Hurricane Fly
- Thread starter Bobbyjo
- Start date
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
No. Is he good enough for the Champion? Most definitely.
I'd be taking prices for next years Champion if someone would quote them - think he's a real class act. How many of our novice hurdlers would have the speed and stamina to win a top/decent hurdle in France?
Cooldine, Glencove Marina etc. couldn't do it and they are potentially top class horses.
I'd be taking prices for next years Champion if someone would quote them - think he's a real class act. How many of our novice hurdlers would have the speed and stamina to win a top/decent hurdle in France?
Cooldine, Glencove Marina etc. couldn't do it and they are potentially top class horses.
granger
Senior Jockey
Be amazed. WM said he will be entered in all the novice races. Turning 5 he has lots of time to go for champions. Keep him amongst novice company
In fairness Glencove and Cooldine attempted it after a long hard season, Hurricane Fly did it after making his debut at Punchestown.
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
Fair points Gal and both ran well for a long way - were done for speed at the business end of the race IIRC.
It's a good theory and can probably get a big price about him Bobbyjo
It's a good theory and can probably get a big price about him Bobbyjo
I do not think it is that much out of the question. Could certainly see him get an entry in the Champion. My slight worry about him and to a greater degree Cousin Vinny is their jumping under serious pressure. He was a bit sticky today at some of these, not as bad as CV and encouraging I suppose that he jumped better the longer the race went on.
Last edited:
It will be interesting to see how all the Mullins runners are going come March. Usually the stable is slow to come to hand in the early part of the season and then hits the ground running from Christmas time onwards...but they have been winning for a long time now. Mullins mentioned it himself, and I have heard a few others say the same thing - interesting to see how he keeps them on the boil right through the season.
Now I was very impressed with Hurricane Fly today but I think talk of Champion hurdles is not just premature, it is embryonic. Just because Pandorama's bubble is burst is not a reason to lose the run of ourselves again. Hurricane Fly is a very decent horse. Travels well and can quicken which will suit him in Cheltenham.
But let's take a step back and look at what he beat. Donnas Palm clearly ran below his best. Oscar Dan Dan and Zarinava are maiden hurdle winners. Go Native won a questionable listed race the last day but had decent bumper form. Baron Del was beaten further by D E Williams, albeit Hurricane has something in hand given the ease of his win. But still, it was not a particularly competitive grade 1 when donnas palm came out.
While I'm sure Hurricane will go on to prove himself in more competitive grade ones, building him up to be a champion hurdle contender is getting well ahead of ourselves.
But let's take a step back and look at what he beat. Donnas Palm clearly ran below his best. Oscar Dan Dan and Zarinava are maiden hurdle winners. Go Native won a questionable listed race the last day but had decent bumper form. Baron Del was beaten further by D E Williams, albeit Hurricane has something in hand given the ease of his win. But still, it was not a particularly competitive grade 1 when donnas palm came out.
While I'm sure Hurricane will go on to prove himself in more competitive grade ones, building him up to be a champion hurdle contender is getting well ahead of ourselves.
Grasshopper
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
- Messages
- 16,050
Couldn't agree more, Cantoris.
Talk of Champion Hurdle participation should be trashed at every opportunity.....along with talk of Ballymore participation! :lol:
Talk of Champion Hurdle participation should be trashed at every opportunity.....along with talk of Ballymore participation! :lol:
Had Hurricane Fly won his maiden a few days earlier he would have to be aimed at the Champion Hurdle as he would have lost his novice status....so it is not that outlandish.
Obviously he would have alot to prove but there is no denying how stunningly impressive he was today. He was literally running away with his jockey on the run in.
Obviously he would have alot to prove but there is no denying how stunningly impressive he was today. He was literally running away with his jockey on the run in.
trackside528
At the Start
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2006
- Messages
- 5,377
Hugely impressive, though the point Cantoris makes about what he beat is a valid one.
Seem to remember Mullins saying Mikael D'Haguenet might not be suited to Cheltenham after his run at Navan.
Seem to remember Mullins saying Mikael D'Haguenet might not be suited to Cheltenham after his run at Navan.
trackside528
At the Start
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2006
- Messages
- 5,377
Anybody care to price him up for this year's Champion on the hypothetical assumption he is an intended starter BTW?
So he would be running on Monday instead of yesterday. There are not many novices that win a Champion and they had high class flat form....Royal Gait, Alderbrook.
On Mikhail, he has a very rounded action so I can't see Cheltenham suiting him at all and will be laying him till the cows come home. I'd imagine they will run hurricane in the supreme, cousin vinny in Ballymore and not run Mikhail at all.
"William Hill introduced the winner into the Champion Hurdle betting at 14/1, while Sean Graham go 16/1."
Irish Stamp
Forum Moderator
He beat Literato and Spirit One at 3 - both where very decent horses.
There aren't many British or Irish horses who have the class and speed to win in a French Hurdle race.
You're probably right regarding not running Mikael but he's definitely one for the future - absolutely huge and really did destroy Pandorama the last day.
Grasshopper
Senior Jockey
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2006
- Messages
- 16,050
Hurricane Fly can be backed at around 40/1 on BF for the Champion Hurdle.
Whilst I think he's very unlikely to take his chance, I've had some cover in the race, just in case - though the Supreme Novices remains absolutely the one I want to see him run in.
Whilst I think he's very unlikely to take his chance, I've had some cover in the race, just in case - though the Supreme Novices remains absolutely the one I want to see him run in.
Some of WPM's thoughts...from the Sporting Life.
Willie Mullins is plotting a route to Cheltenham with his impressive team of novices but he has all but ruled out a tilt at the Champion Hurdle with Hurricane Fly.
The French import has already won twice at the highest level this season and there had been suggestions in some quarters that Mullins may be tempted to throw the five-year-old into the mix against the best.
Instead Mullins now has the nice problem of deciding which races Hurricane Fly, Cousin Vinny and the less heralded Quiscover Fontaine run in at the Festival.
"Apart from having a good Christmas we've had an injury free Christmas also which is just as important, they all came back safe," said Mullins.
"Hurricane Fly seems to have improved again from Fairyhouse and what he did the other day (at Leopardstown) was certainly very good.
"I'm not a fan of running novices in championship events so at the moment the Champion Hurdle isn't on the radar with him.
"I know Katchit won it as a five-year-old last year but he was the first one for ages and those statistics don't give me much heart.
"He'll probably get an entry in it but it is not a thing I'd be bursting to do.
"He's already run in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle in France and in two Grade Ones in Ireland and won them both.
"Hopefully he'll have another run before Cheltenham but I want to go back to France with him and hopefully take in Punchestown as well so I don't need to be thinking about Champion Hurdles, if I can make use of his novice year I'd rather do that.
"I won't be losing sleep about which races they run in though, I only lose sleep if I have problems with them! At the moment I'm in a nice position.
"I was pleased with the way Cousin Vinny got in close to the last but still quickened up after it. It's all right horses jumping well but they've got to learn how to meet one wrong, make a mistake and get away with it.
"Plenty of horses can jump well but the minute they meet a hurdle or fence wrong they don't know what to do, it's in these little races you want them to make the errors.
"Patrick (Mullins) has done nothing wrong on the horse and knows him inside out.
"Quiscover Fontaine is improving all the time and his run the other day was a big improvement.
"He got a great ride from Emmet (Mullins), he was very cool on him, he was awfully confident and he came home like a steam train.
"I'm looking forward to him, he might be harder to place but he's obviously got more speed than he showed us last year as a bumper horse.
"He was very backward last year but has put it all together this year, if the ground dries up he'll probably step up in trip.
"I definitely see him running at Punchestown and he'll be entered in all the novice races at Cheltenham."
One of Willie Mullins' army of top-class novice hurdlers takes another step up the ladder on Sunday when Mikael D'Haguenet contests the Goffs Slaney Hurdle at Naas.
Mullins is also responsible rising stars Cousin Vinny and Hurricane Fly, who dominate the ante-post lists for Cheltenham's novice events in March.
However, Mikael D'Haguenet appeared on the radar after slamming Noel Meade's previously unbeaten Pandorama in the Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial at Navan by seven lengths on only his second run for Mullins.
"I imagine he did surprise me how easy he won the last day but I think Pandorama probably had on off day," said Mullins.
"Our horse is improving and Noel's had had three quick races but to win a Grade One like that, well, we were delighted all the same.
"He is a huge horse, I must measure him but he is probably over 16.2 hands. What he is doing over hurdles is surprising us somewhat because we bought him as a chaser.
"He's having to give weight away being a Grade One winner in a Grade Two but he should handle the ground OK, he goes left-handed and we are hoping for another good run.
"He will have an entry for Cheltenham but I'd be very worried about him coming down the hill on good ground, the size of him.
"A lot of horses run at Cheltenham and don't run again for a good while after. They go some gallop coming down that hill and there's only one hurdle in the last half-mile, I'd rather see a few more hurdles."
Taking him on is Paul Nolan's Clan Tara, winner of two of his three starts under Rules, but the County Wexford handler is well aware of the task.
"Our horse would have to improve an awful lot to get into the reckoning," said Nolan.
"He's a nice sort but a typical chasing type in the making. The ground won't be as bad as it was the last day but I don't think he'll be up to that standard over hurdles, I'm hoping he'll turn into a better chaser."
Dessie Hughes hopes Western Charmer will make amends for running out at the final flight when a close fourth in the race won by The Bishop Looney at Cork last month.
"We don't quite know what he did the last day. He was leaning out to the left away from the hurdle and ran out," said the Kildare trainer.
"Hopefully we'll know our strength when he's taken on those horses on Sunday.
"The form of his Punchestown win has been well franked since and he's in good form."
Willie Mullins is plotting a route to Cheltenham with his impressive team of novices but he has all but ruled out a tilt at the Champion Hurdle with Hurricane Fly.
The French import has already won twice at the highest level this season and there had been suggestions in some quarters that Mullins may be tempted to throw the five-year-old into the mix against the best.
Instead Mullins now has the nice problem of deciding which races Hurricane Fly, Cousin Vinny and the less heralded Quiscover Fontaine run in at the Festival.
"Apart from having a good Christmas we've had an injury free Christmas also which is just as important, they all came back safe," said Mullins.
"Hurricane Fly seems to have improved again from Fairyhouse and what he did the other day (at Leopardstown) was certainly very good.
"I'm not a fan of running novices in championship events so at the moment the Champion Hurdle isn't on the radar with him.
"I know Katchit won it as a five-year-old last year but he was the first one for ages and those statistics don't give me much heart.
"He'll probably get an entry in it but it is not a thing I'd be bursting to do.
"He's already run in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle in France and in two Grade Ones in Ireland and won them both.
"Hopefully he'll have another run before Cheltenham but I want to go back to France with him and hopefully take in Punchestown as well so I don't need to be thinking about Champion Hurdles, if I can make use of his novice year I'd rather do that.
"I won't be losing sleep about which races they run in though, I only lose sleep if I have problems with them! At the moment I'm in a nice position.
"I was pleased with the way Cousin Vinny got in close to the last but still quickened up after it. It's all right horses jumping well but they've got to learn how to meet one wrong, make a mistake and get away with it.
"Plenty of horses can jump well but the minute they meet a hurdle or fence wrong they don't know what to do, it's in these little races you want them to make the errors.
"Patrick (Mullins) has done nothing wrong on the horse and knows him inside out.
"Quiscover Fontaine is improving all the time and his run the other day was a big improvement.
"He got a great ride from Emmet (Mullins), he was very cool on him, he was awfully confident and he came home like a steam train.
"I'm looking forward to him, he might be harder to place but he's obviously got more speed than he showed us last year as a bumper horse.
"He was very backward last year but has put it all together this year, if the ground dries up he'll probably step up in trip.
"I definitely see him running at Punchestown and he'll be entered in all the novice races at Cheltenham."
One of Willie Mullins' army of top-class novice hurdlers takes another step up the ladder on Sunday when Mikael D'Haguenet contests the Goffs Slaney Hurdle at Naas.
Mullins is also responsible rising stars Cousin Vinny and Hurricane Fly, who dominate the ante-post lists for Cheltenham's novice events in March.
However, Mikael D'Haguenet appeared on the radar after slamming Noel Meade's previously unbeaten Pandorama in the Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial at Navan by seven lengths on only his second run for Mullins.
"I imagine he did surprise me how easy he won the last day but I think Pandorama probably had on off day," said Mullins.
"Our horse is improving and Noel's had had three quick races but to win a Grade One like that, well, we were delighted all the same.
"He is a huge horse, I must measure him but he is probably over 16.2 hands. What he is doing over hurdles is surprising us somewhat because we bought him as a chaser.
"He's having to give weight away being a Grade One winner in a Grade Two but he should handle the ground OK, he goes left-handed and we are hoping for another good run.
"He will have an entry for Cheltenham but I'd be very worried about him coming down the hill on good ground, the size of him.
"A lot of horses run at Cheltenham and don't run again for a good while after. They go some gallop coming down that hill and there's only one hurdle in the last half-mile, I'd rather see a few more hurdles."
Taking him on is Paul Nolan's Clan Tara, winner of two of his three starts under Rules, but the County Wexford handler is well aware of the task.
"Our horse would have to improve an awful lot to get into the reckoning," said Nolan.
"He's a nice sort but a typical chasing type in the making. The ground won't be as bad as it was the last day but I don't think he'll be up to that standard over hurdles, I'm hoping he'll turn into a better chaser."
Dessie Hughes hopes Western Charmer will make amends for running out at the final flight when a close fourth in the race won by The Bishop Looney at Cork last month.
"We don't quite know what he did the last day. He was leaning out to the left away from the hurdle and ran out," said the Kildare trainer.
"Hopefully we'll know our strength when he's taken on those horses on Sunday.
"The form of his Punchestown win has been well franked since and he's in good form."
Just looking at the betting for the Irish Champion.
If it starts raining and the ground turns testing for Leopardstown in two weeks then there surely must be a big doubt about the likes of Sublimity,Harchibald,Jered and Won In The Dark.
If a few of these dont turn up, I think Mullins will find it very hard not to run Hurricane Fly in the Irish Champion as he will have no problem with the ground, it will be a small field and it would allow him to run something like Cousin Vinny in the Grade 1 for novices on the same card.
Running in the Irish Champion does not mean he would have to run at Cheltenham in the Champion. He could always revert to the novice contest at the festival.
If it starts raining and the ground turns testing for Leopardstown in two weeks then there surely must be a big doubt about the likes of Sublimity,Harchibald,Jered and Won In The Dark.
If a few of these dont turn up, I think Mullins will find it very hard not to run Hurricane Fly in the Irish Champion as he will have no problem with the ground, it will be a small field and it would allow him to run something like Cousin Vinny in the Grade 1 for novices on the same card.
Running in the Irish Champion does not mean he would have to run at Cheltenham in the Champion. He could always revert to the novice contest at the festival.
granger
Senior Jockey
No,not at all. on the positive side however,he would have had to have been ready to race yesterday so he shouldn't really need that much more work