Highs and lows from the week

jinnyj

jinnyj

Senior Jockey
Joined
Jan 8, 2004
Messages
4,701
As so many of us have missed the regular contributions this week, I thought I would start off:

Highs

Rachel, Rachel and more Rachel. I never understood before what you guys over in Ireland meant. NOW I get it. She is superb and has an incredible racing brain. A massive result for racing to get such positive press especially in a week when it’s all been about the fairer sex!

Rachel and Honeysuckle. I personally hope they keep her over hurdles as she was sublime.

Rachel and Allaho - just wow!

Tiger Roll - tears were shed here. I have backed him religiously since before he won the Triumph. He’s very ground dependent and last year the ground was just tacky.

Richie Condon on Heaven Help Us. A brilliant ride from a 7lb claimer.

”She’s my Enable!” quote from Paul Hennessy

Put the Kettle On (or Polly as her friends call her...obviously!) silencing a few critics from last year.

The first two home in the bumper, Sir Gerhard and Kilcruit, I think have very big futures.

Mount Ida - where the feck did that come from? 999-1 in running!

Petite Mouchoir - on of my long term cliff horses. The horse ran a blinder under top weight. Do you think the owner will give me him in retirement?

Vintage Clouds rolling back the years with some great jumping

Jordan Gainsford and Lorcan Williams definitely came of age this week.

Last but not least.....Porlock Bay :<3:

As far as I can see only one fatality all week? (in the cross country)

Lows
Not many for me. I thought it was a superb meeting.
I suppose from the British point of view you can say the utter eclipse isn’t great and does need addressing
Santini and Champ. Both were disappointing. Santini really didn’t face the visor from the off. And Champ...well he just looked off.
 
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Allaho blew me away

Am sure he would have won the QM - i thought he was a boat going into it

Rachael's week

A great festival overall given all taht went before it and lack of a crowd
 
Allaho will be Willies QM horse next year I reckon.

Anyone underwhelmed by Willies week? I may well be pocket talking, and review more later on next week, but Concertista and Chacun were real disappointments.
 
Best performance was probably Allaho, maybe Honeysuckle. Honourable mentions for Bob Olinger, Shishkin & Appreciate it.

Best story was obviously Blackmore. Please for HdB as well as he seems a good guy and to win the 3 biggest races of the week is some feat. Tiger Roll obviously was fantastic to watch even if it's a bit disappointing he wasn't left in the nash.

Personal high was Bob Olinger as it was my biggest win.

Low is obviously Envoi falling. Concertista and Elimay both being chinned hurt as well.
 
Double J said:
Allaho will be Willies QM horse next year I reckon.

Anyone underwhelmed by Willies week? I may well be pocket talking, and review more later on next week, but Concertista and Chacun were real disappointments.
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Yes I get where you are coming from. For my de Bromheads horses look in fantastic shape (as do the Fostiott yard as I shall probably be calling it) whereas the Mullins horses always look too lean across their “top line”. I will explain! Basically Mullins’ horses have always lacked (in my opinion ) proper musculature especially the neckline and being the saddle and quarters. Now surely you want your horse to have as good a developed set of muscles as possible? And that comes from the right balance of feeding and training. One thing I have noticed is that his horses go out without rugs every day. Sure it possibly makes them “hard”, but it also means the horse is using up energy keeping warm?

Just my theory. Yes of course he’s had phenomenal success over the years. I’d just like to see his horses looking better!
 
jinnyj said:
Yes I get where you are coming from. For my de Bromheads horses look in fantastic shape (as do the Fostiott yard as I shall probably be calling it) whereas the Mullins horses always look too lean across their “top line”. I will explain! Basically Mullins’ horses have always lacked (in my opinion ) proper musculature especially the neckline and being the saddle and quarters. Now surely you want your horse to have as good a developed set of muscles as possible? And that comes from the right balance of feeding and training. One thing I have noticed is that his horses go out without rugs every day. Sure it possibly makes them “hard”, but it also means the horse is using up energy keeping warm?

Just my theory. Yes of course he’s had phenomenal success over the years. I’d just like to see his horses looking better!
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How do you develop that particular musculature? Does the difference come from Mullins’s trading methods? I also read that he doesn’t subscribe to the current wind operation fashion so he clearly has his own take on things (not surprisingly).
 
I shed a tear when Jack won the GC. Ever since we stood next to his mum near the winners enclosure when he won the Supreme I’ve followed his career and had a fondness for him. Perhaps not the horse result I would have wanted but jockey wise it was up there with the best. I think the icing on the cake, week wise, would have been for Petit Mouchoir to win. I want him to be recognised in racing history, having followed him for years.
 
JamesRB said:
Best performance was probably Allaho, maybe Honeysuckle. Honourable mentions for Bob Olinger, Shishkin & Appreciate it.

Best story was obviously Blackmore. Please for HdB as well as he seems a good guy and to win the 3 biggest races of the week is some feat. Tiger Roll obviously was fantastic to watch even if it's a bit disappointing he wasn't left in the nash.

Personal high was Bob Olinger as it was my biggest win.

Low is obviously Envoi falling. Concertista and Elimay both being chinned hurt as well.
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Allaho has jumped to the top of Timeform’s ratings - 178 against Chacun’s 176
 
Allaho the best. Just brutalized them. Joy to watch.
Shishkin, Bob did what you thought they would.
Enjoyed the Gold Cup.

Triumph was a let down.
Envoi obviously.
Latest Exhibition not rocking up.
 
Highs for me -
Honeysuckle - love this mare
Put The Kettle On
Rachael (and also Henry de Bromhead, a trainer I've always followed)
Tiger Roll and Vintage Clouds
Shishkin was a joy to watch as was Allaho
Petite Mouchoir coming second (like Jinny and Moe I've followed him for years)

Lows -
Loss of Kings Temptation in the Cross Country
Falls of Envoi Allen and Lisnagar Oscar (pleased both are OK)
Champ in the Gold Cup
Not a low as such but I was disappointed in the performance of Monkfish
 
barjon said:
How do you develop that particular musculature? Does the difference come from Mullins’s trading methods? I also read that he doesn’t subscribe to the current wind operation fashion so he clearly has his own take on things (not surprisingly).
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Well for me it’s all about good feeding and that means a high protein content. It’s no different to an athlete or a boxer. Personally I like a Red Mills as a feed company. (I still feed it and mine look amazing. I always got compliments on how well they looked). And then topping up with an alfalfa chaff possibly with added oil. Oil works as an addition as it’s a slow release energy. Baileys feed company uses oil as an addition but you then have to be careful to give them enough work or they can become fat....it’s one of the reasons Mark Johnston’s style of training suits being fed Baileys as he works them hard.
But all feed should be balanced with the amount of work done too. I also see that Mullins always uses “draw reins” on most of his horses while training. These are additional reins that hold the head down, presumably to force the horse to use his back more. For me though, these reins only work properly if you are able to use your legs to squeeze the horse into a proper outline (rather like a dressage horse). By not doing that I sometimes feel that the horses head is down but it’s back end is not “engaging”
Didnt know that about the wind ops.
 
So many highs!

Not too many lows.

Without really thinking too much about it the things rattling around in my head are:

Allaho
Shishkin
The Gold Cup
Blackmore
Vanillier
Belfast Banter

v

ITV
Zanahiyr
Santini & Champ
 
So does Mullins buy horses from breeders that don’t use horses with wind problems? I seem to remember someone saying years ago (not sure if it was on here) of a particular owner that only bought horses that were clean winded due to their breeding.
 
Amazing Festival. It was a tad eerie the first day with the lack of crowds but the action soon over shadowed it.

HIGHS
Minella Indo. The RSA last year was one of the most painful losses of my punting career. This made up for it and then some.
Allaho. I've been in this horse's camp for a while and was gutted he didn't take the Marsh in last year. Another where Festival form trumps winter runs
Bob Olinger

LOWS
Abacadabras falling but that's about it

The British Handicapping system. It's arse. Prior to the Ryanair Imperial Aura was rated 163 and Allaho 162. However that doesn't really matter as it was a conditions race but check the ratings before the Kim Muir:
Mount Ida 142
Cludy Glen 140
Shantou Flyer 140

Mount Ida had been running in graded novice chases in Ireland, being behind Colreevy her previous starts. The other two listed were beyond exposed handicappers and yet the mare not only beat them easily she did so despite having the worst trip through the race possible. The obvious take here is that Mount Ida was unexposed over fences and therefor 10lb well in. I don't but it. I think the British handicap is 10lbs too high.


Best Performers:
Allaho
Minella Indo
Honeysuckle

Worst performers
Harry Skelton
Paul Kealy's graded chase analysis (stick to handicaps)
Ms Cumani's wardrobe
 
Highs

Appreciate It
Shiskin
Allaho
Honeysuckle
Rachael
The Gold Cup
Galopin des Champs

Lows


Chacun Pour Soi
Blue Sari falling when looking like getting second
Blue Lord falling when looking like getting second
Envoi falling
ITV's coverage (Ruby an exception, as he was excellent)
 
jinnyj said:
Yes I get where you are coming from. For my de Bromheads horses look in fantastic shape (as do the Fostiott yard as I shall probably be calling it) whereas the Mullins horses always look too lean across their “top line”. I will explain! Basically Mullins’ horses have always lacked (in my opinion ) proper musculature especially the neckline and being the saddle and quarters. Now surely you want your horse to have as good a developed set of muscles as possible? And that comes from the right balance of feeding and training. One thing I have noticed is that his horses go out without rugs every day. Sure it possibly makes them “hard”, but it also means the horse is using up energy keeping warm?

Just my theory. Yes of course he’s had phenomenal success over the years. I’d just like to see his horses looking better!
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Edgt and I have spoken before that at any parade ring in Ireland, your eye is frequently drawn to a beautiful specimen from Noel Meade's stable and then it gets beaten by a skinny looking Mullins horse that doesn't have near the visual impact.
 
moe said:
So does Mullins buy horses from breeders that don’t use horses with wind problems? I seem to remember someone saying years ago (not sure if it was on here) of a particular owner that only bought horses that were clean winded due to their breeding.
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Not sure - can’t remember the article I read which said that Mullins favoured sorting breathing problem without recourse to surgery whenever he could. I seem to recall it said only a few of his horses had wind surgery.
 
barjon said:
Not sure - can’t remember the article I read which said that Mullins favoured sorting breathing problem without recourse to surgery whenever he could. I seem to recall it said only a few of his horses had wind surgery.
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He doesn't have a Hill to run them up as a good starter.

He also leaves his horses in pre training much longer than others.
 
Euronymous said:
The British Handicapping system. It's arse. Prior to the Ryanair Imperial Aura was rated 163 and Allaho 162. However that doesn't really matter as it was a conditions race but check the ratings before the Kim Muir:
Mount Ida 142
Cludy Glen 140
Shantou Flyer 140

Mount Ida had been running in graded novice chases in Ireland, being behind Colreevy her previous starts. The other two listed were beyond exposed handicappers and yet the mare not only beat them easily she did so despite having the worst trip through the race possible. The obvious take here is that Mount Ida was unexposed over fences and therefor 10lb well in. I don't but it. I think the British handicap is 10lbs too high.
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I don't have a problem with the handicapping. It's based on the evidence of the numbers.

I reckon the key is the interpretation of the form behind the numbers.

These are my own (MON) adjusted ratings for the three in that race:

[TABLE="width: 443"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Horse
[/TD]
[TD]Weight
[/TD]
[TD]OR
[/TD]
[TD]MON
159
[/TD]
[TD]Notes
[/TD]
[TD]RPR
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Cloudy Glen
[/TD]
[TD]11-7
[/TD]
[TD]140
[/TD]
[TD]157
[/TD]
[TD]+? p?
[/TD]
[TD]152
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Shantou Flyer
[/TD]
[TD]11-7
[/TD]
[TD]140
[/TD]
[TD]154
[/TD]
[TD]v
[/TD]
[TD]154
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Mount Ida
[/TD]
[TD]11-9
[/TD]
[TD]142
[/TD]
[TD]152
[/TD]
[TD]nov +t?
[/TD]
[TD]150
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]


Shantou Flyer had run to an RPR of 162 off 152 when touched off in the 2018 Ultima. That figure would have put him on a huge 169 in the RPR column but he hadn’t looked the same horse since and had been running in hunters.

Cloudy Glen had been a gentle improver last season, going up over the period from 127 to 135, effectively a Class 3 horse. This season he won first time up with plenty in hand (hence the +) and immediately went up to 145p (Class 2). Three disappointing runs later I was prepared to question (?) whether he was still improving and whether the apparent ease of victory was deceptive. It did occur to me that he might just have been put away for the festival but, on the day, I fancied others more.

Mount Ida is a first-season novice chases who had been working up through decent races at much shorter trips but the form book noted that she was likely to improve significantly for tackling longer trips. She would only have needed to find a total of 7lbs to have had a good chance of being up to winning the race. She certainly caught my eye when I was studying the race but by the time I checked the betting her price was making me look for value alternatives. She shortened even further during the day and the money was entirely well-placed even if it didn’t look that way early on.

I would say her mark of 142 was entirely fair based on her performances, as were those of the other two, but there was always a great likelihood that she would improve a great deal in this race. She’s the ‘type’ I look for in these races but you can often get 10/1 and better when you find them. I let this one go, to my cost.
 
Desert Orchid said:
I don't have a problem with the handicapping. It's based on the evidence of the numbers.
Click to expand...

Royal Pegaille was rated 2 lbs higher than Minella Indo before yesterday. That just can't be right, not when the latter had been placed in a race that consistently throws up Gold Cup contenders.
 
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