The Champion Hurdle 2010

Fair enough in one way i suppose, though I thought he travelled like much the best horse in the Boyelsports till he blew up. The ground was not what he wanted against Medermit (who i also think is a little underrated - traffic at the last arguably cost him the Supreme). Clearly, last Saturday (of which i agree with your viewpoint that it shouldn't have been on, despite being a Punjabi fan) didn't tell us anything, but all in all I don't see too many negatives considering it's from Cheltenham on where you would hope to see him at his best.

I especially like his hurdling.
 
Hamm said:
I've long been a big fan of Punjabi, and think he is very much the forgotten horse for this - if you take a look at his race record, he has put in the vast, vast majority of his better performances in March and April, with very little of note before March (2nd in the Totesport Trophy, and a workmanlike beating of Sublimity in the Fighting Fifith aside). This could be down to the time of the year, or the length of time it takes him to get properly fit, or a combination of both.

I don't know is there a slicker hurdler than him in the race, he is the reigning champion and will most likely have Geraghty on board. I can't see him out of the places and he must be one of the best each way bets of the entire festival.
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They'll have a big job keeping him out of the frame. I just love this sort of constantly underrated horse - despite being placed in the race in 2008 you could have had 33s on him in 2009 (which for a horse that I couldn't see being out of the first two was extraordinary value). He was even as big as 16/1 without the favourite last time.

Henderson reckons his preparation this time is much better than last year. He has to be a bet.
 
Just to put things into some kind of perspective, when Punjabi was second in the totesport trophy he was off 150. When Rooster Booster was second a few years earier, he was off 166.
 
Desert Orchid said:
Just to put things into some kind of perspective, when Punjabi was second in the totesport trophy he was off 150. When Rooster Booster was second a few years earier, he was off 166.
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A prime example of one being underrated and the other being overrrated. It can't just be that Punjabi has consistently come up against worse horses than RB did in his career. If Punjabi wins again I expect they'll be saying the others were no good again. How bad can you be to do what he has done?
 
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Punjabi is one of the most consistent horses going, always runs well and I'm sure will run his race in the Champion Hurdle. People are always looking for a genuine horse to underrate.
 
I have spent quite some time this evening looking at the race. The more I look the more I like Celestial Halo, Khyber Kim and Medermit, but I can't choose between those three. Khyber Kim was mighty impressive in his two wins this season and that form has stood up well. He looks a different horse this year and I'd expect him to go close. Medermit was unlucky last year in the Supreme Novices' when hampered and almost caught Go Native who was stopping. That's the reason I don't like Go Native, he has this knack of stopping or idling in front and I don't think you can get away from that in the Champion. Probably the biggest rival to my three would be Solwhit, but he only likes Soft ground so you couldn't have him on anything else. He has looked mighty impressive this year and is a worthy favourite, but I would question why he didn't run at the Festival last year. Overall, the more I look the more I like my three. If the ground came up Good of Good to Soft I would take Celestial Halo to outbattle them, despite last year's CH form looking poor. If the ground was Soft, I would take Khyber Kim or Medermit to win it, but couldn't really pick between those two.
 
If you're going to rule out Solwhit for not running at last year's festival then why not Khyber Kim as well? Ok, he did turn up, but was only 22/27 off 144 in the County Hurdle.

I don't think the exclusion would make sense for either horse, both are clearly better than they were 12 months ago.
 
PRICEWISE2008 said:
Starluck is worth a little e/w mention, had a nice prep run winning on the flat at Kempton last night too. Go Native wins though:D
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I agree, his preparation has gone well , he hadn't raced for 76 days when he didn't get home in the triumph. A year older and fitter this time, will he get home ? If he does and the ground is good I could see him there at the end.
 
I personally think a mile prep race for Starluck is a pretty poor preparation - the horse is a pretty free sort and is hard to settle - struggling then to get home. I fail to see how the mile prep will help him in that regard when he goes back over hurdles.
 
Following horses like Starluck round Cheltenham is the quickest way to the poorhouse. I am a huge fan of the horse, but he didn't come close to coming up the hill last year, and won't this year in a much better race. He is the archetypal flat track horse.
 
Galileo said:
He is a naturally free running sort - allowing him to stride on at a pace is not going to "take the zip out of him" but encourage him to do so.
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So why do some trainers give 'zippy' horses a run claiming they need to run the horse to take the freshness out of it?
 
Galileo said:
I personally think a mile prep race for Starluck is a pretty poor preparation - the horse is a pretty free sort and is hard to settle - struggling then to get home. I fail to see how the mile prep will help him in that regard when he goes back over hurdles.
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I don't know about that, he seemed to settle fine in the Christmas Hurdle and his jumping was even a bit sluggish in the early stages. The Champion Hurdle will feature a big field going at a very strong clip and he'll need to be alert from the start.
 
Grey said:
If you're going to rule out Solwhit for not running at last year's festival then why not Khyber Kim as well? Ok, he did turn up, but was only 22/27 off 144 in the County Hurdle.

I don't think the exclusion would make sense for either horse, both are clearly better than they were 12 months ago.
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That is fair enough, I suppose. Does anyone know why Solwhit didn't run last year?
 
Desert Orchid said:
So why do some trainers give 'zippy' horses a run claiming they need to run the horse to take the freshness out of it?
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Difference in taking the freshness out of a horse and trying to teach a naturally free running sort to settle.

But to be fair Grey makes some good points.
 
This time last year he was only five, and only rated 140. They knew he was good but probably felt waiting for Aintree was an easier option than going for the CH.
 
Grey said:
I don't know about that, he seemed to settle fine in the Christmas Hurdle and his jumping was even a bit sluggish in the early stages. The Champion Hurdle will feature a big field going at a very strong clip and he'll need to be alert from the start.
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My main worry about Starluck is, even though I will think he will run well, I doubt if he would stay up the hill off a true fast gallop.
 
Starluck took about 55 seconds to get from the second last hurdle to the finish in last year's Triumph Hurdle under a strong drive, but only 41 seconds to cruise the same distance in the lesser race he won there under no great pressure in October (Punjabi did it in about 43 seconds in last year's CH in an all-out slog with Celestial Halo).

Faster ground and a gentler pace in the October race obviously made a difference, but Starluck's also a better horse this season than last. What price would he be if he had pipped Go Native in the Christmas Hurdle? He only went down by a short head.

Go Native has faster gears than anything else in the race, but only for a relatively short duration and the faster the race the shorter the burst he can produce. I don't think it's anything to do with canine tendencies when he hits the front; when asked, he cuts through his opponents with ease but empties fairly quickly. Paul Carberry has an ace to play but he needs to time it right, and if he does I think he'll win.

I think Starluck is the next fastest horse in the race at top gear and could get to Solwhit and Punjabi when they turn on the taps. I think he is a probability to be placed and a possible winner if Go Native's thrust is mistimed.
 
Justin Redman said:
My main worry about Starluck is, even though I will think he will run well, I doubt if he would stay up the hill off a true fast gallop.
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+1, he just looks like one of "those" horses, that won't be suited to the hill, I could see him fading badly in last 300 yards
 
I'm really surprised more hasn't been made of where the pace is going to come from with Osana and Hardy Eustace gone. Having gone through the entries the only likely runner I can see taking Celestial Halo on is Ebadiyan (please don't do this to the Ebadiyan btw, Brady). Granted, Walsh won't want to set anything less than a reasonable gallop on Celestial Halo, but if the gallop is anything other than unrelenting, it would impair the chances of Medermit and Solwhit, in particular.

I'm quite cool on Go Native in a strongly run race (despite the yard being very bullish) ~ the time for last year's Supreme compares well to the Champion at first glance, but a new found obsession with sectional timings tells me that the Champion was run at a faster gallop and that the Supreme wasn't run at anything other than a steady pace in the circumstances. Timeform also state that a shower in between the two races makes comparing the time's a difficult exercise.

If the gallop is steady, the likes of Go Native and Khyber Kim must come right into the equation surely?
 
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