P Hobbs Form

  • Thread starter Thread starter useful
  • Start date Start date
U

useful

Guest
After a calamatous two days for Hobbs (2/9 and 4/6 reversals) is it wise to tread carefully with the Hobbs horses for now? Neither of these animals ran badly they just didn't seem to finish their races (though Johnson did seem to overdo the waiting tactics on the one at Ludlow yesterday)!
 
Has been poor all year if you ask me.
I think Alan King's arent quite right all year either. Neither to Meade's level but just dont trust how some of theirs are running.
 
After Ouzbeck and Pangbourne I was beginning to think the same about King but in typical fashion he has a double at Taunton.

I seem to recall both yards proving a graveyard for favourite backers this time last year as well.

Is it their policy to take the foot of the gas prior to going in all guns blazing at Cheltenham? Are their best horses simply being aimed at Cheltenham and Aintree now and so the horses we see running at present are not very good but priced up according to stable reputation?

I would be interested if anyone has the stats for these yards in Jan and Feb in recent seasons.
 
I think that's very possible useful. King's horses are being almost as over-bet right now as Nicholls' are. I always try to be objective about a horses chances, and look for something with a good chance from a smaller yard - you can get good e/w value like that. But yes, the form of the yards migth be to do with the Cheltenham factor - as everything else is!

Added to that, we haven't had a real freeze down south which would kill off some of the bacterial infections flying around, if not the viruses
 
I dont think the horses from these two stables have been right all year. I know that he has bounced back lately, but Blazing Bailey threw in two awful stinkers at the start of the year, without explanation. I remember Crystal d'Ainay being well tailed off as well in another hurdle, only for him to come out 10 days later and win a handicap chase. I wonder if VPU has been affected. Franchoek obviously hasnt. Hobbs's horses havent been right all season, Ring the Boss was a nice winner at Sandown but that is about it. Gold Medallist being chinned was further evidence. In fact a lot of his horses appear to be travelling well but finding zip.
 
Alan King in Jan & Feb since 2005................424 runners 69 wins 16.3%
.. .. Mar to Dec .. .. .................1381/ 226................16.4

Hobbs Jan& Feb since 2005 ..............389/52 ...............................13.4%
.. Mar to Dec .. ................1598/282...........................17.6
 
Originally posted by Headstrong@Jan 29 2008, 06:32 PM
Added to that, we haven't had a real freeze down south which would kill off some of the bacterial infections flying around, if not the viruses
Click to expand...
"The south" has indeed had a real freeze this season. There was a period of about a week-ten days in the couple of weeks preceding Christmas when it was very cold frozen over. A few race meetings were lost and we struggled to get the horses out as normal for a while due to the ice.
 
Originally posted by Shadow Leader@Jan 29 2008, 07:55 PM
"The south" has indeed had a real freeze this season. There was a period of about a week-ten days in the couple of weeks preceding Christmas when it was very cold frozen over. A few race meetings were lost and we struggled to get the horses out as normal for a while due to the ice.
Click to expand...
I can't speak for Hobbs but King as all-weather gallops so why would he struggle to get them out?
 
All-weather gallops or not, alot of yards have to get the horses from their stables to those all-weather gallops without simply levitating, which means that if ground is covered in ice there might be a struggle to get the horses out ! get me ?
 
You know what, I think you're onto something there Colin.

MBE

Right lads, you can whip those tennis rackets off their hooves now.
 
Everywhere?!?!

Clearly it depends on the demographics of each training centre but not everything can be covered in salt. Take a fairly muddy track for example - that becomes rock solid and treacherous, not to mention any puddles on it which become iced over, thus like walking on glass, and sharp as glass when breaking, which precipitates cuts and all sorts.

That's before you realise that putting salt down won't stop every surface from being slippery - and that's also assuming that the route to the gallops is a short one. Some yards travel quite a way to get to their gallops.
 
Get em some skates

122868CIkh_w.jpg
 
Colin - of course yards use salt. However that doesn't always solve the problem entirely; as I said, it depends on the demographics of the yard in question!

Besides which, I wasn't commenting on whether Hobbs or King could get their horses out - merely correcting the assertion that we haven't had a freeze this winter.
 
........but you did thank goober for his contribution and support of your point by saying that the problem wasn't the gallops PER SE, but accessing them, ERGO I thought that you were suggesting that getting the horses to the gallops over frozen ground ET AL was the problem! :shy:

My apologies, Shadders , you were right senility approaches apace. :shy:
 
The main problem for our yard was actually in warming them up, Colin!!! As it was we managed it but it wasn't the easiest - apart from anything else, a woodchip gallop when frozen precipitates sore heels so ideally you don't want to warm up on it either.

In thanking Goober I was pointing out that some yards [ones that I am familiar with] may have had problems accessing the gallops also - but the whole reason I posted was to refute that we'd had no freeze this year!

Senility and blondeness combined don't always go down too well!!!! :D
 
Originally posted by uncle goober@Jan 29 2008, 10:26 PM
All-weather gallops or not, alot of yards have to get the horses from their stables to those all-weather gallops without simply levitating, which means that if ground is covered in ice there might be a struggle to get the horses out ! get me ?
Click to expand...
A lot of yards maybe I was commenting on one in particular. Get me.
 
Originally posted by uncle goober@Jan 29 2008, 09:26 PM
All-weather gallops or not, alot of yards have to get the horses from their stables to those all-weather gallops without simply levitating, which means that if ground is covered in ice there might be a struggle to get the horses out ! get me ?
Click to expand...
There's about 15/30 yards from AK's stable blocks to the start of his extensive a/w gallops, depending which stable block the respective horse is in. And you should well know I'm talking about a deep freeze, when it's not even poss to take the horses out of the yard, or deep snow, not a few hours of frost in the morning! But maybe you are both too young to remember a bad winter
 
Originally posted by Shadow Leader@Jan 29 2008, 09:37 PM

Clearly it depends on the demographics of each training centre but not everything can be covered in salt.
Click to expand...
Demographics???

The statistical study of population

Do you mean topography??? I'm struggling to see why you've linked population to covering everything in salt. Surely it only requires half a dozen people and a few spades at most
 
Thanks Colin - I notice the level stake profits for King show January actually to be a good month. I think the real damage for me came last February!! Ditto the season before.

The figs for Hobbs in both Jan and Feb make depressing reading from a level stakes profit persepctive back to Jan 2004. And yet so many of his runners are still sent off at silly prices. Layers must think Xmas has been extended by two months where this yard is concerned!!!
 
Colin. Do you recall when Alan King usually gives his horses their jabs from your time at the yard? Yards are often quiet for a couple of weeks afterwards so I wonder whether this would have any bearing with him, or Hobbs for that matter.
 
Back
Top