Finians Rainbow.

*cant

i backed it jumped superbly in front just didnt last home but what a prospect.

Agreed. He did all the donkey work. Smashing run.

Would love to know the sectionals. I notice the time for the Arkle was faster than the Champion chase. IMO it looks a decent Arkle and I would say the first 2 are very good. Finians probably went too fast at such an undulating track. I would say Finians has a really good chance in the Champion Chase next year.

yep,great run,used a bit of energy early on which would not have helped,but his jumping that some said werent good enough,was superb.

Has to have a fair career in front of him at 2m chasing,but Sizing Europe was one of the best performances i have seen for some time,and if they stay at 2m with him thats a big problem for FR and any other 2m chaser.

make you right there budd he is very interesting for the aintree race. as regards the 2012  champ chase sizing will be 10 next year and although he may not be deteriorating the youngsters will be improving so the  gap  could well be bridged  ,although there are also the likes of capt chris ect to worry about i would be looking at the younger brigade and suggest that the value lies there  ,good luck

Tipped by Pricewise at 14/1 for next years Champion

captain chris, finians rainbow and ghizao would be the 3 i would take from the race, as i think ghizao was definitely in with a shout before smashing one a few out. as captain chris is likely to go over further (reports of king george etc) and finians rainbow may aswel be better going over further, could ghizao not be a decent bet for queen mother next year? most of the horses who ran in it this year will be 10+ so the younger ghizao could look very handy

just had a another  look at next years champion chase bit early for a bet but there will be a lot of 10-11 year olds if they make the gig ,capt c b golden silver , ,big zeb,size euro. master minded looks on the retreat these take a fair chunk out of the market ,dont think hobbs will be able to resist sending capt chris to the gold cup so this race could well cut up once the dead wood has been removed  so to speak .i am in favour of the young up and comers and if you can say that somersby and medermit  need further woolacombe folly not quite good enough then it only leaves a few ...incl finians ,realt dubh and possibly noble prince but he looks as tho he is better over further ,probably best to wait untill the aintree festivals are over but finians does have the profile of a future champ chaser imo

Nap agree with all the above

If pricewise is tipping this then that is good enough for me
Good Luck

foyleswar, exactly how i look at the race. and i think ghizao has a massive chance. think he'l win the tingle creek and be alot shorter as people realise the race won't host most of the top-of-the-market contenders as it stands

I was on him at 33/1+ for the Arkle so was a big fan, but Finians just looks a weak finisher. He jumped pretty much perfectlty in the Arkle on perfect ground and yet still couldn't get away from a horse who apparently needs 2m4f+.

Looks a small field bully to me and won't be winning a Champion Chase to my eyes

Bit harsh imo Uncle. FR had to do the donkeywork out in front and set it up for a stayer imo.

If he settles a bit and reserves some energy then with maturity he could be the real deal imo.

I think the 16/1 on Master Minded is a better price. FR is the same age as MM and has achieved what to date ?... whereas MM was in contention for a top 2 finish swinging round the corner when one bad jump took him out of the race. He will be 9 next season and i think he still has a chance, especially if there's a wee bit of cut in the ground. I can't see them sending him to a Ryanair chase, and he certainly isn't a GC horse.

They've said they're going the Melling then possibly the KG dont think the CC is on the agenda

Apparently it wasn't on the agenda for Sizing Europe either.

Very true, I just dont see it though

yep nor do I. MM has lot a fraction of his speed imo

regarding master minded no doubt he js still a very usefull horse just feel that we have probably seen the best of him ( i may be wrong here ,often am )and agree with sint that he may have lost a bit of speed, borne out by connections going the melling  k.g route ?  wheras the likes of the younger brigade have lots of room for improvement and are on the up .

You say younger brigade. MM is the same age as Finians Rainbow, and only a year older than the likes of CC and Realt Dubh. Although he does have CC experience. I don't think it's over for MM at 2m just yet.

greame its all about opinions i wouldnt say its over for  master minded but the fact that he has been beaten in the last 2 champion chases and that connections are looking elsewhere suggests to me that he may not even be in the champion next year ,but as you say you could say the same about sizing euro its only my opinion but i favour the up and comers ,good luck with your bets

I haven't had a bet yet. I'm just trying to gauge other peoples opinions before deciding whether or not to have a bet(for the CC) before Aintree. One other bet i was considering is Long Run for the KG and GC double at 11/2.

I think LR will do the double again but i'd want 10/1 or more before backing it tbh.

FR is old for a novice chaser but he has very few miles on the clock by comparison. He is still a bit fizzy and immature in his running style and when he relaxes a bit, for experience, he could be very good,imo.

Fair enough. I'll hold my fire because of the question regarding MM distance. One very important factor is the ground. I don't think ante post prices are catering much for the potential weather at this moment. I'll still be keeping MM in mind all the same.

MM is finished. Weak finisher now. Distance doesn't matter, he just can't cut it at the very highest level now.

A grade 2, two grade 1's and probably would have placed at worst in the champion chase on ground he doesn't like = finished. You are a moron. Before the Champion Chase people were saying Sizing Europe doesn't have the pace for 2 miles. Master Minded probably has lost a bit of toe but he is still a very good horse.

graham and sintonian, got 66/1 for that double this year :) only had a couple of quid as a saver as didnt fancy him (but figured for him to be a player in gold cup he'd have to win king george) i think the king george will be a much stronger field next time though so think 11/2 is very poor value