Novice Chasers 2011-12

whoosh! He jumped at speed, and looked, even more than Al ferof and Peddlers Cross, like a really fast 2 miler. A very, very exciting prospect.
 
Very impressed with Sprinter Sacre there.

Back at Cheltenham, frustrating that Sam Winner came down. He'd jumped well and seemed to be travelling strongly when he departed.
 
Katharine said:
Very impressed with Sprinter Sacre there.

Back at Cheltenham, frustrating that Sam Winner came down. He'd jumped well and seemed to be travelling strongly when he departed.
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I don't think Ruby was holding on to much myself, though it's only conjecture.
 
Katharine said:
Very impressed with Sprinter Sacre there.

Back at Cheltenham, frustrating that Sam Winner came down. He'd jumped well and seemed to be travelling strongly when he departed.
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Didn't get to see the race, so interested in your comments Katherine.

I will try and get a look at the replay later on.
 
Looking at the fall, hezz, Sam Winner was skewed in the air, to the left again, and gravity took over. Otherwise he hadn't done anything wrong up to that point.

I'd think Nicholls might now try to find a softer race for him somewhere, just to try to get a clear round into him. If I held any ante post bets on him, though, I don't think I'd be confident about them at this stage.
 
SlimChance said:
Sprinter Sacre? I missed it. 7/1 best offer for the Arkle,
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He looked very, very quick, both on the ground and especially getting over and away from his fences. Was very fresh, and Bass had the good sense to let him stride on about 5 out, and let him jump at speed.
 
Ok, thanks for the update Katherine. Sounds like when it came to the business end, concentration lapsed and the tendency to jump left kicked in again. Not ideal. He is still young, so perhaps if he is to be a force over fences, it will be season 12/13.

I have a position on him, but it's quite small. Won't be losing sleep over it.
 
SteveM said:
I tend to keep a blue-print horse in my head as a sort of template for certain races (not necessarily the best horse in the world but one that’s suited). The one I’ve got for the Arkle is Remittance Man. When a horse starts to remind me of him I start to take notice.
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...I'm starting to take notice!... I've got SS at 10/1 for the Arkle and am delighted. Whoever wins the Arkle will have to be very good.
 
Yeah, the horse had Arkle written all over him as soon as the Supreme was run. He just looked the most likely of the front four to make a chaser.
 
They say things come in 3's.

Arkle
Kauto Star
Sprinter Sacre ?

I've seen some top notch novices but this guy completely blew me away.

Albeit Peddlar's Cross was a far superior hurdler I'm prepared to file that info in the bin.

Sprinter Sacre the novice chaser looks like he'd eat Peddlar's Cross for breakfast over fences and I reckon he really is that good.

I wouldn't swap my bets for anything I think he a good thing for the Arkle and that will just be for starters.

Even after only one run I have him down as the best novice I have seen since Killiney

I doubt if I'd get any argumant about that from Seven Barrows .

Nicky was so embarrassed about how good he thinks this horse is, he couldn't talk about him until after the race.

Great bet at 10/1 Steve keep a firm grip on it.
 
You forgot to take your tablet this morning Tanlic... Peddlers will beat him doing forward flips.. Welcome by the way!:D
 
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Cheers OTB.

He's a cracking horse Peddlar's Cross no doubting that and he's with a man who knows what he's doing but whether he will be able to reach the heights ever fences he did over hurdles remain to be seen

The best Hurdler of all time IMO was Bula. He won 21 consequitive Hurdle races as has Big Bucks but he enver quite reached the same heights over fences.

A very good example of the difference between fencing and hurdling and how the hurdling form can mean very little can be measured between Sizing Europe and

Sizing Europe actually beat Big Zeb over hurdles and cantered all over the top of him. A couple of races later SE made Hardy Eustace and co look like a boats and ent on to all but win the Champion Hurdle due to an injury when looking all over the winner.

In the meantime Big Zeb is being beat 1/2 the track by Catch Me so they give up and send him over fences.

While SE may be the better at the moment there certainly isn't the difference between them their was over hurdles. It's a totally different ball game is chasing.

I'm convinved Sprinter Sacre is the real deal I'm not so sure Peddlars Cross is going to be anywhere near as good over fences as he was hurdles, but time will tell
 
Sprinter Sacre was decent on Friday, no doubt about it, but Peddlers Cross has been very good on two occasions already, beating superior rivals to those faced by Sprinter Sacre. I struggle to see how you can be so confident that a 149 rated hurdler that has won one novice chase, can definitely beat a 170 rated hurdler who has looked every bit as good over fences.

As far as I'm concerned Peddlers Cross has always looked a chaser in the making and I see no reason whatsoever why he will not be every bit as good over fences as he was over hurdles, and for my money a bit better too. He is already rated 160+ and he hasn't been stretched yet. He is exceptional and it is testament to his ability that McCain has forgone easy takings in the 2m hurdle division to send him chasing. Take the hint, he will take all the beating in the Arkle. On hurdles form Sprinter Sacre has got to improve 21lbs to match Peddlers and I cannot see that big a swing.

He was entitled to be weak last year but I do have one big concern re Sprinter Sacre and that is how he came up the hill in the Supreme. He lost any amount of ground between approaching the last and the line. I think he was stopping rather than Al Ferof flying at the death. His two main rivals, Peddlers Cross and Al Ferof, have both proven that they come up the hill very strongly indeed. Sprinter Sacre looked weak last season by comparison. He went from travelling strongly to stopping pretty quickly. He will need to come up the hill far stronger to have any chance in the Arkle. That said he is only 5 (both Peddlers and Al Ferof are 6) and is sure to have strengthened but I just don't see it.

The one thing in his favour is that Henderson is very keen on him indeed. I think his reputation is built more on what the trainer has said about him than what he has done on the track. He looks a hype horse to me.
 
I did say to others that i thought Peddlers was too short at this early....not least as there was others to come. Sacre is a class horse and looks a proper challenger. I'm not an Al Ferof fan (for the arkle)
 
It's all in the eyes Zenyatta. Sometime very occasionally something blows you mind and knocks your socks off.

It's way too earely to say Pedddlar's Crosss is every bit as good over fences as he was over hurdles I certainly haven't seen any Hurricane Fly's around testing him over the larger obstacles.

He's not the straightest of jumpers Peddlars Cross he wandered left and right at several fences last time and while economical brilliant doesn't come to mind.

He's a low jumper and doesn't give his fences a lot of room and actually came close to making a serious error when upping the tempo to shake off Minella Class.

He is a very clever horse but even so we may find his jumping doesn't hold together when stepped up in class,

I should add why would you bring hurdle ratings into it? Sprinter Sacre's objective was never to win a Champion Hurdle or run in numerous Grade 1's in that shpere, it was to give him race course experience.

He wasn't even trained to win the Suprme, Spirit Son was SS's job was to run in it and get some experience which he did and was roughed off the next day.




Sprinter Sacre? well he's Gazelle like, confident, brave as lion, very fast, he has it all.

If you saw them both run with no history known Sprinter Sacre would stand out head and shoulders above him
 
Sprinter Sacre is just what you would want to see from his only appearance over fences to date, I'd agree. A seemingly brilliant (natural) fast jumper. He doesn’t appear to have any real faults at this stage – except that you would hope he is not too exuberant, if he is he could really come a cropper if missing one.

Peddler’s on the other hand has a real engine and if a less brilliant jumper is a more deliberate one. This is no bad thing round Cheltenham though. He makes the right shape at his jumps.

It seems to me that one or other of these are likely to win the Arkle on what we have seen so far. Different styles though. If SS wins he’ll win it on his jumping (but could lose it on his jumping also). If Peddler’s wins it will be a more deliberate round of jumping which relies on his class between fences.
 
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Sprinter Sacre reminds of Finian's Rainbow last year. A perfectly good proposition for the Arkle...but will he win it? He very well could but I simply think Peddler's is a better horse.
 
On The Bridle said:
Sprinter Sacre reminds of Finian's Rainbow last year. A perfectly good proposition for the Arkle...but will he win it? He very well could but I simply think Peddler's is a better horse.
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Very little to go on, but on what we have seen Peddler's is the better horse (indeed it's quite difficult to imagine a better novice chasing prospect). On the other hand SS is breathtaking on the very limited evidence we have.
 
I'm not going to have a dash at Sprinter Sacre, because I think he is a very promising novice chaser indeed, but I really don't get where his supporters think he is a stag compared to Peddlers Cross.

PC got the "jumped well" comment in his maiden chase, and barely put a foot wrong second time out either. SS jumped beautifully in his own maiden chase, but then again - he had nothing in opposition that was ever likely to get him under any kind of pressure.

I can't see, on the evidence so far, how people can define one as 'careful' and the other as 'exuberant'. They both look like they are heading to the top, and suggestions of vulnerability on one side or the other, appear to be the product of adopted ante-post positions, rather than any race-course evidence.
 
Like I say I believe Peddler’s is a very solid jumper and the sort that will jump round very well at Cheltenham. SS is a real natural though, but if anything his exuberance could be his undoing. Both are splendid and I believe one or other of them will win the Arkle.
 
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