Lockinge

reet hard said:
The other option being that he was being tested for pace against Frankel (hence the first-time visor), with a view to him doing the proper job in the Queen Anne, over the c/d where Frankel proved most vulnerable last year
Expect whoever does the job to be leading a different horse to Excelebration, though. ;)
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Queen Anne is on the straight mile isn't it?
 
Kauto said:
I don't understand the reasoning for them to keep him in training just to beat the same horses over and over.
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keeping in training is showing the horse train on
he will face some horses that can improve as older horses( is not the same to beat Cirrus this year or 2 years ago)
and later in the season will face the 3yo
 
This Cirrus love in needs to be put into context. St Nicholas Abbey has few comparable fans, yet with a clear run would have beaten him in Dubai when everything went in Cirrus des Aigle's favour. If people want to rate Cirrus so highly, they need to revise their opinions of St Nick.
 
Hamm said:
This Cirrus love in needs to be put into context. St Nicholas Abbey has few comparable fans, yet with a clear run would have beaten him in Dubai when everything went in Cirrus des Aigle's favour. If people want to rate Cirrus so highly, they need to revise their opinions of St Nick.
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I think in this context, everyone can see it's unlikely Frankel will take St Nic on due to the differences in distances they run at whereas Cirrus will run at 1m2f and therefore on ratings, is his most creditable opponent in the 1m2f races Frankel will run in at this stage.
 
Cirrus is a much better horse on softer ground
at Dubai it was only his second run of the season and not fully fit, ground against and still won
 
Only his second run??? How many does he need to get fit?

So, Cirrus is great on ground that slows all the others up then?
 
Bar the Bull said:
Queen Anne
Sussex
Juddmonte International
Champions Stakes or QE2 depending on how he goes at York
Breeders Cup Classic or Mile
.
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Only a two week gap between the Champion Stakes and Breeders Cup makes this unlikely. Whilst Champions Day was definitely a success in 2011, it still needs moving around in the calendar.

Will also be a shame if he doesn't run in the Eclipse, I'd test him and run him in that as well between Ascot and Goodwood.

I suspect he won't run outside the UK during his career which is a shame for the world's greatest horse. If he were mine, I'd want to showcase him to the world but I appreciate Mr Abdullah's aims differ from mine!!
 
I'm not sure it's anything to do with Khalid Abdulla, who has normally been happy to send his best horses around the world, I think he's acquiescing to whatever Cecil thinks is best for this horse.
 
I can't remember a horse that takes as long to pull up as Frankel. Once he hits top gear he just wants to keep on going. The time it takes Queally to get him back after crossing the line in most of his wins is indicative of how little a mile takes out of him and a pointer to him comfortably reaching the extra distances.
Winning horses are usually a lot easier to pull up.
Potentially this could also play a part in his programme. If he were to run in all of the races queen anne, eclipse, sussex and international, plus champion stakes and breeders cup mile or turf then he might have to win one or two of these races without being let down.
I'd love to see him saunter home in a couple of these without even being asked to sprint clear. Eg) Pebbles Champion Stakes, Nijinsky King George. A **** taking length win on the bridle in a couple of these races could well help him last through the year, and it would be awesome to see. Naturally there would be a bit of 'what was Queally playing at?!' but Piggott did this all the time.
 
Gareth Flynn said:
Does the extended 10f at York not make up for the stiffness of Sandown?
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In a word, "No".
Rip Van Winkle, for instance, didn't last home in the Eclipse, so avoided the race completely the following season, taking the York International for the 10f gp1 he needed on his trophy shelf.
 
I was there on the day and have watched the video more times than I wish to admit. If Rip Van Winkle didn't stay the trip that day then the definition of 'staying' any given trip is so narrow as to render it meaningless.
 
Gareth Flynn said:
I was there on the day and have watched the video more times than I wish to admit. If Rip Van Winkle didn't stay the trip that day then the definition of 'staying' any given trip is so narrow as to render it meaningless.
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Spot on.

Better form that anything Frankel has produced for me. At the end of the day, Dubawi Gold ties down Excelebration's form, and Conduit gives them form a rock solid look at an extremely high level.
 
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