Novice Chasers 2017/2018

swedish chef said:
I concede your point They are obviously closer together than their Timeform marks. Two of the best two mile chasers we have seen and we have been spoilt in this division over the years. Long may it continue. Possibly Altior & Footpad?
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If Footpad handles good ground as well as he does heavy I would back him to outgun Altior.

That is one big if
 
Footpad's Good ground efforts over hurdles, wouldn't be very far behind his efforts on softer ground - if they're behind at all.

I would have no worries about him acting on it over fences, and still being able to produce his best (or close enough to it that it barely matters).
 
What races on good ground ? He ran on it twice and was beaten both times. Once by the horse he just kicked into touch after he couldn't go the early pace and the other in a very poor renewal of the Triumph.
 
Footpad's run in the Irish Champion Hurdle on Good ground, when beaten 1L by Petit Mouchoir, is almost certainly as good as his Champion Hurdle run behind Buveur D'Air on Good-to-Soft. These are without doubt his best two runs over hurdles from a ratings perspective, and came on two of the quickest surfaces that he has encountered to date.

His Triumph defeat is irrelevant imo, given he ran to a mark about a stone higher on Good ground in the ICH the following year. "Beaten both times" equally irrelevant, given it's abundantly clear he is a much better chaser than hurdler.

Anyone looking to oppose Footpad over fences on better ground would be taking a chance, imo.
 
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We might not know for some time. There's a saying at Irish Racecourses..."If you can see the first fence down the back it's going to rain, if you can't see it it's raining" :)
 
Footpad proved a star turn for Willie Mullins in the Racing Post Arkle at Cheltenham, but that has not stopped Gigginstown House Stud taking aim at him again in the Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on Sunday with third-placed Petit Mouchoir.

Throw Gigginstown's JLT Novices' Chase heroine Shattered Love into the mix and we could be in for another thriller after Gigginstown won the race 12 months ago when Road To Respect got the better of Yorkhill in a dramatic encounter.

Making up almost 15 lengths on the odds-on Cheltenham winner perhaps looks a fool's errand for Petit Mouchoir, but he and Saint Calvados raced very keenly that day to set the race up for Footpad and he will be fitted with headgear in a bid to get him to settle better with an extra-half mile to travel.

Ryanair Gold Cup Novice Chase card, form and betting

The Henry de Bromhead-trained Petit Mouchoir has been fitted with a hood on five occasions, winning a Punchestown bumper and a Thurles maiden hurdle in one on his first two starts under rules, but has not worn the aid since the 2016 Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

Eddie O’Leary, racing manager for Gigginstown, said: "We’ll put headgear back on him, try to settle him and hopefully get home over 2m4f.”

O'Leary added: “We’re also aiming Shattered Love at the race. Gordon [Elliott] has been very happy with her since Cheltenham, so that’s the plan.”
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be interesting to see if Footpad actually lines up here and not sure sending Petit Mouchoir over a longer trip is a smart move
 
Footpad wouldn't be inconvenienced, but I agree with James. He won the Arkle in a particularly fast time on heavy ground. I'm not sure such a quick reappearance over a half a mile further makes much sense. Particularly when they have Punchestown to target. Also, should he be turned over they make well take the view that he doesn't want the intermediate trip, when in reality it could be because he's still feeling the effects of Cheltenham. I see nothing to gain from this so late in the season.

If the trainers championship is on their mind, then with a horse like Footpad I think they should think again and mind him properly for next season and give him more time until Punchestown.

Petit Mouchoir on the other hand may as well go that route, but again he had a tough race at Cheltenham. I'd concede though, that if Footpad didn't turn up he may get a penalty kick.
 
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Footpad will barely have known he was in a race at Cheltenham - should definitely be allowed to take his chance.

The intermediate trip holds no fears for him, and connections are unlikely to write him off as strictly a 2-miler, even if he’s beaten. They know he stays 2m4f well from his runs in France.
 
Desert Orchid said:
No matter how easy it may look, when they run as fast as he did they need time to recover.
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Happy to test that theory on Sunday. To me, Footpad took very little out of himself at Cheltenham. The horse that should be swrving the race is PM, as he almost certainly had a much harder race.
 
Grasshopper said:
Happy to test that theory on Sunday. To me, Footpad took very little out of himself at Cheltenham. The horse that should be swrving the race is PM, as he almost certainly had a much harder race.
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I thought the same re PM but according to Henry the race took very little out of him

I await confirmation of that one to be honest
 
Had a very hard race
Punchestown now or waiting for next season

looks a very good prospect but Altior looks too good at the moment
 
Willie wanted to run in Ireland for his championship bid, the owner's stood their ground, doesn't often happen there!!

"We took him out of the Fairyhouse race because his owners want us to wait and run him at Aintree instead."

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What do people think about this season's crop? Official ratings have:

166 Footpad
165 Presenting Percy
160 Al Boum Photo
159 Sceau Royal
158 Monalee
158 Saint Calvados
157 Diego Du Charmil
156 Finian's Oscar
156 Kemboy
156 Petit Mouchoir
155 Brain Power
155 The Storyteller
153 Rathvinden
153 Shattered Love
152 Invitation Only

This compares with last year's list that included:

170 Altior
164 Yorkhill
162 Might Bite
158 Disko
157 Road To Respect
157 Top Notch
157 Whisper
155 Cloudy Dream
154 Politologue
 
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Al boum photo rated above monalee looks a bit odd. Amazing how low mite bight was rated for his novice season.

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There isn't a 2-mile novice chaser you could seriously rate within 7lbs of Footpad......he is a country mile ahead of his peers, and 166 almost certainly on the low-side, imo.

Altior was rated 175p in Chasers & Hurdlers, after his novice chase season. I will be very surprised if Footpad isn't rated within 3lbs of that figure.
 
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I've edited the original post to include Diego Du Charmil. As I was away for Aintree, I wasn't aware of that performance. As it happens, I think that he, Petit Mouchoir and Saint Calvados have inter-connected form that is over-rated. If Cadmium can reproduce his Punchestown time figure, 146 could still be a mark with juice left in it. He gets a good mention in the latest RP Podcast about 24 minutes in. By any measure, Footpad is well clear.

Presenting Percy has produced the best staying performance but I'm inclined to think that even the Gold Cup trip might be too short for him unless the ground is soft.
 
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