Sunnyhillboy is well handicapped, of that I'm certain.
Oh look, the weights are out and suddenly Chicago Grey actually starts performing again.
Niche Market out, injured.
Ah! but a man's reach should exceed his grasp......
Just been looking at this race. I've narrowed it down to three. Cappa Bleu, Treacle and Killyglen. All fit the right type of horse to do well, have nice weights, go on good ground, are rated about right, look to have had a decent prep, have run between 3 and 6 times this season and all ran last time in February or March. They all trade around 20-25/1 at present.
I like Cappa Bleu and Sunnyhillboy.
I am on SHB already...Treacle isn't for me, and I need to have a think about Killyglen.
Does Cappa Bleu definitely run?
Welsh and Proud.
I'm keen on Treacle as well, hopefully not put a jinx on him for you Simon.
If the horse who won the Kerry National a few years back turns up he could be the one to be on.
Last edited by Marble; 21st March 2012 at 5:53 PM.
I'm astounded they're actually considering sending Synchronised for the National. The way he jumps, there's no way he gets around.
Killyglen fell in a hole last year when the juice was turned on... not for me.
Do not mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance nor my kindness for weakness.
I thought Killyglen was going well enough last year. He had a few horses around him having been a clear second but he wasn't back peddling.
Becauseicouldnt see looks the best of the Irish challenge by a distance.
I hope they do run Synchronised to be honest. It will add a lot of intrigue to the race, particularly if he manages to win it.
My biggest concern would actually be the hard race he had in the GC rather than his jumping; he's never fallen over fences although he can skew over a few I'll admit!
I'm clever enough to ask the questions i'm too stupid to answer
Jonjo won a Gold Cup on Alverton 79 who got killed at Aintree Bechers second time "when cantering".Davy Lad fell in 77. Of the more recent Gold Cup winners to go to Aintree Synchronised seems to be this type rather than the Garrison Savvanah type. Mind you if Pricewise selects him again....
Intrigue is one thing. We all like to see history created in our era, and while the idea of him running sounds nice, his jumping style will not be seen to best effect around Aintree.
He may not have fallen before, but Aintree fences are unlike anything he'll have faced to date. If he was pinging fences around Cheltenham with room for error then fair enough, but he wasn't by a long way, and he's a small horse. Just because he stays and has a touch of class about him, it won't make the Aintree fences any smaller.
The idea just seems crazy to me. I can only see one outcome. He simply won't get around. Then, God forbid the worst case scenario happens and we lose the horse!?! The Gold Cup winning horse!! After all the fallout from last years Grand National this is a risk not worth taking for me.
If you applied the same criteria to the rest of the field, how many would you not want to run?
I've no idea Gareth, I haven't gone through it. But Synchronised's profile doesn't match for me.
I can see your point, there's a huge potential downside in the worst case, but I just don't think it's possible to exclude him in any fair way. He might only just get over the fences at Cheltenham, but maybe that's just because he only jumps as high as he needs to, and he'll adjust as necessary when bigger obstacles come along?
Basically, if a Gold Cup and Welsh National winner who has never fallen over fences and has won on everything from Heavy to Good shouldn't run in the National, then what horse out there should?
Well he clearly stays and jumps adequately, hence Gold Cup/Welsh National winner as you say. But I think his jumping would have to show more scope to be a proper Aintree horse.
Maybe he will adjust to the bigger fences, but his size makes me seriously doubt that, making that a big Maybe for me.
If connections feel he's a good enough jumper to get around Aintree, then fair enough,. They see the horse school at home and know the horse better than me. But from what I've seen I can't have it and I'd be place laying on the day should he run.