Recent greats - Moscow Flyer and Istabraq went from producing peak performances to failing to get serious involved pretty quickly. Imagine it is even tougher for the stayers to "gradually decline" rather than just falling off completely?
Hunches For The Season Ahead...
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Distance steeplechasers are the toughest of racehorses. They have to be to get good at being a distance steeplechaser. Unless anything is physically wrong they will continue to hold 90%+ of their form this season. Which of course is why you see the usual suspects turning up in staying steeplechases year after year.
There may be something to this of course. He didn't look right to me at Punchestown either. Hopefully they can fix him afresh this term.
:lol:
Apart from the fact that Kauto Star has been on the go for many years and will be 11 next year there was no sign of decline last year at all .
The KG was probably the most brilliant performance of his career and at Cheltenham he made a terrible crunching mistake off a very odd and slow early pace and never recovered from it leading to the fall .
Had he not made that mistake I think he would have won the GC .
The KG was probably the most brilliant performance of his career and at Cheltenham he made a terrible crunching mistake off a very odd and slow early pace and never recovered from it leading to the fall .
Had he not made that mistake I think he would have won the GC .
Moscow was pretty much the same though - he went to nothing after his very best season.
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
Indeed Ardross - it's an astonishing record really given he contested his first graded hurdle in October 2003 and was 39/1 for his first graded win in May the following year.
Living legend
Living legend
Fair enough but he was a year older - he was brilliant at 10-11 years .
The eeenormous chestnut who's just won the opening hurdle at Punchestown today, SEAFIELD, beating DATOKEPE and a very fit BIG ROBERT just on the line - watch him when he goes over the big 'uns. Still a bit babyish, but with a dazzling turn of foot for such a big horse.
To be fair, I got this one very wrong (& you it right), and if he puts up a similar performance, he will most likely win.
Not sure what can come out of the pack, and not convinced Master Minded will come back - Nicholls talks a good game with all his horses but this one I'd be worried about.
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Gearoid
Guest
Pandorama wants a left handed track. Cooldine will get a pipe opener over a shorter distance. I think an Arkle winner stepping up in distance to take him on shows no one is running scared.
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I disagree - they sound like they know they cannot beat him. De Bromhead has nothing to lose - if SE gets slapped by Kauto he can go back to his plan to train him for the Champion . The owner is apparently keen on going for the staying races .
chroniclandlord
Senior Jockey
Cooldine is not expected out until December.
It's not as if Ireland is overrun with top class chasers, champing at the bit to uphold the nation's pride. Cooldine may materialise as a contender but has an enormous amount to prove. You'd need a vivid imagination to foresee Pandorama or Kempes putting in 170+ performances, and I'm severely struggling with "et al".
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Bar the Bull
At the Start
Joncol might be an "al"?
If Schindler's Hunt recovers from his death, he might have a chance.
Other than that, I am struggling, too.
If Schindler's Hunt recovers from his death, he might have a chance.
Other than that, I am struggling, too.
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Gearoid
Guest
Pandorama might be capable of 170 performance but it will come on a left handed track with ease in the ground.
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Gearoid
Guest
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Given the conditions you state, 3 miles plus left-handed on testing ground, he's probably capable of being competitive against any of the Irish stayers which I would grudgingly say means he'd make it into the 160's. He's more Rince Ri than Beef or Salmon though.
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Bar the Bull
At the Start
Hopefully at Cheltenham, anyway.