Love Faugheen but Grassy does make valid points.
thought he looked a little heavy today so more to come
Love Faugheen but Grassy does make valid points.
thought he looked a little heavy today so more to come
Some people say he’s the best since Arkle and that’s certainly true when you look at what he’s done
Champion Hurdle looking like the race of the season again.
Hoping they all get through the winter in one piece.
I wish Lingo was still around.
As a punter I've no interest in the race, and don't pretend there's a great edge or angle either.
Purple Bay winning the Fighting Fifth next week at Newcastle would give me something to think about.....
Maybe i will be prived wrong in March when i see how they shape up in the paddock.
Last edited by marbler; 23rd November 2014 at 3:49 AM.
Don't know so much. Told me The New One would be as well staying at home in March and that Faugheen has the makings of being the next Istabraq.
I agree with Grassy his jumping could have been better but horses tend to get a bit close to their hurdles when they are travelling in a low gear so it's not a worry.
If you consider Jezki was most like a winner by default and TNO was a well beaten 3rd behind him, Faugheen might just be a fantastic bet at current odds for the Champion Hurdle
Formely Fist of Fury
Tanlic, no horse is a "fantastic bet" at 5/2, four months before the Champion Hurdle, with one (albeit impressive) open-Grade run against moderate opposition behind him.
"Beat the price and lose. It's what we do".
SlimChance, March 2018
Hopefully they bring Faugheen over for the International.
Have to say that I wouldn't want to be taking on Jezki just yet.
All comers, all grounds, all beaten!
This perfect mix of poetry and destruction.
gonna be interesting what they do with faugheen. it seems as though all the big grade 1's in ireland are reserved for hurricane fly once again this season going off what willie said last week. so maybe they'll bring faugheen over for some of the uk one's. i don't think he'll come for the bula but maybe the xmas hurdle at kempton?
the alternative is they prep him using the same kind of races un de sceaux was in last season. seeing off fodder without ever being tested. it would be a risky way of preparing him for a race like the champion hurdle though.
thought Faugheen's jumping was ok and improved through the race. He absolutely pinged the last. Most likely winner for me but 5/2 is criminal
Slightly different tactics, but I thought the runs of Faugheen and The New One were very similar, and in both cases all it really showed was they're both in good heart, they can brush away inferior opposition without really being tested, and they both could do with sharpening up they're jumping.
I'm not saying one of them won't win the Champion Hurdle, but to nail your colours to the mast on either of those performances doesn't make sense, and Tanlic and Darren were definitely seeing something in the Faugheen performance that I didn't. Particularly as Ascot bears no resemblance to Cheltenham, neither did the pace of the race, nor the likely underfoot conditions.
Last edited by Maruco; 23rd November 2014 at 11:58 AM.
Have to agree with that.
The older I get the better I was.
Slight danger in getting carried away with yesterday's performance from Faugheen. In bare form terms, he probably hasn't achieved much more than he did in the Neptune. Lac Fontana is as honest a handicapper as you'll find, but he has no real pretensions to the upper echelons, and he's beaten under 10L.
Faugheen is, of course, hugely promising, but ante-post odds of 5/2 flatter him greatly at this stage of his career. Jezki and TNO might not be Istabraq or Hurricane Fly in their pomp, but they are seriousky good 2m hurdlers, have top-class track form, and are as game and reliable as you would want to see in a hurdler.
Currentl prices under-estimate both their chances, imo.
"Beat the price and lose. It's what we do".
SlimChance, March 2018
Anyone recall the last 3m hurdle winner that had the speed to win a Champion Hurdle?
did Beech Road or Morley St win over 3?
Reckon Brave Inca could have done so too. Actually when you look through the list a good number of winners were more than comfortable at 2m 4f
2m 4f isn't 3m though, and (AFAIA) Hardy Eustace ran 3 times over 3m - btn 72+l, 65l, and 9l (by Lough Derg, off levels ffs).
The point is that such a beast is a very rare bird (even non-existent, maybe), yet we see a Faugheen type almost every season.
ps Solwhit was arse/about face for this discussion, Mr Hopper.
Last edited by reet hard; 23rd November 2014 at 6:21 PM.