Novice Chasers 2015/16

A lot of horses won't be ready at this time of the year. It's early enough.
 
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Not exactly relevant though, Archie....imo anyway.

Horses at that level are going to come back in Graded races, which are deeper into the season, and not some tinpot event at a gaff track. If the inference is that Mullins under-runs his horses, bear in mind that whilst they might not start until November, they're generally kept on the go right through to Punchestown - and for some of them, often beyond to Auteuil too.

I'm not disputing the fact that 2-runners is a poor turnout for the money, but the problem is with the placement of the race in the calendar, rather than with trainers cotton-wooling horses. The ground will also be a factor - especially so in a novice-chase - and the exceedingly-mild Autumn will undoubtedly have played its part in the lack of declarations.
 
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Here's the novice events ran in the UK since the first of September. Date, course, runners, value to winner and the hurdles ratings in the "open" contests.

I'm not a fan of the novices' handicaps but trainers apparently are and they've sapped the bulk of potential runners from the open novices. Doesn't help that the pool is relatively small to begin with. Interestingly, the beginners chases attract larger fields than novice evens despite the lower prize money.

Novices
2/9 Sou 4 £5 Indian Stream (119) (3rd run over fences OR124)
8/9 Wor 4 £3.8 Ittirad (148)
18/9 Nab 4 £3.9 Dormello Mo (138) (4th run over fences OR144)
24/9 Per 3 £6.9 Cyrus Darius (153)
1/10 Ban 3 £5.2 Weather Babe (133)

Beginners
5/9 Str 6 £3.9 Hepijeu (120)
9/9 Utt 6 £3.9 Ballykan (122)
25/9 Wor 10 £3.9 Vintage Vinnie (121)

Novice handicaps
2/9 Wor 5 £3.9
3/9 Sed 5 £4.5
7/9 Per 6 £4.5
8/9 Wor 7 £3.8
14/9 Str 9 £3.2
20/9 Plu 9 £4.2
23/9 Per 7 £3.8
29/9 Sed 7 £3.2
30/9 Chp 10 £6.5

I'm not too fussed about small field sizes in novice events since the entire purpose is to steadily introduce budding chasers to the competitive game. It would be nice if there were deeper fields in order to better evaluate the form but that would be more for the benefit of the punter/purist than for the horse.
 
Quality novice at Chepstow this afternoon. The winner It's A Close Call jumped well but the one to take out of the race is Beast of Burden. Travelled greet and would of won with his head in chest if not walking through the second last and getting rid of Paul Towned. Assuming no ill effects from that, he could go on to be top class
 
UDS fell on his first start last year, Moscow fell in his first chase, Kauto unseated very early in his career

These novices will make mistakes. As long as they learn from it, no harm done
 
Vautour nearly fell on his 2nd start as well. They'll learn to jump high enough even when on the wrong stride.
 
Black Hercules will set out on a novice chase campaign in the next couple of months in a bid to put behind him a poor run in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.Connections have always felt the Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old would come into his own over fences and are about to give him the chance.
"He was disappointing. I think he might have been over-hyped," Wylie told At The Races.
"He won two races, both at Cork, and didn't win a Grade One race over hurdles so we may have thought he was better than he was.
"He's going novice chasing this season, so he might be much better over fences.
"He does look like chaser and he'll be out in the next month or two. That will give us an indication where to go.
"He ran a great race in the Champion Bumper (fourth to Silver Concorde in 2014), so he does handle the track and I'm not sure what happened last year in the novice hurdle, but he was always destined to be a novice chaser and a chaser in the making.
"I'm hoping he can repeat his Champion Bumper form and then he could be up there with the best of them."
Click to expand...
 
Didn't Patrick buy him and sell him on to the Wylies? Always looked to have a touch of the slows but if he jumps he might be a NH Chase type.
 
A wise man once told me you need to be able to spot a good horse but it is twice as important you know a bad horse and a bad judge when you see them....Black Hercules is a bad one but then again maybe I am a bad judge and I havent spotted it.....to each his own

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I think our new one Pearl Swan will trouble the judge a few times this season. Pleased with his run at Chepstow Saturday
 
Vintage Vinnie has impressed me the most so far this season. Good luck with Pearl, Roddy - I will be following his progress with interest.
 
A nice round today from The Game Changer. Both Gordon Elliott and Brian Cooper seemed confident he'd be OK stepping up in class, but looks like he needs decent ground and a flattish track. One for the spring I think
 
I was hoping to see NMH going for RSA this year. They are obv looking long term and saving him.
 
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