Champion Hurdle 2014

Double Handful said:
Ah baracouda....... Come on. You gotta be stronger than that!

2 weeks out is way too early to be breaking :blink:
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I just can't handle it on my own,I'm faltering.. losing my grip on reality ...can't do adding up and subtraction.
The tsunami is on the horizon and the surge and swell developing. It's only visible to those with clarity of vision...Our Conor rules the Waves.
 
baracouda said:
I just can't handle it on my own,I'm faltering.. losing my grip on reality ...can't do adding up and subtraction.
The tsunami is on the horizon and the surge and swell developing. It's only visible to those with clarity of vision...Our Conor rules the Waves.
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You don't spell Lost - l o s i n g
 
Nigel Twiston-Davies on TNO: "He did his last piece of serious work yesterday. It was really good and I couldn't be happier."
 
Walsh: Fly will produce his best at Cheltenham

BY PETER SCARGILL 9:30AM 27 FEB 2014

RUBY WALSH has defended Hurricane Fly's record at the Cheltenham Festival and believes the dual Champion Hurdle winner can replicate his stunning performances in Ireland provided he is ridden the correct way.

Hurricane Fly became the first horse since Comedy Of Errors in 1975 to regain the Stan James Champion Hurdle when defeating Rock On Ruby last year but despite two wins and a third in three runs at Cheltenham, many remain unconvinced that the ten-year-old is capable of reproducing his best Irish form in Britain.
Hurricane Fly has not been beaten in Ireland since November 2009 and recently recorded his 19th Grade 1 success in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, a course where he is unbeaten in eight starts.

However, Walsh feels there are genuine reasons why Hurricane Fly has failed to blow away racegoers in Britain and expects the Champion Hurdle favourite to show his true ability this year.

"He was too free the first year. I sat too far back on him the second year - he wasn't 100 per cent - and last year I shouldn't have followed the ones in front," Walsh said. "They were going too fast and I followed them. I shouldn't have.

"Racing is about pace, about judgment. I knew they were going too fast. I should have backed my own judgment and stayed where I was but instead I was thinking of all the criticism I got the year before and I kept following them. That was the mistake I made and the horse got me out of it. It won't happen again.

"If I hadn't followed the pace last year I'd have arrived turning in hard on the bridle and he'd have blown everybody away. But he still managed to win.

"I don't think I've done things right on him at Cheltenham. The day I'll get it right, he'll show England what he's shown Ireland."

Hurricane Fly is 3-1 joint-favourite for the Champion Hurdle with The New One and Walsh is confident that his mount is arriving at the festival at the top of his game.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Walsh added: "I think he's in really good form, he's dug in twice to win, beaten Our Conor and Jezki in Leopardstown and I think the two harder races than he usually would have had is going to stand to him and I think he's an outstanding chance."
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Walsh: Fly will produce his best at Cheltenham

BY PETER SCARGILL 9:30AM 27 FEB 2014

RUBY WALSH has defended Hurricane Fly's record at the Cheltenham Festival and believes the dual Champion Hurdle winner can replicate his stunning performances in Ireland provided he is ridden the correct way.

Hurricane Fly became the first horse since Comedy Of Errors in 1975 to regain the Stan James Champion Hurdle when defeating Rock On Ruby last year but despite two wins and a third in three runs at Cheltenham, many remain unconvinced that the ten-year-old is capable of reproducing his best Irish form in Britain.
Hurricane Fly has not been beaten in Ireland since November 2009 and recently recorded his 19th Grade 1 success in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, a course where he is unbeaten in eight starts.

However, Walsh feels there are genuine reasons why Hurricane Fly has failed to blow away racegoers in Britain and expects the Champion Hurdle favourite to show his true ability this year.

"He was too free the first year. I sat too far back on him the second year - he wasn't 100 per cent - and last year I shouldn't have followed the ones in front," Walsh said. "They were going too fast and I followed them. I shouldn't have.

"Racing is about pace, about judgment. I knew they were going too fast. I should have backed my own judgment and stayed where I was but instead I was thinking of all the criticism I got the year before and I kept following them. That was the mistake I made and the horse got me out of it. It won't happen again.

"If I hadn't followed the pace last year I'd have arrived turning in hard on the bridle and he'd have blown everybody away. But he still managed to win.

"I don't think I've done things right on him at Cheltenham. The day I'll get it right, he'll show England what he's shown Ireland."

Hurricane Fly is 3-1 joint-favourite for the Champion Hurdle with The New One and Walsh is confident that his mount is arriving at the festival at the top of his game.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Walsh added: "I think he's in really good form, he's dug in twice to win, beaten Our Conor and Jezki in Leopardstown and I think the two harder races than he usually would have had is going to stand to him and I think he's an outstanding chance."
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Dessie Hughes interview is soon to be screened on ATR - no doubt going to state that Our Conor is at least a 6L better horse than Hardy Eustace was.
 
He can fill his boots with confidence.......much like he did prior to the Ryanair and Irish Champion Hurdles. Hurricane Fly will saunter past Our Conor like hes's the gatepost at the foot of Mullins' gallop.

Smoke me a kipper. :cool:
 
Re James RB
last year I shouldn't have followed the ones in front," Walsh said. "They were going too fast and I followed them. I shouldn't have.
"Racing is about pace, about judgment. I knew they were going too fast. I should have backed my own judgment and stayed where I was but instead I was thinking of all the criticism I got the year before and I kept following them. That was the mistake I made and the horse got me out of it. It won't happen again.
"If I hadn't followed the pace last year I'd have arrived turning in hard on the bridle and he'd have blown everybody away. But he still managed to win.

Hence why he gets beat this year :cool:
 
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Walsh sometimes is a Joke
The other horses placed were running more prominently than him,
So they were given worst rides.
 
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Frankel said:
Re James RB
last year I shouldn't have followed the ones in front," Walsh said. "They were going too fast and I followed them. I shouldn't have.
"Racing is about pace, about judgment. I knew they were going too fast. I should have backed my own judgment and stayed where I was but instead I was thinking of all the criticism I got the year before and I kept following them. That was the mistake I made and the horse got me out of it. It won't happen again.
"If I hadn't followed the pace last year I'd have arrived turning in hard on the bridle and he'd have blown everybody away. But he still managed to win.

Hence why he gets beat this year :cool:
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Hence yer sister.

Walsh is totally bullish, knows exactly what to do, and has the air of a man who has no concerns about winning - his only worry is that his own performance is worthy enough to do the Champion's vast talent justice.

There will be absolute carnage in the harbour.
 
Grasshopper said:
Hence yer sister.

Walsh is totally bullish, knows exactly what to do, and has the air of a man who has no concerns about winning - his only worry is that his own performance is worthy enough to do the Champion's vast talent justice.

There will be absolute carnage in the harbour.
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Hence ye granny :D

No doubt he'll have a couple more reasons come March 11 :cool:
 
Just one question here Grasshopper?
In the Gold Cup thread you rightly put up Bobs Worth as the banker of the meeting.
Why not Hurricane Fly?
You've written far more about HF (War and Peace in fact) than BW?
 
tiggers1972 said:
Just one question here Grasshopper?
In the Gold Cup thread you rightly put up Bobs Worth as the banker of the meeting.
Why not Hurricane Fly?
You've written far more about HF (War and Peace in fact) than BW?
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Two-part answer, tiggers.

Fiestly, even I'm prepared to concede that this is a particularly high-class field, and Hurricane Fly will definitely need to be about at least 90% of his best, to win.

Secondly, I've watched horse-racing for over 20 years now, and I can recall very few horses over that time-frame, who appeared so thoroughly-suited to the Gold Cup C&D as Bobs Worth does. He faces nothing like the quality of opposition, and I think he will gallop them into submission.
 
Grasshopper said:
Two-part answer, tiggers.

Fiestly, even I'm prepared to concede that this is a particularly high-class field, and Hurricane Fly will definitely need to be about at least 90% of his best, to win.

Secondly, I've watched horse-racing for over 20 years now, and I can recall very few horses over that time-frame, who appeared so thoroughly-suited to the Gold Cup C&D as Bobs Worth does. He faces nothing like the quality of opposition, and I think he will gallop them into submission.
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Good ground he'll be very hard to beat. Soft ground he'll do well to beat Conti. Would he have caught Conti last year - emmm interesting. Just don't know is the answer.
 
tiggers1972 said:
BW 5/5 @ Cheltenham
Conti 0/2
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Fooking ell your not counting last year surely. He was hacking while Bob was having his rear man handled and some by Barry. Cheltenham no issue, but the last 100 yards might just be. And Bob is a tough bas*ard - You can't but like him :cool:
 
I have played with the video's all day....had to laugh at NTD's comments; "Someone showed me some statistics. He (TNO) covered the last two furlongs, over the same track as Hurricane Fly last year, unbelievably quicker. I don't understand how to access such information but that's what they showed me".

I put the two field’s level at the top of the hill 6 furlongs into the Neptune, the champion field opened up a 5 second gap by the next hurdle and maintained it until they started to row from 3 flights out, the Neptune field closed to jump the last level with TNO crossing the line 2 lengths to the good.

In contrast the Supreme field led the champion for 3 flights whereby Rock on Ruby then opened up, they ran 2 seconds faster until they began to row. The supreme field picked them up and dumped them 6 lengths.

Ruby is absolutely correct with his assumption that they were going too fast in the champion, this from the same pilot that gave the Supreme its perfect fractions aboard Champagne Fever.

Several things I clean from this; firstly Hurricane Fly’s performance was from the top draw, to cover the crazy pace and be able to put the race to bed.

Secondly how MTOY pulled McCoys arms out throughout and he still cruised into the race down the hill, I honestly believe he would have looked even more stylish off the champion pace and would probably have won off of it.

Thirdly and more difficult to predict is the merit of TNO because compared to the champion the pace they ran was very sedate, yet they still managed to claw them back but fall well short of the Supreme.

Lastly and after hours of deliberation, playing scenarios from all distances I am going to stick my neck out and say the finish will be between MTOY and Hurricane Fly.

Jezki will give the pace to the race and he won’t hang about, Chief beneficiaries will be MTOY, Our Conor and TNO. Our Conor will crack before the last the Fly will battle to get into the race behind Jezki and MTOY approaching the last.

The Fly and MTOY will forge on battling all the way to the line with Jezki hanging on for third from the keeping on TNO. McCoy stands in the saddle and punches the air as they cross the line.

Our Conor cracks from the top speed gallop and weakens before the last this I deduce from what I have already documented about his short top speed.
 
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Frankel said:
Fooking ell your not counting last year surely. He was hacking while Bob was having his rear man handled and some by Barry:
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Geraghty has been quoted at a few recent previews, saying that he does not fear SC at all. LI his only worry.

Barry reckons SC goose was cooked anyway when he fell 4 out last year.

Not necessarily my own opinion, but Geraghty has been quite vocal and confident that SC won't trouble him.
 
Certainly am!
Remember Bob had to sidestep the sprawlling Conti, a horse that was tired wouldn't have been able to do that.
All of Conti's winning has been on a flat track.
He appeared to be cantering, (although Ruby is the master of looking like he's holding double even when the horse is reaching point break).
When they meet the rising ground I know which one I'd side with.
 
Double Handful said:
Geraghty has been quoted at a few recent previews, saying that he does not fear SC at all. LI his only worry.

Barry reckons SC goose was cooked anyway when he fell 4 out last year.

Not necessarily my own opinion, but Geraghty has been quite vocal and confident that SC won't trouble him.
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:lol: Barry had clearly had 1 red bull too many.
 
tiggers1972 said:
Certainly am!
Remember Bob had to sidestep the sprawlling Conti, a horse that was tired wouldn't have been able to do that.
All of Conti's winning has been on a flat track.
He appeared to be cantering, (although Ruby is the master of looking like he's holding double even when the horse is reaching point break).
When they meet the rising ground I know which one I'd side with.
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True and was only 1 or 2 lengths behind. It's between the 2 of them for me. I'm still 55/45 in Conti's favour, but I agree if Bob is within a length of him at the last then the tough bas*ard wins.

Oops we do appear to be hijacking TNO thread :D
 
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