Laugh all you like, its all about opinions and only time will tell.
When Champagne Fever won his maiden point to point at Quakerstown he clocked the fastest time on the card, he personally beat six opponents that between them never posted a rating above 108 in any of their subsequent events and that to me speaks volumes for the quality of the rest of the card. Using maiden point to points as a guide to the future chances of a horse producing their best performances over those distances in my opinion is a big mistake, the quality of horses competing in those events is often so poor that a good horse can win without even coming off the bridle, hardly a stamina test but more of a guide to soundness for prospective buyers.
Champagne Fever does not seem to have a definitive turn of foot, he appears to rely more on good crisp clean and accurate jumping coupled with well judged pace by his pilot, one who can also use the characteristic nature of a particular track to compliment his horses strengths. Having stamina present in the pedigree isn’t a definitive rule or a measure that defines distance as the order in a horse, it can equally contribute to a horse being able to last out or having the requisite stamina needed for a very strongly run race. Many 2 mile Champion chase winner’s pedigrees were laden with stamina.
I don’t think he can win a Gold Cup from the front, I say this because if you look at the sectional times he set in the grade 2 Slaney Novices Hurdle at Naas, ok it was notable for the fast early pace he set, but no faster than that of the Supreme yet he stopped like shot from the fourth last and from there he actually ran it 16 seconds slower than the maiden hurdlers did earlier on the card, a result that subsequently saw him resorted to 2 miles. I am more inclined to think that once he fully fills his frame, strengthens up and refine’s his already fantastic jumping technique that he will be a formidable opponent over the minimum trip.
Let’s not forget he only just got touched off in a very good quality Arkle field, historically a relative breeding ground for future QM winners and he did this by using a tactic that his trainer had recognised as one that ought to suit the combination of speed and stamina; from the off, run and jump them ragged.
Let’s also not forget that he was touched off on the line by Western Warhorse, a horse that also has a great deal of stamina in his pedigree. By Westerner a thorough stayer himself and a fairly new conscript to the breeding world, a Sire that saw a few of his other progeny successfully strut their stuff at Cheltenham recently, all be it over much further and seemingly over the optimum distances that the various pedigree balances had suggested to the very astute trainers who successfully campaigned them accordingly.
Finally I would like to mention One Man, after years of being campaigned unsuccessfully at Cheltenham he eventually got to taste the champagne once he was put over his optimum distance at that track.
