Champion Hurdle 2014

Don't hold back Slim....say what you think
For what it's worth at 1-14 it showed nothing today, and Mullins being Mullins we won't know about him, Annie Power etc for another 3 weeks.
What a splendid fellow he is
 
Bias against HF over the years too. One thing galloping things to death at small meets in Ireland another turning up at hq and handling travelling over, parading crowds etc etc.
 
granger said:
Bias against HF over the years too. One thing galloping things to death at small meets in Ireland another turning up at hq and handling travelling over, parading crowds etc etc.
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On the formbook I couldn't have him on my mind. He's done nothing.
 
If he was good enough to run in the CH Mullins would have run him in higher standard races.IMO they'll keep him for the other two big meetings.
 
Mullins will wait until the five-day stage, take a look at the ground, and withdraw UDS, on account of the going being too quick.

Un De Sceaux wants it bottomless, and - based on what we've seen of him - looks a relentless galloper. Whilst he is clearly talented, I'm not convinced he would be able to get the Big Five off the bridle on better ground at Cheltenham, and I'd fancy pretty-much all of them to have more ability to quicken-up at the business-end.

And as Slims says, he essentially an unknown quantity, and too short a price to win the highest-class Champion Hurdle in years, if not decades.

Mullins isn't a clown. He is leaving the door open for UDS, but I suspect he'd prefer not to declare him against Hurricane Fly, and he may use the ground to wriggle off the hook. And I can't see the owner looking to create too much of a stir, if Mullins does exactly that.

Whatever happens, he looks some tool for next year's Arkle.
 
But if they don't run him this year on account of the ground, why would next year in the Arkle be any different.

Why Mullins won't give anyone a clue is starting to really **** me off.
 
no certainty of ground any better than soft with the weather.

i guess it is a weird situation for mullins/walsh. with the likes of UDS and AP. i wonder how they genuinely feel with regards to how they'd match up to HF.

as said earlier in the thread, HF isn't exactly an odds on shot. it'd be a bit **** if they left UDS out of this just because of him.

i do think if anything would mess him up it would be not having walsh on his back though, if he's gonna go off infront and make the running the jockey is going to have to play it spot on i suspect.
 
Lads Mullins has an absolute hard on for Hurricane Fly. If HF gets beat it will be by the big 3 MTOY, TNO or OC not a yack from France that has nothing in the book. He'll need to improve over a stone to win this edition, it's just not going to happen.

People are reading way too much into this by suggesting they're ducking beating HF with UDS. He'll run him if conditions suit but they know he's not good enough.

.
 
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And what happens if Annie Power or Vautour or both line up in next years Arkle. He'll have to wheel that excuse out again.
 
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tiggers1972 said:
But if they don't run him this year on account of the ground, why would next year in the Arkle be any different.

Why Mullins won't give anyone a clue is starting to really **** me off.
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Plans change, conditions could make any of his novices plans change.

His job is to train horses, he is very good at it. He doesn't need to broadcast anything that isn't set in stone
 
SlimChance said:
Annie Power is a million to go chasing.
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chasing is the plan according to ricci.

re: UDS. annihilating a 140 horse by 16l on the bridle giving 3lbs is a bit of form in the book tbh. the question marks are there with regards to never being challenged and no big race experience but to say he has no form in the book is pretty ignorant in my mind.
 
Frankel said:
And what happens if Annie Power or Vaupour or both line up in next years Arkle. He'll have to wheel that excuse out again.
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After he wins the Supreme, Vautour will be a Champion Hurdle horse next season......which will spring UDS for the Arkle.

It's a fair point you raise, tigger, which I'll try to answer.

I'm not saying that UDS won't go on the ground at Cheltenham. I'm saying that the chances of him showing a sufficiently high level of form to win this Champion Hurdle, on ground which isn't bottomless, has to be questionable. Class-wise, this field is in a different parish to anything he has faced before.

If he goes novice chasing next season, he wouldn't face all of the Big Five in an Arkle. Jezki is probably the most obvious one who might go down that route.....and possible one of TNO or MTOY (depending on how each fares in March). I guess I'm saying the challenge would be diluted to an extent in his novice chasing season, and his theoretical chances would be better. Plus, he looks like he's built to jump fences (to this untrained eye, anyway), and could prove better in that spehere.

Hope this makes sense.
 
He's a fantastic trainer but you you have to question that if you had a top class horse would you send it to WPM with all the politics there.ok I understand there's a pecking order but f@@@ me lets put the horses first.naiive look I know
 
If UDS was with another trainer and had same profile he would be 50/1 at best now.

He was bought as a future chaser and will make an exciting one.

WPM could work for the UN, he keeps everyone happy.
 
Grasshopper said:
After he wins the Supreme, Vautour will be a Champion Hurdle horse next season......which will spring UDS for the Arkle.

It's a fair point you raise, tigger, which I'll try to answer.

I'm not saying that UDS won't go on the ground at Cheltenham. I'm saying that the chances of him showing a sufficiently high level of form to win this Champion Hurdle, on ground which isn't bottomless, has to be questionable. Class-wise, this field is in a different parish to anything he has faced before.

If he goes novice chasing next season, he wouldn't face all of the Big Five in an Arkle. Jezki is probably the most obvious one who might go down that route.....and possible one of TNO or MTOY (depending on how each fares in March). I guess I'm saying the challenge would be diluted to an extent in his novice chasing season, and his theoretical chances would be better. Plus, he looks like he's built to jump fences (to this untrained eye, anyway), and could prove better in that spehere.

Hope this makes sense.
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This would be utter madness if Vautour didn't go chasing. I know Annie is going chasing next season but Vautour looks even more a chaser. I think this guy is the real deal. Not saying Annie won't be. I'd be amazed if Vautour could win a Champion. Yes he would have to keep them apart, but I would assume one would go Arkle and the other the JLT or RSA. I will throw my toys out the pram if Vautour is not chasing next season.
And then when he wins the Champion I will look like a right c**t :D
 
links781 said:
He's a fantastic trainer but you you have to question that if you had a top class horse would you send it to WPM with all the politics there.ok I understand there's a pecking order but f@@@ me lets put the horses first.naiive look I know
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I don't think it is politics, Mullins simply reckons Hurricane Fly is bombproof. All the talent in the yard and he said a few weeks ago that HF was his banker.

Incidentally, neither Boyd/Creighton nor O'Connell would be among his bigger owners numerically.
 
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JamesRB said:
chasing is the plan according to ricci.

re: UDS. annihilating a 140 horse by 16l on the bridle giving 3lbs is a bit of form in the book tbh. the question marks are there with regards to never being challenged and no big race experience but to say he has no form in the book is pretty ignorant in my mind.
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To back UDS to win this champion hurdle you are taking a massive leap of fate. The CH winner will probably need to run to a 170 rating.UDS can't win this champion on what we've seen. The likely improvement is easily negated by the step up in class and the pace of the race. Although there is only likely be 8 runners on the day they won't allow HF contest a sprint finish. NTO will be putting the throttle down at the bottom of the hill,

UDS will get run over.
 
Mullins has some crew of likely chasers next season. See Pont Alexandre though to see how plans change.

Faugheen - RSA/Jewson

Briar Hill - RSA/4 miler

Annie - Arkle

UDS - Arkle/Jewson

Vatour -Arkle/Jewson

Aniflet - Champion

Hurricane -Champion
 
Hurricane - Champion?

Are you Grasshopper in disguise? Can we end this now before the Road to the Champion 2015 edition..

Hurricane Fly can't win!
 
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