gone close in 2012 but for an uncharacteristically poor AP ride .

It is unfair to suggest he does not have a heart - he out battled Rock on Ruby in the 2011 Christmas Hurdle .

Happy retirement to him and hope they can treat his heart issues so that he has more than a short one .



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swrQea-NDrA
 
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Binocular's Champion Hurdle has proven to be sub-par in every respect.

I do wish him a long and comfortable retirement though.
 
broken by the fly one too many times :cool:

in all seriousness his champion hurdle win was as visually impressive as any i've seen, even though you could question what was in behind i think he'd have been very hard to beat by any horse on that particular day.

shame he never really lived up to that afterwards due to one thing or another. :ninja:
 
How hard is it to look 'visually impressive' when you have Kyber Kim and Zaynar to beat?

As a Champion Hurdler he's about the same level as Hors La Loi III and Sublimity, in my view.

I do wish him a long and comfortable retirement though.
 
Grasshopper said:
How hard is it to look 'visually impressive' when you have Kyber Kim and Zaynar to beat?

As a Champion Hurdler he's about the same level as Hors La Loi III and Sublimity, in my view.

I do wish him a long and comfortable retirement though.
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True enough, but he did beat the entire field in a matter of strides; also had the first two from the previous year way behind him. Was favourite the next year before he was pulled out the week before, too. But on the whole, promised more than he delivered - think we at least expected a dual CH winner.
 
"On his day", me sister.

HF routinely beats proper G1 horses in "a matter of strides", not just glorified handicappers......and HF does it time after time after time.

Binocular and his Champion Hurdle are frauds by comparison.
 
Grasshopper said:
"On his day", me sister.

HF routinely beats proper G1 horses in "a matter of strides", not just glorified handicappers......and HF does it time after time after time.

Binocular and his Champion Hurdle are frauds by comparison.
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Binocular wasn't a "great" but had the potential to be a "very decent" CH winner, if he had have won a second CH. HF IS a great by regaining his crown and winning all his G1s.
 
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He did beat Rock on Ruby in the Christmas Hurdle the year that ROR went on to win the CH .

HF cannot be criticised for taking advantage of all those soft Irish Grade 1 hurdles - the Morgiana should be downgraded and the Hatton's Grace too IMO . Only the Irish Champion and the Punchestown races should be G1 .

He is a great hurdler but the idea , however , that he has achieved more in 17 Grade 1 wins than Kauto did in 16 is laughable.
 
Kauto and HF are both alike in being that good that they could win multiple championship events at Cheltenham despite having better form at other courses.
 
Tony McCoy on now-retired Binocular: "He was the fastest horse to get from one side of a hurdle to the other that I've ever ridden."
 
Euronymous said:
Has he forgotten he rode Make a Stand?
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He said: "He was the fastest horse to get from one side of a hurdle to the other that I've ever ridden and I think only Make A Stand could even compare to him.
"He deserves the happy retirement that he's now going to enjoy at Martinstown (McManus's stud in Ireland)."


Hurricane Fly & Istabraq are the two best 2m hurdlers I've seen. I'd put Binocular alongside the likes of Rooster Booster, Make A Stand, Kribensis & those irish hurdlers who dominated the division in the mid 2000's. On a going day he was a seriously good horse.
 
Arazi said:
He said: "He was the fastest horse to get from one side of a hurdle to the other that I've ever ridden and I think only Make A Stand could even compare to him.
"He deserves the happy retirement that he's now going to enjoy at Martinstown (McManus's stud in Ireland)."


Hurricane Fly & Istabraq are the two best 2m hurdlers I've seen. I'd put Binocular alongside the likes of Rooster Booster, Make A Stand, Kribensis & those irish hurdlers who dominated the division in the mid 2000's. On a going day he was a seriously good horse.
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Having become racing mad at a very young age I can remember Night Nurse , Monksfield, Comedy of Errors( though he was in decline in 1976/77 , Birds Nest and Sea Pigeon - now they were hurdlers !

I agree that Binocular was a seriously good horse , he evidently had a number of problems and was difficult to get right but on 2010 CH day he would have given Hurricane Fly a great deal to do .
 
I am of the same era as you Ardross.
Fair points well said.
It just goes to show how difficult it is to keep any good horse right.
Those that keep their form year in year out should be seriously applauded as regardless of how "soft" any Grade 1 may appear they are still difficult to win.
 
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