Novice Chasers 2016/2017

Grasshopper said:
Basically won the race without ever having to get into a race, Art. That's larceny any way ai look at it - even if it wasn't intentional.

The rest of the jockey's want a boot up their holes. Shockingly inept.
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After looking at this race again I think we're not giving enough credit to Accapella Bourgeois, Nick. Larceny is when a horse is let get away,the rest of the field are too late reacting and don't close it down in time. But yesterday even when they did wake up the rest of the field could make no inroads into AB's lead the whole way up the straight, he was in a different league to his opposition.
 
If ever there was a race when the rest of the field were too late reacting, it was this one. AB was able to build-up a massive-lead without having to take anything out of himself, hence why he was still full of running at the end. It's probably less to do with larceny, and more to do with delinquency on the part of everyone except Loughran, to be fair.
 
The jockeys in behind:-

Walsh, Geraghty, Cooper, Townend, Russell, Kennedy.

No lack of quality there!


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From the Racing Post

Acapella rises more than a stone after solo display

BY RICHARD FORRISTAL 7:40PM 20 FEB 2017

THE TURF CLUB's senior handicapper Noel O'Brien has hailed Acapella Bourgeois' pillar-to-post rout in Sunday's Ten Up Novice Chase as "staggering" and given it the official stamp of approval by hiking his rating by 15lb to 158.

It is a mark just 2lb shy of the injured Min and only 3lb adrift of established Grade 1 performer Don Poli, who was rated 156 before he won the 2015 RSA Chase.
The progressive seven-year-old's RSA odds were cut to around 16-1 (from 33) after his 32-length Navan demolition, and BoyleSports cut him again on Monday to 12-1. Bet365 quote just 9-1.

Acapella Bourgeois is now the highest rated horse in the RSA, 4lb superior to market leader Might Bite's BHA rating of 154, although trainer Sandra Hughes has stressed that Acapella Bourgeois wouldn't run at Cheltenham on good ground.

"It was a staggering performance, and he gave the last fence plenty of light as well - he wasn't stopping," said O'Brien on Monday.

'Hard to find a flaw'

Much of the post-race debate focused on Acapella Bourgeois being granted a soft lead. However, O'Brien did not feel the need to treat the performance with a pinch of salt.
"You can talk about the testing ground and tactics or whatever, but the other horses ran to their ratings and in sequence, and he just looked in a different league," he said.
"There was nothing coasting in behind. Ruby Walsh sat closest to him on Haymount, and he paid the price.

"It's very hard to find a flaw in Sunday's form, although Anibale Fly was struggling from an early stage. There was no 120-horse lurking in there dragging the form down and Acapella Bourgeois slaughtered them. Some of his jumping was spectacular, and my thinking was, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck."
O'Brien added: "The 158 is a huge rating for a novice, although it's still lower than Min, who I have on 160."

Ground is key

Jockey Walsh echoed O'Brien's sentiments, reflecting: "It was a good performance by the winner. My horse faded from the second-last and I couldn't keep going off the pace I set out on. Acapella Bourgeois deserves credit for the win."
 
I was certainly impressed by AB yesterday-I thought it was a phenomenal performance.That race is traditionally a serious test of stamina and you often see horses failing to get home.Rubys horse ran his race and was beaten fair and square-he looks like running in the 4 miler and 16/1 nrnb looks a very fair price.If AB acts on the ground at the festival he could provide the performance of the week.
 
It was a stunning display by AB alright. Initially thought he'd just benefited from a soft lead (as did many others) and he'll just be outpaced at Cheltenham. But I'd missed that the others were making no impression in the last mile and therefore think he just improved massively for the step up to 3m. Possibly even capable of serving it up to Might Bite. The 16/1 with Hill's concession looks very fair


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Sometimes in very heavy ground it simply becomes almost impossible to make up ground. I'm not saying that's the case here and will be going high with the winner but it might have been a case of the winner doing his own thing and the others having their own separate race.
 
You are right DO; Chester is widely considered a front runners track. But stats tell a different story, the track is most suited to a bridle horse, one that loves a fast pace and can pounce.
But when the ground is heavy; front runners are very hard to pull back....O I Oyston would appear to improve a stone and a half for such conditions.
He would go off very fast, opening a gap, jockey's behind didn't know what to do, mostly they probably thought he'd come back; invariably he'd be legless at the finish but always seemed to hang on.
He's creating a gap when the tank is full, they're trying to close one on empty, plus the character of the course doesn't allow for surges at certain points so they have to wait.
 
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Desert Orchid said:
Sometimes in very heavy ground it simply becomes almost impossible to make up ground. I'm not saying that's the case here and will be going high with the winner but it might have been a case of the winner doing his own thing and the others having their own separate race.
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It certainly was a case of the winner doing his own thing, and you'd like to see him confirm the level he apparently achieved in a more competitive situation. The handicapper doesn't have much choice but to take it at face value though and I will too but with that caveat in mind.
 
Races like that can leave a mark too. Putting up tha kind of performance so close to the Festival and repeating it is unlikely.

For what it's worth I think the tactics described are precisely what they should do with Thistlecrack in the Gold Cup. Scudamore should pile it on in the back straight a let the rest worry about getting to him.
 
Not sure if public knowledge, apologies if it'ss been mentioned somewhere else, but Diamond King has had a wind op since his run at Christmas.
 
No entries at the Festival, unfortunately - I checked before the race, after losing my chuckies on him in the Coral Cup last season.

Lovely performance today - despite the scare stories at the last two. Otherwise he jumped in exemplary fashion - real fast and low.
 
Great sit by McGarvey after the last. The blunder at the second last might have cost him the race but he'd put enough distance between himself and the others fortunately. Identity Thief looks a shadow of the horse who promised much in the early part of the season


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gus said:
Only buttons involved but there was a few quid on the exchange today looking to back Altior for the Arkle at 3.8 and 3.85 so I've put my money where my mouth is and laid him. I'm not a layer by nature nor do I particularly like to tie cash up for months but it's the principle of the thing.
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I posted this back in September.

It's gone well since.
 
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