Hobbs Hill

S

Sara

At the Start
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Jul 25, 2006
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The horse was very lucky to survive that. He hadn't been jumping well at the start, then settled down and jumped well - but met that one all wrong - imo because Brennan got after him at just the wrong moment. Any opinions?

If he'd sat quiet in spite of the horses coming up behind him the horse I believe HH wouldn't have panicked and put in a few short ones. Horrible to watch, thank God both horses got up. don't think we will see HH in the RSA after that exhibition, hardly a confidence booster
 
Honestly thought he was a gonna after that fall, so glad he got up... :) ...

Why is it that some horses survive a horrendous fall like that , and others have a fall similar or no were near as bad yet dont survive ?...
Are some horses more flexible than others ..are some tougher ... or is it down to luck ...


Beats me why shrug::
 
From Racing Post ....

He holds entries in the Ryanair Chase and Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival next month but will be given time to recover before Egerton's team assess their options.
Frank Berry, racing manager for McManus, said: "He was quite sore leaving the racecourse yesterday but he's fine really this morning.

"He is still sore and it was a bad fall but it was just good to see him get up after it.

"He has a bit of bruising so we'll just see how he is in a week or so. He had jumped well up to that point and I'm just happy he got up

:)
 
On a different note - I wonder whether we are going to see a new Cathcart for novices at the Festival as they seek to add races ? - it does seem to be missed - that is where the HHs of the past would surely have been going .

The problem will be an echo of the Ryanair issue I imagine . Risk of undermining the Arkle or the RSA Chase - but carrying a massive weight in the Jewson is no alternative is it ?
 
Isn`t HH absent from Cheltenham because the trainer reckons he needs a flat track though?

Speaking of absentees, Keith Reveley hates the place and has a right pop in one of the red tops today - can`t remember which one as it was just lying around at work. Tazbar wont be at the Festival though.
 
The death of Green Belt Flyer today at Fontwell from also falling on his neck and then bouncing on his back just goes to show what a lucky horse HH was. HH's fall was visually far worse...

No-one has any opinions on why the fall happened then? If anyone can watch the replay - which I can't so I'm just going on the impressions I had watching 'live' - I'd be interested in what others think. It was very much my feeling at the time that it was 'jockey panic' - I was yelling 'stop that ffs!!!' at the telly as he got after HH...... Tho I'm an admirer of Brennan on the whole and think he's done wonders for Twister this season.
 
I posted my thoughts last night but they were lost in the ether ~ I agree that Paddy Brennan can get a bit panicky and cause novices to get unbalanced although Hobbs Hill isn't the greatest at fiddling as yet either.
 
Heads, I feel that Brennan must take some of the blame...................looked like a death or glory effort to me and he almost succeeded in the case of the former.
 
Heads: While I understand that its hard to "blame" the jockey (surely every self-respecting punter will tell you -us- its the bl*** jockeys job to win a race) I do feel to that Paddy Brennan is to blame, it certainly wasn´t because of him that HH is still alive. Horse got tired and was sending out distress-signals and he did ask for a mighty one only that Howle Hill was not able to deliver anymore. Its a split-second desicion for sure and when booking Brennan I suppose one knows that he would not be taking any prisoners (I did say this already in an other forum); I feel he should have been asking for a safe one, but that would have cost the race for sure.... (well, I (capital I) know that what happend could have cost the horses life, but that does not seem the way jockeys "think" in the heat of the moment) ....
 
Paddy Brennan had to go for the horse then, and the only way the odds on fav was going to win the race is if he used his jumping to keep him ahead. Not the jockeys fault, just as it wasnt the jockey's fault on Pur De Savola, nor was it the jockey's fault that Green Belt Flyer died.
 
For me, it depends on the situation. Its not black and white. I dont think Brennan did anything unduly dangerous. He felt the horse coming back underneath him, and having see two horses closing in, he asked for more. He trusted the horse (a novice with an unusual jumping technique, i think) to come up and he didnt. I didnt back any horse in the race but you have to give the horse the chance to disappoint you. Had he pottered into the bottom of the fence and came out 3l down, the race might be lost, and to me he wouldnt be doing any better job.
 
I have only watched the race once but the horse was definitely coming to the end of his tether - which struck me as surprising given his relentless galloping on stiffer tracks like Ascot, Hexham and Newbury.

I don't however think he was "drunk on his feet" at the stage of the fall, and I think it is very harsh to blame Brennan for the fall. There are numerous examples every week of apprently tired horses still managing to jump well enough to stay in contention or even win races, on far stiffer tracks than Kempton and in bottomless ground.
 
I was at Kempton too myself on Saturday and have to say that even though I wasnt close to the fence where HH fell (I was closer to winninng post) it looked a novicey/tired fall and I dont think any blame can be placed on the jockey. Like previously mentioned in this thread - its a fine line for jockey at that stage of a race on a novice - do you push a horse to make that jump or hold on to him and hope he gets over. I dont think he would have won if he had stood up and that the probable winner was Pir De Sivola.

(I had backed Pancake!)
 
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

yes, sorry to see pancake flop like that...


As for Brennan and HH, interesting to get everyone's views. My own feeling is that Brennan's actions when he felt the other two coming unbalanced the horse, and *could* therefore have been the cause of the fall, as his flailing prompted the horse to put in three short ones instead of two long ones... so HH didn't meet the fence correctly. If left left alone, he *may* have met it right and jumped clear, as it was he lost essential momentum going into the fence. Wish I could watch it again.

As others have said - in that situation it's a very fine call, but the very fact I started yelling at the telly tells me something... wonder whether those who ride see it differently from those who never have. Anyway, HH lives to fight another day, and so does PB, which is all that counts
 
i saw the race again yesterday, and Brennan left the horse alone for the final three strides into the fence. I'm guessing that the jockey cant win in that sort of situation.
 
I'm in the same camp as Heads, I had that feeling and was holding my breath expecting the worst.................he was going too fast on a tired horse, in my opinion.
 
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