Novice Chasers 2019/20

They will clash again either Dec or Feb.

Both set of connections can be happy

No certainty Samcro would have seen that out but he did loom.

Fakir does look the more likely of the 2 to be an Arkle horse
 
JamesRB said:
yeah i don't see how you could come away from that and be really negative on samcro. jumped well in the main and despite fakir tanking along infront and jumping brilliantly he couldn't shake off samcro. think jlt should be the target personally.
Click to expand...

Clear he needs a distance of ground; much as he did as a hurdler - at the top level.
 
Samcro a ridiculous price for the JLT. No improvement in his jumping today IMO as he looked very deliberate at several before falling

Edit: Having watched again it’s more than possible Fakir’s exuberance made him look deliberate but I still think 6/1 is ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
viking said:
Samcro a ridiculous price for the JLT. No improvement in his jumping today IMO as he looked very deliberate at several before falling

Edit: Having watched again it’s more than possible Fakir’s exuberance made him look deliberate but I still think 6/1 is ridiculous


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Not saying I'd back Samcro at 6/1 and I agree his jumping isn't super slick or ultra fluid and efficient, but it's not awful either.

If you take a step back and look at it, massive hype behind this horse from early days, top trainer, past festival winner in a novice hurdle over same distance as JLT, Looked to have Fakir covered today, potential jumping improvement to come etc. etc. I can see why the bookie's are taking no chances.
 
If you look at Samcro's races last season, he travelled well and caved in when he came under pressure, usually about two out. Connections have claimed that they never found anything wrong but have treated him for bursting blood vessels and wind problems. Both of these treatments will only be tested when he's under pressure again so it's still an open question what would have happened had he stood up today.
 
archie said:
If you look at Samcro's races last season, he travelled well and caved in when he came under pressure, usually about two out. Connections have claimed that they never found anything wrong but have treated him for bursting blood vessels and wind problems. Both of these treatments will only be tested when he's under pressure again so it's still an open question what would have happened had he stood up today.
Click to expand...
Maybe I'm being naive, but I've automatically accepted or bought into the fact that he was "never quite right" once last season. The way he travelled and loomed alongside Fakir today reminded me of how he travelled when a novice hurdler. I agree there are multiple questions still to be answered, but I have confidence that the engine is still there at least.
 
Really enjoyable day at the races and many future stars on show. The juvenile looked a proper race and will platform many winners. Envoi needs further, but Davy looked after him. Beautiful beast up close. I think for Samcro to give Fakir 8lbs and a length a fence and still be lobbing along behind was impressive. He looked very well beforehand and I think hindsight might prove that he may have met one of the great leppers of the early 2020s today. Honeysuckle should go for the CH - no messing needed - just focus and execute Henry. Ferny Hollow ran about as green as any Bumper horse I've seen in a while and will come on loads for today. Eric Bloodaxe lived up to his name in the parade ring. Thug of a horse.
 
Big shame that Samcro came down because that was going to become a cracking finish. Could not help but be impressed with Fakir's jumping today, so fast and nimble over his fences, far more impressive than Samcro (who got quite low at some).

That said, I do think Samcro was going the better of the 2 when he came down.
 
JamesRB said:
yeah i don't see how you could come away from that and be really negative on samcro. jumped well in the main and despite fakir tanking along infront and jumping brilliantly he couldn't shake off samcro. think jlt should be the target personally.
Click to expand...

Considering the winner had forced the pace, on soft ground and at a good clip, he was entitled to be slowing down in the latter stages. That said, he still finished 22l up on a decent horse, which connections thought showed enough promise to supplement.
Samcro came a cropper trying to match the winner's jumping speed, and (imho) his fencing ain't going to be adequate to compete seriously at much less than 3m.
 
Last edited:
I remember noting l/t/o that Samco's jumping was worrying. I thought he looked to be travelling well considering the weight he was giving the winner. Perhaps a visit to Henrietta Knight could resolve the problem. Fakir's jumping has looked impressive in both his chases so far but I do not think he will get the weight concessions next year and that will level the playing field a bit.
 
swedish chef said:
Fakir's jumping has looked impressive in both his chases so far but I do not think he will get the weight concessions next year and that will level the playing field a bit.
Click to expand...

Weight is an issue to a point but Fakir is also entitled to improve

His jumping alone is equal to a few lbs on an inferior opponent

I'd love to get JOB's thoughts on how he compares to one of my favs from last year La Rich
 
Double J said:
Champagne Mystery, Nicky Henderson for Trevor Hemmings.

Future national winner right there. Excellent round of jumping. I was on at 5/2 and drifted like a barge to 6/1. Seriously impressed with that.
Click to expand...

Out again tomorrow, 1.55 Haydock. Dashel Drasher, the opposition but if he jumps and travels as well as he did last time I’d fancy him again.
 
Last edited:
granger said:
Weight is an issue to a point but Fakir is also entitled to improve

His jumping alone is equal to a few lbs on an inferior opponent

I'd love to get JOB's thoughts on how he compares to one of my favs from last year La Rich
Click to expand...

Yes looking forward to seeing Le Richebourg. Was seriously Impressed with him last season and hope he has a clear run this time round.
 
granger said:
The Drinmore form doesn't look as good now but he did strike me as a nice horse last year
Click to expand...
I said recently on another thread, that the Drinmore always seems to favour the stayer rather than the 2m speedster. I'm confident Samcro would've beaten Fakir at the weekend, had he stood up.

Delta beating Le Richbourg in last year's Drinmore isn't a negative about the latter for me. Le Richbourg is definitely an out and out 2 miler imo. If they get him back right I'm still confident he can feature at the top end of grade one 2m chases.

Looking deeper at last year's RSA, I think we'd all agree Delta's run FTO this season was at best lack lustre, but I'm not writing off that RSA form just yet.

With Topofthegame out for the season it's going to take time to really be able to call that form line confidently imo.

No doubt that the evidence is starting to mount, considering Santini's seasonal reappearance too. But I'm still holding off on writing the RSA form line off, just yet.

Who'd have ever thought after the RSA and JLT at the festival last year that 9 months later it would be the JLT form line emerging as the much stronger one?! Certainly not me at the time.
 
If looks could kill La Rich would have bullets in you before you can blink

I'm coming down on Fakir's side until Samcro does it when his guts are called for
 
Back
Top