The Champion Hurdle 2010

The Hurricane had a pretty awkward head carriage early on, very low - Seven Towers like.

Still hard not to be impressed with Solwhit
 
I thought Russel was very brave to stay down the inside on Soltwit. Soltwit now 4-1 for the Champion with Hurricane Fly out to 5-1.
 
Thought they went a steady pace and couldn't see Solwhit living with Hurrican Fly's turn of foot. Had it in my head that Solwhit needed an end to end gallop, but that was a very impressive turn of foot! Granted Hurricane Fly bombed coming to the last and would appear to be left with plenty to work on.
 
Gary O'Brien made a really good point on ATR. The fact that Hurricane Fly did not get past Muirhead, who he was cantering all over turning in suggests HF really did not get home today.

But again it takes nothing away from Solwith - who looks a good deal better than I gave him credit for.
 
Winning trainer Byrnes said afterwards: “He was impressive there. If we weren’t going to beat Hurricane Fly today we never were.”

“My lad doesn’t take a lot of work to get him right. I was delighted with the pace of the race and he loves coming between horses.”
“He’s entered in the Fighting Fifth and that’s in two weeks time which is a problem. If he doesn’t go there we’ll wait and run him over the Christmas.”
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Irish Stamp said:
The Hurricane had a pretty awkward head carriage early on, very low - Seven Towers like.

Still hard not to be impressed with Solwhit
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I thought the same, HF looked like he was chewing grass at one point. The way Solwhit quickened between horses in that going at the business end of the race suggests that he will be difficult to beat.
 
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Gearoid said:
I thought Russel was very brave to stay down the inside on Soltwit. Soltwit now 4-1 for the Champion with Hurricane Fly out to 5-1.
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Not surprised at that move in the market. Hurricane Fly was said to be ready for this before the race. It's hard to see him winning the Champion on the basis of this.

Binocular must be the bet at this stage.
 
Horse was at his least impressive last year on his debut and Mullins is one trainer that will not have him near fully primmed first time out - all the quotes beforehand that I read suggested the horse was just about ready to run with improvement to come.
 
Not beating Muirhead very far suggests to me that Solwhit has only doen what it was entitled to do. It also says HF didn't run to form for whatever reason but it did drift a fair bit in the market.

I'd say it boosts the prospects of Celestial Halo more than anything.
 
Muirhead is a decent animal (as is Solwhit), but let's not forget there was maximum confidence behind HF for this, he was 8/13 favourite after all. I find it worrying that HF was unable to assert in this. I can't have him for the Champion, even at 5/1 (although I thought he was a false favourite for the Champion before today's race). There are a handful of others capable of a good bit better than we saw here. Solwhit could yet prove interesting though.
 
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The trainer stated before the race that he would need the run (as is his trainer's general practice), he pulled hard, travelled strongly only to tire after the last - he himself is clearly capable of a good deal better than we saw here.

You refer to his price - he actually drifted a good bit on track with the winner well backed.
 
Irish Stamp said:
He was a top priced 4/9 in the morning so 8/13 represents quite a drift
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He was still an odds-on favorite. Which suggests he should have won this doing hand stands.

I can't see how HF stands a chance aginst the likes of Binocular, Punjabi or Celestial Halo. Maybe he is better than we saw today, but not good enough, surely.
 
At the risk of repeating myself, Hurricane Fly looked pretty after on his seasonal debut last year but left that form miles behind him from there on in. It is pretty standard for alot of Mullins horses - and again the trainer suggested he needed the run a fair bit before the race despite your opinion that there was "maximum confidence" behind him.
 
Galileo said:
At the risk of repeating myself, Hurricane Fly looked pretty after on his seasonal debut last year but left that form miles behind him from there on in. It is pretty standard for alot of Mullins horses - and again the trainer suggested he needed the run a fair bit before the race despite your opinion that there was "maximum confidence" behind him.
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The trainer also said he was ready for a run and would do himself justice, which is presumably why he was odds on.

I just think people have got carried away with this horse. I was taken with him last season, but no more than that. I find it difficult to see why he should be considered favourite for the CH. He's got to improve a hell of a lot before we can think of him as a credible Champion Hurdle prospect. I don't see it in him, at least not this season.
 
SteveM said:
The trainer also said he was ready for a run and would do himself justice, which is presumably why he was odds on.

I just think people have got carried away with this horse. I was taken with him last season, but no more than that. I find it difficult to see why he should be considered favourite for the CH. He's got to improve a hell of a lot before we can think of him as a credible Champion Hurdle prospect. I don't see it in him, at least not this season.
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Fair enough, your basing much of your feelings on the horse on what he achieved last year - you do not rate him as highly as some. I thought you were basing much if not all your opinion on today's race in bottomless ground first time out.
 
I think looking at the drift as representing Hurricane Fly not being fully wound up is dangerous. You have to respect the Byrnes money because they so rarely get it wrong. I think the money for him was on the basis that Soltwit is the better horse and the rest of the season will prove it right.
 
Gearoid said:
I think looking at the drift as representing Hurricane Fly not being fully wound up is dangerous. You have to respect the Byrnes money because they so rarely get it wrong. I think the money for him was on the basis that Soltwit is the better horse and the rest of the season will prove it right.
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Is Muirhead a better horse? Byrnes suggests he was very fit today - that he does not take much work.

The way Hurricane Fly travelled and failed to pick up (not even beating Muirhead when travelling all over him) when his main asset is a turn of foot/speed suggests he blew up when asked a question.
 
Is Muirhead not a very good mark over course and distance on this ground? I would also expect him to improve for the run.
 
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Galileo said:
Fair enough, your basing much of your feelings on the horse on what he achieved last year - you do not rate him as highly as some. I thought you were basing much if not all your opinion on today's race in bottomless ground first time out.
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...I nearly got stoned on here last season when I said HF showed promise, but was not necessarily the best of a group of promising hurdlers.

There is no evidence I can see to suggest the front three in last year's Champion have anything to worry about from the upcoming brigade. Having said that the front three last year are not the greatest standard in the Champion, being eclipsed by two brilliant stayers in Big Buck's and Punchestowns.

It's a bit early to say how the likes of Dunguib and Solwhit will develop, but at the moment Binocular or Punjabi or Celestial Halo look to have it sewn up between them.
 
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