WEIRD AL-is he the forgotten horse of the gold cup?

Not for me, none of his form suggests he'll go close in the race whatsoever. 'Looked top notch' is an overstatement to say the least mate.

well put it this way,KEMPES is 16s WEIRD AL is 50s
i dont know about u but i know who'd i rather be on

which of his runs is top notch??
think 50's is too short myself

Just so I'm crystal clear.

You'd rather be on Wierd Al at 50's than Kempes at 16's, yes?

rogerthebutler shall in translate it to spanish/italian/german/french for u,as its clear u cant understand english

Well comparing the two, to me, is a little irrelevant. I just don't think Weird Al represents any value. No run of his suggests he'll get near placing in a Gold Cup.

knockara beau is no mug,thats not bad form is it?
also dead heated with a pp winner,so WA is no mug,
my point is he still has scope for improvement,much like pandorama did after his subsequent flop in the hennessy,not many in the gc who have much improvement in them is there???

but none of those horses are anywhere near the Gold Cup level

i am all for imoroving types,but WA is a long way away from whats needed

i never said they were,did i?i meerly stated they are no MUGS!
as in he hasnt been beaten trees,and with scope for improvement after his breathing op 50s looks  value to me,anyway only one way to find out whos rite,im not afraid to express an opinion even if i end up been way wide of the mark,

fair enough,like you say,its your opinion,cant see it at all,but good luck.

typical argumentative Utd fan

Is Weird Al going to run in the RP Chase? Might be of more interest if he put in an impressive performance there.

hi duncan,how did u know i follow newcastle?stalky stalky
and answer me this,why is midnight chase more than 3 times less the price than this horse?
midnight chase whos won a few handicaps,so theres TWO horses who id have weird al all day to beat in a match bet (along with kempes)

i thought with improvement he might be a horse to consider at the start of the campaign. but to back him now on the back of finishing distressed first time out, then running like a drain at newbury and requiring a breathing op. i think its taking a huge leap of faith in hoping he has improved the 20-25lbs to be in the shake up.

hey,nicholls horses often improve tons with a breathing op
and as i already mentioned,pandorama was thought as useless by many after disappointing in the hennessy,and i think you'll find WEIRD AL finished ahead of pandorama in the hennessey,and a few other horses,even though he clearly was not rite!

Straw clutching at its best.

you need to watch the hennessy again mate,  pandorama was badly interfered with after 2 horses fell in front of him. the jockey lost an iron and couldn't get the horse ready for the 4th fence and he hit it very hard and his race was over. plus pandorama has come out and won a grade 1 well last time.

i'm not knocking your pick just think its pure guess work as to how well weird al is now, and the fact he hasn't shown ( on the track ) the improvement necessary to figure in a gold cup.

I like Weird Al and back Knockara Beau everytime it ran last time. I admit now they are simply not top class...good but not great imo

Evra fair play to you and I wasn't having a go (wel not much anyway )

There's no such thing as 'value'. Just your 'value' and my 'value' and I'm the last person to offer an opinion on what anyone should and shouldn't think when it comes to punting - too many people do that in everyday life and puntings one of the last frontiers of true freedom.

Personally I'd rather be all over Kempes at 16's than Wierd Al at 50's for the reasons many others have said. But if WA comes up the hill first on Festival Friday, I'll remember this thread and know somewhere there's a guy laughing his dik off and ordering that Range Rover!

lol roger,well thats what this game is all about mate,opinions,i honestly believe were in for a turn up in the gold cup this year,almost every horse at the head of the market has question marks against them and stats against them,age etc,i can see one coming from under the radar and shocking us all,having said all that i could be made look a complete fool if he runs a shocker which is entirely possible,but id be willing to have a few quid e/w anyway,imo if midnight chase is considered to have a genuine chance of winning or running into a place then why not this fellow,anyway good luck with whoever you punt,should be a great race,and dont forget people.if weird al runs like a drain,ttt for this thread

I backed Weird Al ante-post for Gold Cup at 33s in October and will be astonished if he finishes 3rd never mind win

Amazed there's so much ridicule over a 50/1 shot tbh. Would say though they go Racing Post Chase and wait until next year for taking on the big boys, he's not had many career runs and must still be considered as having a good deal of potential. He almost certainly left his Hennessy run behind him at Carlisle on that ground where afterwards he's was reported to have been very uneasy on his feet. The break will have done him as much good as the wind op.

well said and well put ben10,u could be rite about connections waiting until next year to have a crack at the gold cup,might be in the horses benefit if they did wait as u said he hasnt had many runs at all for a horse of his age,just the 7 in his career,but there is a lot of improvement in this horse imo

I dont think you can rule out the possibility, of him having a crack at the old WH trophy of 152.

I'd rather have Tidal Bay as a lively outsider than Weird Al at around the same prices

everyone knows tidal bay is a talented horse,the reason hes such a big price is because hes a dog!simple as that,wouldnt back him with counterfit,although ill always be thankful for his arkle romp

Yeah but what would you back him at idf you knew in advance it was a going day for him.

For me, every horse has his price and whilst I'm on Long Run at big prices and don't feel the need to get involved any further, 50/1 looks to have factored in his 'dogginess' no?

your bang on there roger,the whole point of this thread is price related,if he was 16/1 or there abouts i wouldnt have mentioned him tbh,but because hes 50s i thought he warranted a mention as a horse who may slip under the radar

His DH with Josh was against a horse that struggled bigtime to go RH , whereas Al jumped straight as a die , Josh's mark after that was part reason for his PP win but then exposed afterwards. But hey , a young relatively unexposed runner with some sort of reasoning at 50s is always worth a shout .

Weird Al the Gold Cup?

I could write down the reasons why not but I don't have  2 years to spare.

People have also latched on to Tidal Bay because if he jumps straight and precise he has a very strong finish.

Be a toss up between the 2 which would is least cut out for the race.

care to tell us who's going to win the gold cup rondetto?

i will.........Denman,hopefully!!

I dont think WA has much chance,but at the end of the day he is 50 odd on here,and if someone backs him at that price cos he has a feeling he could improve enough to figure,then whats the problem??
After all he aint saying he will win it.

Tidal Bay least cut out for the race?

Is that due to his Festival winning form?
His good course record?
His excellent Wins-Place-Runs record?
His coupla lengths behind Imperial Commander in a Grade 1 at Haydock?
His coupla lengths behind Neptune Collonges LTO?
His guaranteed stamina at the trip?

Granted, he's a rogue but "least cut out"?...lol!

be great to see the old boys come to the fore in the gc buddeliea,denman and kauto showing the younger brigade how its done
and on denmans only run this season he has to have every chance,looked as good as ever at newbury

Well they along with IC have been there and done it as they say,the others still have to prove themselves,particularly with handling the course and distance.
Just think Denman with his prep more geared up to being nice and fresh on the day with his winning jockey back,will be enough to reverse with IC.Kauto a big danger....IF!!

I personally would want bigger than 50's but he is a contender if fully tuned up.

He is clearly a very brittle horse, needs long breaks between runs but he does have no doubts about his jumping, even in Hennessey when he ran poor his jumping was good, His injury in the hennessey sounded painful, a paralysed Larynx, meaning breathing during the race would have been nearly impossible.

He finished at Carlisle heavily distressed and needed Oxygen, but his course form at Cheltenham is 2-2, the breathing operation would have helped him plenty i feel. the interesting thing would be who the jockey is Fehilly is injured, Brennan and McCoy booked, as is Costello, suggests to me a crack at the William Hill trophy is feasible after his run at Kempton then head to Aintree for the Totesport Bowl. 

But if he runs i guarantee he will finish in the top 6

Graham Lee ?

Tom Scudamore or Wayne Hutchinson if he did go.

(imo)