The 2016 Betfair Hurdle Newbury Sat Feb 13

If Affaire D'honneur hadn't stood still at the start he would definitely have finished in the first two-he got outpaced at Kempton and making excuses for horses can be an expensive business.
 
Desert Orchid said:
Other runners that hold some appeal at big prices are Chieftain’s Choice and Flying Angel.
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Well done all Agrapart backers. Super performances from trainer, jockey and horse.

Small scrap of comfort in getting 66s ew Flying Angel to cover all the bets, inc the non-runners.
 
TheBear said:
Agrapart and Business Sivola look interesting to me. Form seems to have little to do with the winner of this but Agrapart's run behind O O Seven & Yorkhill looks pretty good now and Lizzie Kelly gets to take 5lbs off this time. My concern is that he likes to lead and that's always a tough ask in handicaps such as this.
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Walked in the door from work to hear a 91st minute goal had ruined my football acca. Then not knowing the result of this I stuck the replay on my laptop. I think if Agrapart had done a Valseur Lido on me the laptop would now be in pieces. :D
 
Ha, as awful as Vaseur Lido was my flashback was For Non Stop at the last in the Coral Cup for the same trainer.

Sent from my MediaPad M1 8.0 using Tapatalk
 
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Posted on the wrong thread sorry.

As for the Betfair well done those who backed the winner.

Talk about a handicap snip! I reckon Nick Williams deserves the Srewd medal of the year horse look like another stone wouldn't have stopped him

I stuck to my guns on Mad Jack Mytton and thing simply did not go to plan. Joshua Moore couldn't have gotten into more trouble if he tried to.

He's still in the CH but surely the ownere will have scrapped that idea now and he'll go for the County....this is one good horse yesterday is best forgotten
 
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It was a thoroughly unsatisfactory race, in my opinion, not unlike the Coral.ie Hurdle the other week.

I suspect Agrapart might well have won regardless of how it was run but from the false start to the moderate pace it was a dog's dinner of an event.

Why wasn't Sternrubin allowed to bowl along? Was Johnston worried about the ground? He had just ridden Top Gamble aggressively from the front so why put the brakes on a strongly-fancied contender?

Obviously ready excuses can be offered for those caught flat-footed at the standing start but what excuse can experienced riders have for holding their horses up off a moderate pace when an inexperienced jockey like Lizzie Kelly can get her horse into a good tactical position from early on. Even Scu rode a good tactical race, ffs.

And was Waxies Dargle the real McManus job horse for the race? Was Modus a decoy all along? He didn't even wear the second colours. I can understand that they felt obliged to run Blazer and it isn't hard to excuse his defeat (only 7 days after a win in heavy and having to travel, etc) and it would have looked odd if he hadn't worn the first colours.

And has Willie Mullins used the race yet again as a public gallop? Anyone remember how Wicklow Brave ran in this last season? Beaten 21 lengths off 140, two runs later he was the easiest winner of the County I can recall seeing and he ended the season rated 153 (now 166).

I admit I dismissed Agrapart all too readily because of the jockey. She'd had some impressive big Saturday winners but nothing as competitive as this or as big a field as this. I just wondered if she could adapt tactically the way a top jockey could. That's a mistake I won't make again.

Or can it all just be put down to the ground?
 
Desert Orchid said:
I've mentioned this on the history thread.

Anyone mad keen to back Blazer should note that Vicario Di Bray was regarded as much more leniently handicapped when sent off 4/7 fav - yes you're not seeing things - for the race but could only finish second (to Grey Salute).

And I thought I was stealing money backing him at 15/8 :(
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The 1989 Tote Gold Trophy was won by a trainer called JR Jenkins who is these days landing touches in Southwell. Can anyone tell me what he was like on the jumps? Where they a gambling yard?
 
He was always dangerous with his novices if I remember rightly (long long time ago!) as I used to go to Worcester, Chepstow, Hereford and others.
Dunwoody or other top jockeys used to ride and he often sharpened them up with a flat run about a week or two before.
They were often short in the markets.

John Upson was another good one back in the day.
 
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edgt said:
Early season he was a major provider of winners for John Francome was he not ?

Wing And a Prayer and such were his.

Luke was spot on in his assessment re M C Pipe.
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They nearly landed a 200/1 touch at Southwell recently without anyone noticing. A stable to keep an eye on.
 
Probably a reflection of how much more competetive the jumping game has become that he has switched to the all weather.
 
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