The 2014 Punchestown Festival

EC1 said:
i completely disagree that he's a soft ground horse..i'd be checking out his sire's record with fast ground offspring..its twice the strike rate compared to slow ground...so he will more than likely be better on decent ground
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Personally, I'd rather rely on his record, which - one irrelevant race on GS apart (a 12f bumper in the Provinces) - reflects unbeaten outings on ground ranging from Soft to Very Soft/Heavy. Statistically, it carries a little more weight than his siblings preferences, imo.

He'll set it up for something with a turn-of-foot if he runs......and he won't get them off the bridle either; no matter how hard he tries to turn the screw. He's beaten only trees, and whilst his Auteuil run has limited relevance, it's notable about how much he had in hand, when he met a high-class horse for the first time.

They'd leave him behind on the run away from the second last.
 
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most races are run on easy ground though over there...so his actual record is misleading..but his breeding suggests even better to come..and as he hasn't run on it you cannot tell from his runs how good he is on it

lets say he has won despite the ground...how good is he?...very good

if you put HF against trees there will always be a limit to how far even he would beat them..UDS has beat trees out of sight

i think many are going to be rather surprised when this one runs in a proper race..i hope its this one
 
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I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if the ground was Soft, but I can't have it that he'll be the same horse on quick ground - regardless of the sire stats. The list of horses capable of top-class form (lets say 160+, for arguments sake) at both ends of the Going spectrum is a short one, and he'd need to be very special indeed to beat HF or Jezki, who are both proven top-class themselves - at a higher-level, and with Course, Distance and Going form to boot.

In my view, it's much more likely that he has a preference for both Soft going and a sterner test than 2m. Time will tell. :)
 
agree it would be unusual but the sire stats are really strong re faster ground

we will have to see..exciting propsect though...i love exciting hurdling prospects...main part of my enjoyment of NH racing

You'll be backing the Fly i'm assuming?...if i can get 3/1 then i'll play;)...you know with the CH form being so strong and all he should be at least that price;)...particularly now he is past it:rolleyes:
 
EC1, if there is to be a last hurrah with the Fly, you can rest assured I will stand at post on the Bridge until the bitter fu*cking end, all the while harpooning as many bas*tarding fishwives as I can manage, before I slip to the bottom of the briny with the rest of the swashbucklers.

We're entering the twighlight of this journey, and there is no mildly-jolting end to the trip; there is only Glory or Death - there is no inbetween, and it is only the inevitability of the outcome that makes contemplation of it ending mildly bearable. The feast has been mighty, and it would be rude to be greedy.
 
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do we expect retirement if he's beaten at punchy?

if he wins (and i suspect he will) i wonder what their plan is for next season. more cracks at irish grade 1's? tbh the main dangers are jezki, and other horses in mullins yard. nobody else springs to mind. but surely he has to pitch them in against him sooner or later.

or would they call it a day win or lose?
 
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Grasshopper said:
EC1, if there is to be a last hurrah with the Fly, you can rest assured I will stand at post on the Bridge until the bitter fu*cking end, all the while harpooning as many bas*tarding fishwives as I can manage, before I slip to the bottom of the briny with the rest of the swashbucklers.

We're entering the twighlight of this journey, and there is no mildly-jolting end to the trip; there is only Glory or Death - there is no inbetween, and it is only the inevitability of the outcome that makes contemplation of it ending mildly bearable. The feast has been mighty, and it would be rude to be greedy.
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Do you think he'll win? An answer in intelligible English would be appreciated.
 
I absolutely think he can win. His track form is tremendous, and he has routinely put in his best performance of the season in this race.
 
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Grasshopper said:
EC1, if there is to be a last hurrah with the Fly, you can rest assured I will stand at post on the Bridge until the bitter fu*cking end, all the while harpooning as many bas*tarding fishwives as I can manage, before I slip to the bottom of the briny with the rest of the swashbucklers.

We're entering the twighlight of this journey, and there is no mildly-jolting end to the trip; there is only Glory or Death - there is no inbetween, and it is only the inevitability of the outcome that makes contemplation of it ending mildly bearable. The feast has been mighty, and it would be rude to be greedy.
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Death is coming ;)
 
It makes sense for Mullins to find out where he is with UDS before next season. If he runs him against The Fly and Jezki and he's not up to the job he goes chasing, and if he wins or goes close he stays over hurdles.

And if you were Ricci are you really worried about better prizemoney at Auteuil, or would you rather know whether you have a Champion Hurdle or Arkle horse for next season?
 
When was the last time WM ran a horse against the Fly with half a chance of beating him?
For mine, it's the usual smoke and mirrors rhubarb from this stable, and UDS won't go near him.
 
harry said:
Death is coming ;)
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That was the point I was making, Harry......the end is inevitable.

But some here will almost certainly think that defeat will make HF a bad horse.....or that it willl provide some justification for them consistently under-rating the horse.

Newsflash: it won't.
 
With regards to next season, I was talking to Steve H of FF yesterday, who writes a column for an Irish newspaper, and he feels they might take in one race next season with HF to see where they are, and only then decide whether to continue racing or retire .
 
If HF wins at Punchestown, I think he'll be hard-trained for the Morgiana (much moreso than he usually is for that race), and if he wins the Morgiana, he'll be hard-trained for the Istabraq over Xmas.....and the same again for the ICH.

As soon as HF meets with defeat (which could be at Punchestown), I reckon he'll be retired.
 
Well duh, treff!! :)

Context is clearly different in the sunset of HF's career.
 
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Not at all convinced they'd go there, granger......he'd surely struggle to get home anyway.
 
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