thought Binocular was good - hope HF and PC are similarly impressive next w/e so that Menorah continues to drift right up until and on the day.

if it's another slow pace crawl I won't be too keen on Dunguib's chances personally. I think he'll need the truly run champion.

Timeform agreed on the ground description yesterday - good to soft - and Binocular had no problem with it.  He looked to have a real appetite yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the first 4 throughout, no matter the pace at Cheltenham.  He seemed to enjoy being involved from the outset.

I think aka's theory that a very fast pace is the key to him, rather than ground conditions, looks to be gaining more credence.  A couple of personal observations - I thought he got very close indeed to the first three hurdles before lifting his front legs - I cannot recall a horse that delayed take-off so long without making errors.  Once he'd warmed up though, he measured them with precision.

I think AP slightly underestimated Overturn as Bino looked marginally chopped for pace - just for a few moments - after turning in; AP shook him up and, I think expected him to sail past the pacemaker but Overturn quickened each time and AP had to wind things up just a wee bit more than he'd expected.

Once he'd established his superiority though it was just a few flourishes of the whip to keep him going.  I thought his stride was shortening approaching the line, probably because AP had eased off a bit or maybe because the trainer has still left something to work on, but it did plant a tiny seed in my mind that perhaps being involved from the outset, might have taken a bit more out of him than many thought.  If this proved to be the case, perhaps a similar prominent ride in a hot-paced Champion Hurdle would not be such a good idea.  But, given Overturn's tenacity and ability to quicken and PC's proven capacity to lie up with the pace and still find more, it will prove a fascinating tactical challenge for Binocular's connections, especially with the the thought of the Fly ghosting along with his proven turn of foot.

imo good ground - binocular wins comfortably , if ground is good/ soft or soft HF and dunguib will take all some pegging back

Good summary, Foyleswar. The upcoming renewal looks like it may have far more strength in depth than was the case with the 2010 race and seemingly it is going to prove a much tougher challenge for Binocular.

One thing I like about Binocular is that he is proving himself to be a very good stayer. He is building up a good clutch of comparatively high TS ratings from truly run races where he has lasted home well off a strong pace for the conditions. For Saturday's race, the TS rating was again quite high, at 159. He has several TS ratings now over 150, which in terms of that particular measure puts him quite a bit ahead of the others. Add in his superb hurdling and the fact he is not short of tactical speed, he would clearly be a major scalp for any of the other contenders to take.

I agree though that there is a good case to be made for several of the others too. There is also Mille Chief to add your list, as a lively outsider who could go into the race as quite a dark horse (appropriately, given his colouring).

Yes, looking forward to seeing Soldatino again. A grey dark horse; there is probably a betting tip in there somewhere.

There are so many interesting runners at this stage. In fact, we must be knocking up against the entry limit in terms of the number of horses who could be aimed at this.

exactly what i have done foyleswar. can pick form of HF, binocular and menorah in my opinion, and peddlers cross's form through binocular i guess cud be picked aswel. so i've got big big prices about a few of the others

Dunguib entered Sunday, only 9/2 for Irish Champion.
It's been a long wait and it's nearly over. Expecting a win, nothing less. Don't want any of this 'a place would be good enough'.
I want to see a decent pace and the jockey giving me more confidence.
Bring it on.

been blood tested? that mean has an illness?

ENTRIES ?

Silviniaco Conti = overpriced/forgotten horse. Was as short as 8/1 before the Bula, now 40+ on here and seemingly still being targeted at the Champion. Not a bad effort in a race not run to suit last time and giving 4lbs to Cue Card and Menorah. Nicholls far from downbeat after either: "Back off level weights in March, it could be a different story. He's still very light and I think I can get him better. They are three super horses and there's very little between them."

Now rated 162 - (same as Peddlers Cross, 2lb below Menorah) yet the price discrepancy is massive. It's a very hot year, but 16s is more like it. Ground shouldn’t bother him either way and strong pace assured.

Graham Cunningham has added what I thought was an interesting reflection on the Christmas Hurdle. He was complimentary about Binocular's run, but also indicated that he thought there might not have been that much left in the tank at the end. He is not necessarily right, of course, but some food for thought there.

The Christmas Hurdle was a reasonably true run race on ground a little softer than ideal for the first three home. Binocular put in an impressive performance and won the race reasonably emphatically. When they win like that it is easy to take the eye off any signs of how much the winner might have had left at the end of the race.

Having looked at the closing stages of the race again a few times, I can see where Cunningham is coming from, though perhaps not sufficiently so to agree entirely with his observation. I also take on board the point often made about how Henderson trains his horses for the Festival, so that he may still have left a little more to work on with Binocular fitness wise coming into the Christmas Hurdle.

A lot hinges on this issue of just how strong a stayer Binocular is, imo. It is hard to find many chinks in his armour. His hurdling looks rock solid and, off a fast pace, he probably has enough speed to be able to mix it well enough with the speedier types over two miles. He is also clearly proving to be a stronger stayer over two miles than many thought he would. But how strong? How close have we been to seeing his breaking point exposed in the fast run races he has competed in so far?

As someone who is favouring Binocular at this stage, there is the slight concern that he may have come closer to "hitting the wall" in some of his winning runs than might appear from a superficial consideration. If he is to be beaten, one of the more likely scenarios is that it will be by a horse that can hang tough longer than he is able to when the effects of the oxygen deficit take hold in the final stages of the race (assuming we get a strong end-to-end gallop).

Any thoughts on this very welcome.

after cue card beats zaidpour first up, then ghizao/finian's rainbow beats flat out/realt dubh, the irish will lump on the hurricane and the english will lump on the champ, leaving nice prices about the rest :D

Interesting comment from GC aka - here's an extract from my post of 16 Jan:

Once he'd established his superiority though it was just a few flourishes of the whip to keep him going. I thought his stride was shortening approaching the line, probably because AP had eased off a bit or maybe because the trainer has still left something to work on, but it did plant a tiny seed in my mind that perhaps being involved from the outset, might have taken a bit more out of him than many thought.  If this proved to be the case, perhaps a similar prominent ride in a hot-paced Champion Hurdle would not be such a good idea.  But, given Overturn's tenacity and ability to quicken and PC's proven capacity to lie up with the pace and still find more, it will prove a fascinating tactical challenge for Binocular's connections, especially with the the thought of the Fly ghosting along with his proven turn of foot.

That's why I took plenty of him @ 5/1 Steeple. 5.5pts in total. I would personally love if Binocular could win over 2m4f then he'd have pretty much everything in his armoury to be worthy of his current odds.

We are forgetting the fact that they under watered the track last year. I've a feeling they'll make sure it's softer ground than it was last year which may tire binocular a bit more, like what happened in 08.

CV,could you explain your post above,well the bit about 2m4f??
if you dont mind,as i fail to see why he needs that to be worthy of his current odds.
He is the current Champion,after all.

brigust i was sweet on dunguib but not as much now still hasnt had a run... have taken abit of the 20s in case though, but if u read my post i said that irish lump on fly, english lump on bin, n nice prices will be left about the others, e.g. dunguib ;)

fwiw,i think Bino would have no trouble in winning good races over further,but whether we actually find out for sure,i dont know,as he is more likely to be kept at 2m all the time he is winning big 2m races, and his prep leading up to March works ok.
He ran well the other day on pretty soft ground and werent really stopping,and he certainly dont look short on stamina now he has fully developed. Their aint rally a chink in his armour that i can see,and to me its simply a case of whether the other horses he will face in March are better than him. It is a better class of field this year,and i think Bino will have to put in better performance this year than last,although having said that,i do think he had something left at the end of last years race.
Fascinating horse in a lot of respects is Bino,and when he gets into that rhythm of jumping that he does sometimes,he is a thrill to watch,hurdling as it should be done.

Lets hope they all get there in good heart, its shaping up to be one of the most fascinating Champion Hurdle's for a while.

Yes, very lucky to have the quality of horses that are coming through in this division now.

Good point about a brisk pace at Kempton, CV, and the greater scope for getting a mid-race breather at Cheltenham. That is one of those small details that is easily overlooked, but clearly very important, for some horses (or tactics)slightly more so than for others.

As Budd indicates, at his best Binocular is a superb model of all that you would expect from a top drawer two mile hurdler. The prospect of finding another one well capable of matching him, possibly in HF, is something well worth waiting for. And the added angle of a chasing type, in PC, who supporters think might just be good enough to lead them all a merry dance, sets the race up brilliantly. And that is not mentioning Menorah and a good crop of really interesting outsiders on top.