Road to the Gold Cup 2011

Galileo said:
Early on they were not going fast enough for him and it showed in his jumping. I think they have to go to Kempton with him - hard to see him reversing form with Kauto Star but on better ground and in a strongly run 3 race from start to finish I think he could get into a pretty potent rhythm and put in a big run.
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Galileo, what makes you think Sizing Europe needs better ground?
I first took a liking to SE when he beat Osana in the Greatwood hurdle in a absoloute bog a few years back.

I think it was a mark of the horse to win the Arkle on ground of Gd-ST, and I think at a bare minimum on soft ground he'd have a chance of finishing as near to Kauto in the KG as he did yesterday. That would be an achievement lol!

At the moment can't see how he'd have the fluency to beat Kauto on good ground. If he's now a stayer and he keeps improving, cut in the ground is what he needs at 3m imo.
 
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Galileo said:
I need to reassess Sizing Europe - at the start of the season I was very much in the non stayer camp for 3 miles but he definitely got it well today, right to the line. Whats more I definitely think there is more to come from him looking at him in the paddock and judging on how he jumped early on. To me Sizing Europe is only ever likely to be at his very best in a really strongly run event - the quicker they went today the better he jumped. Early on they were not going fast enough for him and it showed in his jumping. I think they have to go to Kempton with him - hard to see him reversing form with Kauto Star but on better ground and in a strongly run 3 race from start to finish I think he could get into a pretty potent rhythm and put in a big run.
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Well said. He jumped really slowly in the first mile (Mouse's fella took two lengths a fence off him) but he really warmed up.
 
Cannot have Sizing in either the King George or Gold Cup - is not a stayer end of!! I think anyone who takes on Kauto at Kempton is tilting at windmills - he is unbeatable there! Not even convinced the Ryanair is his race over a truly run championship 2m 5f. Hope all this messing with him doesn't blunt his speed! I am a big SEurope fan but think connections aren't playing to his strenghts!
 
Gal - on tv, the ground looked on the sticky side, a bit holding. Did you get a chance to go out onto the track and give it a heeling to get the feel of it at all? Just wondered. KAUTO looked very tidy and happy throughout the race, just got a bit tightened up as the old lactic acid no doubt hit in the last 2f or so, but really no trouble clearing the fences. Super race, though, all told.
 
Who will ride Kauto Star in the King George

Paddy Power betting: 1-4 AP McCoy, 4 Barry Geraghty, 10 Any Other jockey, 12 Sam Thomas, 500 Mike Smith.
 
There are a few zeroes missing off the Smith price, Gal! Funny, looking at KAUTO and ZENYATTA, there's not that much difference in their size or appearance - the man just might mistakenly climb aboard... "and it's KAUTO STAR, oh, maybe 30, 40 lengths off the leader now... " Wonderful.

Doesn't KAUTO like a less electric pilot than AP, though? I thought I read/heard it in a Nicholls interview some time. Thus, Barry Geraghty would be a fine replacement for the Rube.
 
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Oh, yes, I suppose so. How are others like Timmy Murphy or, perhaps preferably, Graham Lee, placed? The horse doesn't need lighting up, so it ought to be a calm jockey of experience.
 
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Noel Fehily would be my choice,has been promised a few rides for the stable and was on Twist Magic the other day.

Was superb at Sandown yesterday riding three winners from three rides,particularly impressed with his ride on Songe.
 
He is a truly lovely rider, Arkers. I've watched him up close at Plumpton, let alone the superior tracks, and he will never over-ask. Sensible, calm, lovely hands.
 
krizon said:
There are a few zeroes missing off the Smith price, Gal! Funny, looking at KAUTO and ZENYATTA, there's not that much difference in their size or appearance - the man just might mistakenly climb aboard... "and it's KAUTO STAR, oh, maybe 30, 40 lengths off the leader now... " Wonderful.

Doesn't KAUTO like a less electric pilot than AP, though? I thought I read/heard it in a Nicholls interview some time. Thus, Barry Geraghty would be a fine replacement for the Rube.
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I don't recall that K from Nicholls - Hen said it about Best Mate .
 
As I say, I thought I read or heard it from Nicholls. I don't have perfect recall of every utterance, but the horse doesn't need an electric jockey on him, anyway. In fact, I think he suits a very calm one who can keep him nicely arranged and steady.
 
I so want Graham Lee to have more 'glory days'. Was up at Kelso when he'd just got off a horse that had probably cut into itself..his only concern was for the horse. Have so much respect for him.
 
Yes, me too, Moehat. Lovely rider and always seems to have an even-tempered personality.
 
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I thought that 3 months off is the best a jockey can normally expect for a tib and fib ? Lavelle is certainly saying that about Jack Doyle
 
Sizing Europe features among nine Irish-trained contenders to have stood their ground for the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.Henry de Bromhead's Arkle Trophy winner, who was second to Kauto Star at Down Royal last Saturday could be joined by Tom Cooper's Queen Mother Champion Chase runner-up Forpadydeplasterer.
Other notable entries include Cooldine, Glencove Marina and J'y Vole from the Willie Mullins stable and the Edward Harty-trained Captain Cee Bee.
Kauto Star will bid for an historic fifth successive victory in the Christmas feature.
The Paul Nicholls-trained jumping ace equalled Desert Orchid's total of four victories in the £200,000 three-mile feature last season but is unlikely to be handed the race on a plate.
The 10-year-old, who made a successful reappearance in the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday, has been installed 7-4 favourite with the sponsors after 30 entries were revealed.
They include last season's Cheltenham Gold Cup hero, the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Imperial Commander, who was just pipped by Kauto Star in the Betfair Chase at Haydock last November.
Kauto Star's stablemate What A Friend, part-owned by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, is among a five-strong entry from the Nicholls stable.
Nicky Henderson also has five possibles including Long Run, who returns to action in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday, Riverside Theatre, owned by actor James Nesbitt, and Punchestowns.
The Philip Hobbs-trained Planet Of Sound, Ian Williams' Weird Al and Tom George's Charlie Hall Chase victor Nacarat are other classy performers in the list.
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Imperial Commander back on Saturday - should have the comfortable beating of this field if anything like the form he showed here last year and of course the Gold Cup.
 
If he's in his Gold Cup form yes, but the front two were the only animals that showed up for this race last year and they both needed it badly. I was there that day and they both blew for ages afterwards.

At odds-on he's worth taking on with a race fit rival and Nacarat fits the bill perfectly. Quite why he's twice the price of What a Friend is beyond me.
 
Isn't it a positive that Imperial Commander isn't race fit. It's well documented how much better his record is when fresh.
 
I see Sam Thomas favouring What a Friend over Nacarat has resulted in the latter drifting from 8+ to 10+ on the machine. In a situation like this Thomas is always going to favour the Nicholls animal and for me they are of roughly similar merit. Nacarat is very attractively priced.
 
Bit disappointed that Sam isn't being loyal to Nacacarat, although obviously don't know the full details.
 
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