The King George

Long Run in the Topham and the KG was superb! His jumping will be fine on the 26th. I have little doubt.

Kauto similarly in previous years made errors at Haydock when that wasn't his target. Merely a prep. There will be significant improvement to come. How much improvement can Kauto make to today? Very little imo. That was close to perfection today. Kauto is now 11, and today was not a prep. It was his target and was trained accordingly.

The way I see it, we've been here before. With Long Run in the mould of Kauto. Significant improvement to come around a course he loves. We'll see the real Long Run in 5 weeks, and for once i'm taking the short price.
 
LUKE said:
I thought Somersby was going to murder MM with a mile to run-will he always be a nearly horse?.
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Really depends how he's campaigned. The Melling suggests he's of similar merit to Albertas Run and that horse has won plenty of races. So three miles on easy tracks and the Ryanair should be where he goes. Unfortunately for him that race could be a very hot renewal this season.
 
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Does Kauto need to improve on that to win on Boxing Day ?

The answer is no - if he can repeat it round his favourite track he will win . It is between him and Long Run I think. I suspect a gallop like today will find MM and Somersby out .
 
Kauto's performance this season is already good enough to win most KG's I'd agree. But what has been missed in all of this is how well Long Run performed considering he didn't look quite there yesterday. I hope both line up again in the KG and Master Minded would add to it... it'll warm up Boxing Day for sure.
 
Will Clive Smith really be thinking about the King George for Master Minded, given Kauto Star's performance?

Is he likely to run them in opposition to each other, when Master Minded hasn't even proven he stays the trip? I can't see it myself.
 
Tingle Creek might not come too early, given the short gap between his first two starts. Failing that, the Peterborough Chase, and/or the Chandler. If they fancy travelling him, there's the John Durkan or the Hilly Way. There are plenty of races for him either side of the new year.
 
Long Run's jumping rather fell apart when his jockey tried to take Kauto on down the back straight . Rallied gamely though but he looks more and more like a stayer nowadays.
 
Ardross said:
Long Run's jumping rather fell apart when his jockey tried to take Kauto on down the back straight . Rallied gamely though but he looks more and more like a stayer nowadays.
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I thought so too, and maybe should have read the signs when they thought it necessary to give him intensive schooling prior to the race.
Not sure it's a fitness thing either - or just iffy technique that was exposed by the brilliance of his conquerer. Won't be carrying my money over the stiffer fences at Kempton, that's for sure.
 
He won't run in the Tingle Creek because he'll not be running over 2m anymore, I wouldn't have thought. Also they have Tataniano for that race. They have Kauto Stone for the John Durkan and they have Noland for the Peterborough. I don't think they'd run him in the VC because of the trip. Personally, I think they'll run both Master Minded and Kauto at Kempton and then MM will go to the Ryanair and KS for another Gold Cup.
 
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That's the bit I don't get, Simon.

You say connections won't run in the Chandler because of the trip, yet his record suggests 2m right-handed are his optimum conditions, and conversely, he has looked like a ropey stayer in his outings at 2m4f let alone 3m.

Nicholls knows more about training horses than me, but imo he is trying to 'manufacture' MM into the same animal KS is/was i.e. transition from 2m champion to staying champion. The critical difference for me is that KS was always a stayer who just happened to have sufficient toe to win a couple of Tingle Creeks. There is zero racecourse evidence to suggest MM stays a yard further than 2m4f - indeed, there's ample evidence to suggest he barely gets home over that trip, let alone further.

Clearly, Nicholls sees something in MM's make-up which makes him think he'll stay 3m well. If so, it's lost on me, and I wonder if there's a touch of the Canute about it - with Nicholls expecting him stay the trip, merely because he commands that it be so.
 
Not sure it's a fitness thing either - or just iffy technique that was exposed by the brilliance of his conquerer. Won't be carrying my money over the stiffer fences at Kempton, that's for sure.
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Spot on.Reading hendersons comments from yesterday clearly indicates that they were disappointed with the run and the back straight antics. He was more tuned up than some are telling themselves

Those kempton fences come very quickly in the home straight too.
 
clivex said:
Spot on.Reading hendersons comments from yesterday clearly indicates that they were disappointed with the run and the back straight antics. He was more tuned up than some are telling themselves

Those kempton fences come very quickly in the home straight too.
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Those same Kempton fences he jumped last year when destroying the field?
 
He wasnt under pressure but put him under and things seem to happen

Either way, the prices are too short for a horse who is too prone to errors. Im amazed people are drawing positives from saturday, especially given the trainers concerns
 
Bar the Bull said:
All systems go, for my third monster Master Minded payout.

Believe.
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...I reckon you've got decent a chance. MM has slipped under the radar in all of the Kauto excitement, but his beating of Somersby was very pleasing.

I'm still with Long Run, but if he is beaten...
 
clivex said:
He wasnt under pressure but put him under and things seem to happen

Either way, the prices are too short for a horse who is too prone to errors. Im amazed people are drawing positives from saturday, especially given the trainers concerns
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He couldn't have been put under more pressure than in the Gold Cup with Denman and Kauto turning up the ante, yet he rose to that challenge.

I hope more people take your view, though. We may yet get 7/4 or 2/1...
 
Hamm said:
He couldn't have been put under more pressure than in the Gold Cup with Denman and Kauto turning up the ante, yet he rose to that challenge.

I hope more people take your view, though. We may yet get 7/4 or 2/1...
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You've gone all in on Long Run for the KG.

I expect the run on Saturday will have knocked the cob webs away. I thought it interesting that if fitness was a problem, SWC seemed so sure that he wanted to take on Kauto from the get go and down the far side. He could have sat off him, taken his time, got him jumping and finish where he was going to finish (which would have been second anyway). Masterful piece of riding from Ruby to push SWC into the side of one of the fences down the back. Masterful.
 
Grasshopper said:
That's the bit I don't get, Simon.

You say connections won't run in the Chandler because of the trip, yet his record suggests 2m right-handed are his optimum conditions, and conversely, he has looked like a ropey stayer in his outings at 2m4f let alone 3m.

Nicholls knows more about training horses than me, but imo he is trying to 'manufacture' MM into the same animal KS is/was i.e. transition from 2m champion to staying champion. The critical difference for me is that KS was always a stayer who just happened to have sufficient toe to win a couple of Tingle Creeks. There is zero racecourse evidence to suggest MM stays a yard further than 2m4f - indeed, there's ample evidence to suggest he barely gets home over that trip, let alone further.

Clearly, Nicholls sees something in MM's make-up which makes him think he'll stay 3m well. If so, it's lost on me, and I wonder if there's a touch of the Canute about it - with Nicholls expecting him stay the trip, merely because he commands that it be so.
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I suspect they don't fancy their chances anymore in a Champion Chase so are trying to make him into a Ryanair horse, the easier race to win. If he's going to get 3m anywhere, it's going to be Kempton, and his speed will certainly be an advantage there. I remember Nicholls running Azertyuiop in Kicking King's first King George and he ran a close third, and I'd expect that's how Master Minded's run will turn out.
 
Off the bridle on the turn I think. Got well stuffed and I would have had him down as more of a stayer than MM. I just don't see MM in the KG myself but then this is Nicholls and he often proves people wrong.
 
MM loves going right handed unbeaten when completing. On visual evidence over the last 2 years he has improved form every time he has faced an extended trip. Even Saturday for a brief moment he looked like he was briefly outpaced. Personally think he's going to be very hard to beat come boxing day and I also like his chances in the Gold Cup.
 
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