Road to the 2013 World Hurdle

Hi Grasshopper
according to the latest news he is being worked tomorrow morning they will see hoiw he comes out of it and make decision sunday morning.the owners are keen to go but trainer a little worried over trip but hes happy with him at this stage and is gearing up for the festival. they do have aintree in mind as he has won before and the prize money is good.

as russell will be on bog warrior allthough no jockey booked or apprroached yet it looks like it would be andrew lynch

as an aside sea of thunder's target is the NH Chase but is a doubtful runner if the word soft appears in the going description
 
There's a piece in this morning's RP Grass where Byrnes explains that the horse was unlikely to be ready after "having run up light and being forced on to the easy list for longer than expected after two comeback runs"

but he's apparently back in good form and "Solwhit did miss a few weeks and that's why we were thinking about Aintree more than Cheltenham. We thought it might come too soon, but I'm happy with him now and we're gearing up to go to Cheltenham".

"He'll work on Saturday morning and that will probably tell us everything we need to know".

He goes on to say that Davy Russell (his regular rider) will probably ride Bog Warrior so as of now he doesn't have a jockey.


Lee
 
FAO Mr Grasshopper

"He galloped on Saturday. He worked adequately, it was nothing spectacular, but we were happy enough," said Byrnes.

"At the moment, we are planning to go to Cheltenham with him. I can't say he'll definitely be there, as with him, every day is a bonus, but we are looking that way now.

"I've been saying all along we'd probably miss Cheltenham and wait for Aintree, but now we're thinking the Aintree race could turn out to be a better race than the World Hurdle.

"He wasn't fully right after his last run, he missed two or three weeks, but he seems in good form now."

Having never encountered a distance beyond two and a half miles, Byrnes admits only time will tell whether Solwhit's stamina will last out of three miles at Prestbury Park.

"The trip is obviously a worry. We know he stays two and a half miles well but three miles, we don't know," said the trainer

"I'm hopeful, but I couldn't be confident. We'll wait until the last minute before deciding on who will ride him. We'll see who is available and then make a decision."
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Just appeared on Twitter

Solwhit likely to take his chance in the World Hurdle, according to Charles Byrnes - "At the moment, we are planning to go to Cheltenham."


Quickly followed by this on SL

Despite being sidelined by injury for the best part of two years, the six-time Grade One winner has returned seemingly as good as ever, building on a promising comeback run behind Bog Warrior with an impressive victory at Naas.

"He galloped on Saturday. He worked adequately, it was nothing spectacular, but we were happy enough," said Byrnes.


"At the moment, we are planning to go to Cheltenham with him. I can't say he'll definitely be there, as with him, every day is a bonus, but we are looking that way now.

"I've been saying all along we'd probably miss Cheltenham and wait for Aintree, but now we're thinking the Aintree race could turn out to be a better race than the World Hurdle.

"He wasn't fully right after his last run, he missed two or three weeks, but he seems in good form now."

Having never encountered a distance beyond two and a half miles, Byrnes admits only time will tell whether Solwhit's stamina will last out of three miles at Prestbury Park.

"The trip is obviously a worry. We know he stays two and a half miles well but three miles, we don't know," said the trainer

"I'm hopeful, but I couldn't be confident. We'll wait until the last minute before deciding on who will ride him. We'll see who is available and then make a decision."
 
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aye sounds like Dan Skelton put his old boss away at a preview meeting. Still hope they go for the Coral.
 
I took some 11s NRNB about Bog Warrior when the news came out about Monksland. He won't run if the ground isn't suitable and if it is he surely has the class to make an impact.
 

God damn it ive just got home and heard this news,i was sweet as hell on him,the one horse i was 100% getting stuck into.:mad:
 
Even picking the second seemed easier when Big Bucks was around. So many question marks about these you end up going over the same horses and still ending up far from convinced. Is there any chance that Whispering Gallery may end up running? What does Wonderful Charm's French form add up to because even in a poor renewal he should be 33/1 based on that Chepstow run.
 
treetangle said:
Even picking the second seemed easier when Big Bucks was around. So many question marks about these you end up going over the same horses and still ending up far from convinced. Is there any chance that Whispering Gallery may end up running? What does Wonderful Charm's French form add up to because even in a poor renewal he should be 33/1 based on that Chepstow run.
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Wonderful Charm's French form stacks up pretty well, though his Coral Cup mark of 149 would be there or thereabouts (maybe a lb or two higher). In his last Auteuil outing he travelled like the winner a long way, before only staying-on at the one pace. He finished in front of Esmondo that day - albeit in receipt of weight - but it was still a smart performance, and showed he was still progressive.

I'm not sure how much stock to place in that Chepstow run - either positive or negative - but Ballybough Pat is a fair animal, and Wonderful Charm was untroubled to win. And it's entirely possible that Nicholls has improved him again.

He still likely needs double-digit-figure improvement to seriously be troubling the likes of Oscar Whisky, but in an open race, connections aren't necessarily tilting at windmills, and are probably entitled to roll the dice, given his progressive profile. What tempers my enthusiasm for him, is that he is unproven over 2m4f.

For all that he's raced over 21f in deep Auteuil ground, races can be run at a crawl, and often don't develop into anything like the kind of stamina test one might suspect. The Chepstow run points to a horse who probably does want further, but then again, the ground was quicker than one might usually suspect for the track in October.

I can't have him because of these doubts about required improvement and stamina - but I wouldn't particularly put anyone off backing him. It's a wide open event, and connections can legitimately run here. But he would have had a better chance off 149 in the handicap, imo.
 
Grand Crus is a fascinating contender. I would not back him but he would not be the first failed chaser to be thrilled by the return to hurdles and show a big leap in form .
 
I wouldn't actually put him down as a failed chaser. He's been asked all the wrong questions since his Feltham win:

Poor prep for the RSA
Ran reasonable in PP but was stretched on the ground
Too much asked of him in the kg on heavy.

If the horse was mine I would wait for the Melling Chase. Two and a half on decent ground would be right up his street.
 
Last time Grands Crus won a race was 2 Fethams ago.....more like a failed horse than a failed chaser.

He's never traveled a yard in any of his last 4 races and they have not all been run on the same ground. He used to pull like a train all the way round in his races always traveling over the top of everything else now he looks lethargic. Something wrong there......could be he's decided it's not his cup of tea
 
Tanlic said:
Last time Grands Crus won a race was 2 Fethams ago.....more like a failed horse than a failed chaser.

He's never traveled a yard in any of his last 4 races and they have not all been run on the same ground. He used to pull like a train all the way round in his races always traveling over the top of everything else now he looks lethargic. Something wrong there......could be he's decided it's not his cup of tea
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he travelled fine in the king george but didn't stay in the horrible ground. i think he's a 2 and a half mile horse and, as euronymous said, should have been nursed back with a mind on the melling chase in the hope of good ground. if he had i would have been interested at the right price, as it is i think 3 miles at cheltenham, even back over hurdles, makes him nigh on unbackable.
 
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JamesRB said:
he travelled fine in the king george but didn't stay in the horrible ground. i think he's a 2 and a half mile horse and, as euronymous said, should have been nursed back with a mind on the melling chase in the hope of good ground. if he had i would have been interested at the right price, as it is i think 3 miles at cheltenham, even back over hurdles, makes him nigh on unbackable.
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Grands Crus out of Cheltenham
Grands Crus misses the Cheltenham Festival and has been withdrawn from the Ryanair and World Hurdle. David Pipe said: "We will look towards possibly running at Aintree. We scoped Grands Crus and wanted him to be 110% and he wasn't."
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pipe has listened :cool:
 
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