Might bite going out so quickly made me think he might have been short of a gallop or two.
Might bite going out so quickly made me think he might have been short of a gallop or two.
He's hardly on a learning curve that being his 11th chase. He's in the h'capper's grasp mate and once there it can take years to find a race for them. Takes the fooker 2 minutes to raise them and 2 years to get them back on a winning mark
I could see PN slotting him into a bad grade 2-3 somewhere but as long as there are Biter's Native Rivers and top Irsh chasers about he has no chance of a big prize
Formely Fist of Fury
MB went out just too quickly for me. Hendo said he was making too much jumping but I won't be surprised if the old wind op isn't mentioned soon. From a quick look at the RP form, he's yet to have one (made public anyway but happy to be corrected) and he did stop a bit quick. He looked stunning in the paddock so I doubt he's got a bug. He could have bled, I guess. Scoping would confirm that.
All credit to Team Bristol though and both Tizzard horses ran well. NR on a track that doesn't obviously suit and TC who I felt they were just feeling their way with.
tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito
LUKE (24th November 2018)
Was way too far out for him to be anything close 2 100%. Seen this so many times Kauto Star. Desert Orchid Moscow Flyer (Fell) Hurricane Fly etc all beaten 1st time out then turning the form on it's head.
Most of these might go to Kempton and the result will simply not be anything like today.......Thistlecrack will probably beat them all
Formely Fist of Fury
MB blew up and just eased once chance was gone. Bad day for stable all round as River Wylde broke his shoulder too.
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Last edited by Kauto Abu; 24th November 2018 at 6:29 PM.
PlaceBacker (24th November 2018)
immediate reaction - is it worth having a few quid on Thistlecrack for the stayers? Fences prevent him from running with his pre-injury freedom.
LUKE (24th November 2018)
The problem with Haydock is the CoC.
Does he ever get anything right?
Illegitimi non carborundum
I don't think the race told us anything for later in the season. Bristol de Mai had his Gold Cup, Native River was game as usual but will have had later targets in mind, and Might Bite blew up. A race to erase from your mind unless you managed to sneak an extra point or two for the King George or Gold Cup.
I think that goes without saying although there is a chance at 7 years of age he has improved.
Kempton is a certainty for him with 1 million up for grabs
God only knows if Colin Tizzard will send River but may depend on Thistlecrack who showed some of his old sparkle after looking well beat 4 out
As for Clan Des Obeaux he'd have no chance at Kempton and the Hennessy looks a better option for him.
After that Ascot win over 2m5f PN must be thinking of sending Politilogue and possibly Black Corton
Might Bite will bounce out to back no doubt but I wouldn't be taking 5/2 as he could be gone.
He's airy fairy to my mind and the type that can lose form and take a couple of years before regaining it...time will tell
Formely Fist of Fury
Personally think Might Bite faded out of contention too quickly and it may be that the Gold Cup in that bad ground has left it’s mark after all (notwithstanding his win at Aintree after)
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Outsider (25th November 2018)
I'm a big fan of the horse but yesterday was shocking -has questions to answer.I think Noel Meade will probably send RTR to Kempton.
Something that stood out for me yesterday was someone was trying to place lay Native Rapper for €8K just before the off-that is a fair chunk.
Nicky doesn't talk shyte very often but he could fill a horse box when making excuses for Might Bite.
During the race he was complimented on his jumping on several occasions and never made any sort of mistake that would upset your normal everyday top class chaser.
I thought 5 out he was in trouble and was actually counting the sheckles I was going to collect when it was just a matter of time before Native River would go past Bristol De Mai...
I most certainly got the latter wrong but that was because in my minds eye it was a 2 horse race.
Footnote: IMO Might Bite's Feltham time and his amazing recovery in the RSA has fooled alot of people into thinking he's the next Kauto Star e.g.
I think it's time to face facts. He scraped home in a very poor King George against a no more than above average opponent then was easily disposed of in the Gold Cup
Both races they made excuses. he idle, He didn't like that ground...now he got scared because he brushed through the top of a fence.......gimme a break he's a good horse but grossly overrated as I have been saying for months.
Lotta younger horses like Road to Respect Bellshill and PPPP...Percy who will be bigger dangers to Native River than Might Bite come March
Formely Fist of Fury
Presenting Percy sleeps easy in his stable.
Say Leop Xmas will be the first time he gets any coverage at all
Some people say he’s the best since Arkle and that’s certainly true when you look at what he’s done
I didn't have a bet in the race but wanted to see MB win.
I was never happy with the way it was jumping although it seemed to get better for a few fences early on the second circuit as the pace picked up a bit before reverting to hesitancy.
Then again, I suppose I could say I wouldn't have been entirely happy with the way anything jumped and you have to wonder if the fences really were just far too big.
Maybe they were the way they used to be back in the fifties and sixties - maybe some older forumite will have that kind of detail but I couldn't imagine anything going too fast over that course yesterday.
I'm more inclined to go along with the theory that Might Bite, who tends to give his fences plenty of respect anyway, was expending too much energy with his jumping. I am always willing to forgive a horse one bad run, especially a seasonal debut.
I can't accept the the Gold Cup took too much out of it.
But I see the CoC is already talking about trimming the fences back.
What I would suggest is that anything that coped well with the fences yesterday should be kept in mind for Aintree.
Illegitimi non carborundum
What made Thistlecrack special was that he never really settled and just galloped all over good horses. On the long bends he looked at times to be getting that head of steam up but looked as if the fences got in the way. Maybe they were that bit more intimidating than usual. Ran around going into the last down the back, pushed away from a few others to keep tabs. Im not sure he will ever get back to his KG form but if he can, I think his best chance of a Chelt win is the Stayers. Im sure its not their current plan though and they'll go for the KG with him, Im sure.