The Champion Hurdle 2010

I have never been that taken with Celestial Halo before , he has always struck me as lacking a turn of foot against the best .

Although I take the point about the other horses I think Mamlook is in the form of his life and Whiteoak was just outpaced as CH turned the screw .

Giving over a stone , that was as DO says a very taking performance and I suspect he has improved quite a bit . The point is though Binocular and Hurricane Fly have similar scope for improvement.
 
Ardross said:
The point is though Binocular and Hurricane Fly have similar scope for improvement.
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But do they? HF maybe, Binocular I'd doubt.

I can see how a top novice coming into its championship campaign can improve a stone over the season but how many that place in a CH improve 10lbs+ the next season?

Also, I wouldn't read anything into CH's giving the others a stone and more. Those were there handicap marks. He's already proved he's that much better than them. The weights should have had them finishing in a heap. It was the fact he had them in trouble so far out and won by such a wide margin that impressed me.
 
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I think Binocular has loads of scope he is the same age as CH and thrashed him at Ascot .

The point I was making DO was that CH's performance was so impressive because he was giving them loads of weight - at levels you would have expected that ease of victory.
 
Binocular has failed to win twice at the festival-I have no doubt he will impress in his trials but would you want to have your last tenner on him in the Champion Hurdle.
 
Presumably with Walsh on Master Minded on Sunday, Townend will get the ride on Hurricane Fly at Punchestown. Will then surely keep it.
 
Ardross said:
I think Binocular has loads of scope he is the same age as CH and thrashed him at Ascot .

The point I was making DO was that CH's performance was so impressive because he was giving them loads of weight - at levels you would have expected that ease of victory.
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... which is the same point I'm trying to make :)
 
I was chatting to Tony McCoy in the 21 Club on the Friday of last years festival and we were chatting about his ride on Witchita Lineman and a few others and when we got onto Binocular he was pretty straight with me......."Horse not quite right, I messed up too, he'll win it next year". That's good enough for me thinking back to when McCoy first rode Brave Inca and said the same thing about winning the Champion Hurdle.
 
Cantoris said:
I was chatting to Tony McCoy in the 21 Club on the Friday of last years festival and we were chatting about his ride on Witchita Lineman and a few others and when we got onto Binocular he was pretty straight with me......."Horse not quite right, I messed up too, he'll win it next year". That's good enough for me thinking back to when McCoy first rode Brave Inca and said the same thing about winning the Champion Hurdle.
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It's looking like a strong race next year and I can't see Celestial Halo out of the first three. He's a hardy Eustace type. So that's the first two home sorted. If Hurricane is able to draw up beside the two of them at the last than it's game over so there's your trio.....easy !
 
Morgiana Hurdle Entries...

Clopf
De Valira
Donnas Palm
Hurricane Fly
Jumbo Rio
Muirhead
Solwhit
Sublimity
Whiteoak
 
Sublimity due to run in Newcastle, Jumbo Rio in France, Clopf has other engagements while Whiteoak is probably an unlikely traveller. Likely to cut up alot.
 
PP up

4/5 Hurricane Fly
5/2 Solwhit
4/1 Muirhead
12/1 Jumbo Rio
20/1 Clopf
25/1 Won In The Dark
33/1 De Valira
33/1 Hardy Eustace
50/1 Tharawaat
100/1 Ebaziyan
 
Mullins reports Hurricane Fly a definite runner if Punchestowns beats the weather - sounds upbeat about him too.

Solwhit has the Fighting Fifth as an alternative.
 
Galileo said:
Sublimity due to run in Newcastle.
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What's the thinking behind that? His best form is first time out with cut in the ground, so if the meeting went ahead at Punchestown IMO they should send him there for some prize money. I can only think thats why they've left him in after stating yesterday he was a non runner. Either that or they really do think he's well past his best?
 
Impressive stuff from Solwhit - didn't look to me like The Hurricane was 100% fit so will be plenty of improvement from that run :)
 
Irish Stamp said:
Impressive stuff from Solwhit - didn't look to me like The Hurricane was 100% fit so will be plenty of improvement from that run :)
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My reading is the same - Hurricane Fly was much too keen the whole way and tired in the ground. Hard not to be impressed with Solwith though.
 
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