The Road To The 2012 Champion Hurdle

del boy said:
Some lads were only getting a £10er on and the rest at 4/5. They say via twitter they laid over 250k.
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£100 max in the shops, but didn't necesarily restrict you to one shop... To be fair 8.30am until just after 1pm is plenty of time to be laying it too.
 
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He'll get to 13/8 when people realise the chance the Champion Hurdle winning Binocular is back. I am REALLY excited by his chances, and think we may see something special.
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from Hamm

SteveM said:
I was gutted when he was pulled out at the eleventh hour last year. He has shown himself to be very good more than a couple of times in the past and reproducing that should make him the winner.
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from Stevie-boy


A horse who stands over a bubbling brook for two whole years, and still never takes a drink, will eventually keel over.

In an act of solidarity, I too will keel over, as a poignant post-script to the Champion Hurdle. Keel over laughing, that is.

This schadenfruede will be short-lived. I really can't have the pair of you tugging at my Jiminy Cricket, and I am almost certain to feel a sense of despondency after the race.

Thanks for ruining my buzz, you pair of tossers. :mad:

:D
 
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This is how I’ve rated them this season.

Hurricane Fly 171+
Rock On Ruby 169+
Binocular 169
So Young 161+
Celestial Halo 161
Zarkandar 160+
Grandouet 160+
Thousand Stars 160
Oscars Well 159+
Overturn 159
Brampour 156
Zaidpour 154+

The bet for me is:
Rock On Ruby 14/1 e/way betfred
Rock On Ruby 7/1 win w/o H.Fly
 
What does your '+' mean Swedish? I assume 'capable of better', or similar, in some way but to what extent?
 
I like Rock on Ruby but if he could not beat Binocular before the latter had that wind op I cannot see why he should beat him now .
 
Ardross said:
I like Rock on Ruby but if he could not beat Binocular before the latter had that wind op I cannot see why he should beat him now .
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I think his Christmas hurdle win was a much better display than his Kingwell win, where they went no pace and it turned into a sprint and he finished 6L in front of celestial Halo something he achieved 5 times before - This told me nothing to be honest.
 
Zenyatta said:
By how much Swedish, or is there no precise figure? It could be 2lbs, it could be 10lbs.
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2lbs would be realistic.

I’ve got Rock On Ruby’s last 5 runs
151+ 153+ 144(I think he bottomed out here(Aintree) after Cheltenham) 158+ 169+ but again this is a personal opinion.
 
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Another line that impresses me is through a horse called Raya Star who I knew Alan King thinks a lot of (entered for the county hurdle I think) Raya Star has been a picture of consistency himself this season yet Rock On Ruby beat him 10+ lengths giving him 13lb - Zarkandar beat him 1+ length giving him 12lb over same course / distance - I cant have it that Zarkandar is the better of the two.
 
EC1 said:
as sad as i am Steve..i'm going try and compare the sectionals of HF's champion and Binoculars..to see just how good Binocular is at his best
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From the second last flight to the winning line which is the all important section of the race, Binocular racing on much slower ground was about 1 second faster than Hurrricane Fly. Hurricane Fly was chasing the hard driven Peddlers Cross, Binocular was racing alone.

On that evidence Binocular at his best would beat Hurricane Fly but there's a flaw in the theory.

Ruby was riding Hurricane Fly to beat Peddlers Cross, had Binocular been there and gone a couple of lengths in front of Pedddlers Cross at the top of the hill when Hurricane Fly was still cantering Ruby would have swept past Peddlers then and not waited. Then it would have been a case of which horse could find an extra gear up the hill and I would have to side with Hurricane Fly.

If it was based only on their Champion Hurdle performances I doubt if there would have been a length between them but it is not.

With Hurricane Fly you can be almost certain he's as good as he was last season but with Binocular you just can't be sure.

Celestial Halo can be one tough nut to crack and was probably very near his best when giving away upwards of 20lbs in a handicap earlier in the season.

However the time of the Kingwell Hurdle would indicate he wasn't at his best when Binocular beat him as it took 1 second longer to run than the novice hurdle did on the same day.

Binocular looked in great nick but may have been a bit flattered. However that was weeks ago and if he's gone the right way then there must be a possibility he will be at his very best.

To be perfectly honest if he is to beat Hurricane Fly he's going to have to be slightly better than his best ever performance. big ask but possible.

IMO he's going to have to go sooner and harder than he did in 2010, force Ruby to follow him and try and run the finsih out of Hurricane Fly.

There's the added problem that those tactics could set the race up for Zarkandar.

Fascinating race if Binocular is back to his best if not then the Hurricane will fly home;) terrible pun!!!!!
 
Grasshopper said:
A horse who stands over a bubbling brook for two whole years, and still never takes a drink, will eventually keel over.
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...wise words indeed Grasshopper. "When you can take the pebble from my hand, it will be time for you to leave":lol::lol:

So who have you backed? :p
 
granger said:
What price do we think I'll get on hurricane next tuesday?
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I would hold out for 5/2 against. Whether you'll get that would be doubtful, but he'll surely be odds against rather than odds on (they'll be many bookmakers who won't have taken a penny on him yet)... I doubt he'll go big enough for me to have an interest though.
 
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swedish chef said:
I think his Christmas hurdle win was a much better display than his Kingwell win, where they went no pace and it turned into a sprint and he finished 6L in front of celestial Halo something he achieved 5 times before - This told me nothing to be honest.
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I don't think that stands up - it is all about how Binocular jumps and travels in a race - he jumped in the Kingwell with a fluency not seen since his CH win and travelled like a dream. Moreover, AP was plainly much happier after Wincanton than Kempton.

As for Celestial Halo he has been turning in 160 plus rated efforts this spring and he cantered all over him.
 
Ardross said:
I don't think that stands up - it is all about how Binocular jumps and travels in a race - he jumped in the Kingwell with a fluency not seen since his CH win and travelled like a dream. Moreover, AP was plainly much happier after Wincanton than Kempton.

As for Celestial Halo he has been turning in 160 plus rated efforts this spring and he cantered all over him.
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Agreed he travelled well but was entitled to off such a slow pace whereas Celestial Halo has always looked liked a horse who appreciates a fast pace. I've watched both races half a dozen times and they went hell for leather or at least Overturn did in the Christmas Hurdle, that's why I think Rock On Ruby is the real deal and as an added bonus he has terrific form at Cheltenham.

Maybe someone can compare the times of the Christmas Hurdle with previous runnings, I expect it was really fast. Also I'd be interested in the stats of horses placed in the Neptune and running the following year in the Champion Hurdle as they say you need a horse who stays 2 1/2m to win it - don't they?
 
swedish chef said:
Agreed he travelled well but was entitled to off such a slow pace whereas Celestial Halo has always looked liked a horse who appreciates a fast pace. I've watched both races half a dozen times and they went hell for leather or at least Overturn did in the Christmas Hurdle, that's why I think Rock On Ruby is the real deal and as an added bonus he has terrific form at Cheltenham.

Maybe someone can compare the times of the Christmas Hurdle with previous runnings, I expect it was really fast. Also I'd be interested in the stats of horses placed in the Neptune and running the following year in the Champion Hurdle as they say you need a horse who stays 2 1/2m to win it - don't they?
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It was very soft at Wincanton which would not suit Binocular nor does a slow pace. I cannot have it that he was as good at Kempton- he did not jump anywhere near as well and was all out - the reason being he could not breathe.
 
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