The Road To The 2018 Champion Chase

Good to soft ground and they get just the four runners, with the race being re-opened and the same happened with the Henry VIII. Bad day for Sandown.

Very disappointing turnout.
 
The storm has been forecast for days - could have sent one over early surely ?

Seems only 4 declared - I did not know that they could reopen again as it says they have done .
 
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Bonjers said:
Aaaand Douvan isn't declared. There's a surprise.
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Sounds like the same story with Faugheen & Annie Power last season, we knew somethings up if by December they didn't turn up..

Will anyone from Mullins 2 miler chasers run in the Hilly Way? Maybe Yorkhill if everything else fails..
 
Anyone who feels tucked up is a muppet who doesn't learn from history.

Douvan's trainer Willie Mullins said on Thursday: "Douvan worked very well at the Curragh on Tuesday. He cantered yesterday. He did another little bit early this morning and I wasn't entirely happy with him.
"Maybe he hadn't fully recovered from what he did on Tuesday and I decided not to declare him for Sandown. No decision has been made regarding when he will have his first run of the season."
 
There really should be a Douvangate...I was told that it came out of the yard all was well and the money was still coming for Douvan.

I then heard he was not running so I pulled out and made 30p profit thinking the odds wouldn't change much so financially I have no axe to grind.

This has gone beyond funny This is an insult to every racing fan and punter in the land that these two a$$holes do this.

One minute they are Mr Nice guys the next it's FU lot
 
Comments from connections are almost universally for ignoring these days.

In the last 3-4 weeks, we've had Defi definitely (not) going for the Greatwood, Altior in absolute tip-top-shape for the Tingle-Creek (24hrs before he had a wind-op), and now this from Mullins (a couple of days after both he and Walsh declared Douvan in absolutely knocking order). And that ignores Tizzard's laughable revisionism about the fitness of Thistlecrack for the Long Distance Hurdle, after he was humped in the race.
 
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archie said:
Anyone who feels tucked up is a muppet who doesn't learn from history.

Douvan's trainer Willie Mullins said on Thursday: "Douvan worked very well at the Curragh on Tuesday. He cantered yesterday. He did another little bit early this morning and I wasn't entirely happy with him.
"Maybe he hadn't fully recovered from what he did on Tuesday and I decided not to declare him for Sandown. No decision has been made regarding when he will have his first run of the season."
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Thousands feel muffed about this and they are not Muppets...They were planing to go to Sandown they hired cars bought bus tickets booked hotels trains........One minute the horse is a million$ the next he can't even get to the races..........The very fact the marekt started to drift on Tuesday makes Mullina fookin liar
 
Grasshopper said:
Comments from connections are almost universally for ignoring these days.

In the last 3-4 weeks, we've had Defi definitely (not) going for the Greatwood, Altior in absolute tip-top-shape for the Tingle-Creek (24hrs before he had a wind-op), and now this from Mullins (a couple of days after both he and Walsh declared Douvan in absolutely knocking order). And that ignores Tizzard's laughable revisionism about the fitness of Thistlecrack for the Long Distance Hurdle, after he was humped in the race.
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Things happen Grassy I have witnessed fist hand. Nicky Henderson was straight about Altior, never thought for aminute Tizzard had Thistlecrack 100% but this is different. He said the horse worked well on Tuesday (So no problem was there?) So how come the drift.......if this was a court of law the c**** would be in the cells aready
 
Grasshopper said:
Comments from connections are almost universally for ignoring these days.

In the last 3-4 weeks, we've had Defi definitely (not) going for the Greatwood, Altior in absolute tip-top-shape for the Tingle-Creek (24hrs before he had a wind-op), and now this from Mullins (a couple of days after both he and Walsh declared Douvan in absolutely knocking order). And that ignores Tizzard's laughable revisionism about the fitness of Thistlecrack for the Long Distance Hurdle, after he was humped in the race.
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Add Sizing John missing the Betfair chase to that list
 
The suggestion that Henderson was straight about Altior is a load of old hogwash. The TC market was already upside-down for a couple of hours, before he released the wind-op news via his blog/paymasters at Unibet.

I never thought for a minute that Thistelcrack would be anywhere near fit either. That's not the point though. The point is that the Tizzards said that he was as straight as he'd ever been for his first run, and it was only after he was humped, that they advised everyone he had barely been up to a gallop since his injury.

They're basically all liars, with nothing but contempt for punters.
 
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Grasshopper said:
The suggestion that Henderson was straight about Altior is a load of old hogwash. The TC market was already upside-down for a couple of hours, before he released the wind-op news via his blog/paymasters at Unibet.

I never thought for a minute that Thistelcrack would be anywhere near fit either. That's not the point though. The point is that the Tizzards said that he was as straight as he'd ever been for his first run, and it was only after he was humped, that they advised everyone he had barely been up to a gallop since his injury.

They're basically all liars, with nothing but contempt for punters.
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I love the game but the whole of racing needs to seriously question whether it is fit for purpose it's blatantly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell what needs to be done or looked into yet nothing is done.
 
My view is that such nonsense as we've seen these last few weeks - and they are hardly isolated incidents - will only damage bookies turnover on ante-post markets.

Discerning punters will either ignore the waffle when they choose to bet, or simply wait for the race-day market instead.
 
If the trainers best interest is the long term well being of the horse, not sure they need to be too concrete with their plans - if you train a G1 horse why would you care what Joe Bettingshop thinks - your duty of care is to the owner and the horse

If the BHA and HRI decide to get involved to protect racing's image that is another thing

Best thing you can do is rely on the things between your 2 ears and ignore pillow talk

Saturday/Sunday turnovers are such that day of race markets are competitive enough without people needing to get burned by playing 4-5 days in advance
 
The other thing I am afraid is that betting exchanges can make leaking information from a racing yard a very lucrative business nowadays . For the layer whose fingers were burned by laying Binocular at 999-1 there are lots who have made money on the basis of what is in substance fraud - laying a horse you know is not running or you have information that means it is very likely not running .

I think the likelihood of Mullins deliberately misleading is very unlikely . In his interview on ATR about running plans he was very clear that none of the pans were set in stone and could change.
 
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To be fair, I agree with that, Adross - to an extent anyway. Mullins was certainly not committing Douvan (or UDS) one way or the other, last weekend.

I just find it a little surprising that horses work well one day........it's reported that they've done so..........are then backed..........and then we find out that the day after, they haven't recovered sufficiently to take-up their entry. The very best you can say about it, is that it isn't a good look.

Still, it's caveat-emptor, as we're all aware - none of us compelled to have a bet on pain of death.
 
Grasshopper said:
My view is that such nonsense as we've seen these last few weeks - and they are hardly isolated incidents - will only damage bookies turnover on ante-post markets.

Discerning punters will either ignore the waffle when they choose to bet, or simply wait for the race-day market instead.
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Most of the time you talk shyte but on occassions you come across as extremely smart.........this is not one of them :lol:

Joking!! you are perfectly correct this would never have happened in the old day when Arkle had a guinness the whole world knew
 
Grasshopper said:
To be fair, I agree with that, Adross - to an extent anyway. Mullins was certainly not committing Douvan (or UDS) one way or the other, last weekend.

I just find it a little surprising that horses work well one day........it's reported that they've done so..........are then backed..........and then we find out that the day after, they haven't recovered sufficiently to take-up their entry. The very best you can say about it, is that it isn't a good look.

Still, it's caveat-emptor, as we're all aware - none of us compelled to have a bet on pain of death.
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The concern is surely that putting Douvan through a proper piece of work may have led to him injuring something - is he going to be another great engine but failing chassis horse ?
 
Clearly, Willie would not risk him - I concede that much - especially on a comeback run. Be interesting to see if he is allowed to take his chance in the Hilly Way.
 
He won't according to the RP. UDS for Cork and Djakadam for the Durkan.

As a matter of interest, are we seriously suggesting that, having not been happy with this morning's work, Douvan should have been sent over to run anyway? Suppose that had happened, he'd run poorly and then the work story came out. The usual suspects would have been in meltdown.
 
I'm not suggesting that at all, myself.

If he has disappointed, he has disappointed, and it would be self-defeating to rush him back.
 
archie said:
Anyone who feels tucked up is a muppet who doesn't learn from history.

Douvan's trainer Willie Mullins said on Thursday: "Douvan worked very well at the Curragh on Tuesday. He cantered yesterday. He did another little bit early this morning and I wasn't entirely happy with him.
"Maybe he hadn't fully recovered from what he did on Tuesday and I decided not to declare him for Sandown. No decision has been made regarding when he will have his first run of the season."
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Agree 100%.
 
Ardross said:
The other thing I am afraid is that betting exchanges can make leaking information from a racing yard a very lucrative business nowadays . For the layer whose fingers were burned by laying Binocular at 999-1 there are lots who have made money on the basis of what is in substance fraud - laying a horse you know is not running or you have information that means it is very likely not running .

I think the likelihood of Mullins deliberately misleading is very unlikely . In his interview on ATR about running plans he was very clear that none of the pans were set in stone and could change.
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You should know better-were the punters who laid Binocular and Kicking King guilty of fraud or only the ones that laid losers.
 
Horses go wrong all the time, sometimes all of a sudden.
The question is when and how the information gets out : remember the great JP Mcmanus/ jack Of Trumps story with 1979 Gold Cup ?
He knew fav Gay Spartan was injured early Saturday before the bookies/public so doubled his JoT bet anly to be JoT was out after the same day.
Nijinsky suffered a mild colic the day before Epsom Derby and Golden Fleece coughed; Bregadier Gerard's lad was instructed not to let drop his head until away from public eyes at York when beaten as his windpipe was full of mucus and phlegm; the list goes on.
With technology now everything is more instant but horses can disappoint for all kinds of reasons .
To make matters worse, you can bet as well as lay and trainers and jockeys are writing blogs for bookies, newspapers and everyone else on an "exclusive " basis.
I am too old and too tired to even try suggesting a remedy but it involves an off course tote monopoly , caveat emptor ante post betting and a ban on exchanges. Punditry to be confined to retired jockeys and trainers who are more likely to need the money than current players.
 
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