Cheltenham Festival
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21 Jan 12
11:05
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04 Dec 06
I would like to hear people's views on this
I'm talking at the festival here
Lots of people are against novices running in championship races. Too much for a young horse against seasoned horses
A few think if the horse is good enough let him take his chance
The arkle for example this year looks a red hot renewal. So will they go much quicker in the champion compared to the arkle??
Looking back on high class horses winning the arkle, their winning time compares very favourably with that same weeks champion. I know times are not a direct comparison but it does show they can run the 2 miles as quick
For sure some horses are still quite weak and other horses mature quicker than others. But a horse good enough to win this years arkle won't be far off the form to win the champion IMO
I'm talking at the festival here
Lots of people are against novices running in championship races. Too much for a young horse against seasoned horses
A few think if the horse is good enough let him take his chance
The arkle for example this year looks a red hot renewal. So will they go much quicker in the champion compared to the arkle??
Looking back on high class horses winning the arkle, their winning time compares very favourably with that same weeks champion. I know times are not a direct comparison but it does show they can run the 2 miles as quick
For sure some horses are still quite weak and other horses mature quicker than others. But a horse good enough to win this years arkle won't be far off the form to win the champion IMO
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The Arkle is a hot renewal,but with novices.Should SE or BZ be in that race would be a lot hotter!!
Ive always been of the view that the novice season is there for a reason and should be used as a learning time for the future.Whatever they achieve as novices is a bonus,and its when they are fully grown with more experience is the time to take on the best around in their field at the festival.
When talking about times a lot of that is down to the flat between jumps.Its the jumping that novices are dis advantaged having jumped a lot less than a QM horse.
Ive always been of the view that the novice season is there for a reason and should be used as a learning time for the future.Whatever they achieve as novices is a bonus,and its when they are fully grown with more experience is the time to take on the best around in their field at the festival.
When talking about times a lot of that is down to the flat between jumps.Its the jumping that novices are dis advantaged having jumped a lot less than a QM horse.
Does Somersby beating Al Ferof answer your question? It should imo.
in a way stront it does
but i thought al ferof looked beat very early in the race today. i cant put that down to the fact he is a novice.
it was his 12th start under rules today, the same as finians
but i thought al ferof looked beat very early in the race today. i cant put that down to the fact he is a novice.
it was his 12th start under rules today, the same as finians
Only his 3rd chase though compared with Finians 7th and Somersbys 14th, so he wasn't beaten far.
In championship races I believe Novices should stick to their own events. However I often back novices against seasoned handicappers as they are usually well treated. On the down side backed both Josef Lister and Zaynar today at good early prices, both well backed and beaten!!!!
i'm not saying i think they should or shouldn't, its just a thing thats knocked about in my head for years
another one is when a horse wins after a 2 year absence its an amazing training performance, but when a horse wins first time out its nothing special. surely when a horse gets roughed off he gets unfit during the summer. as when he returns the trainer has to start off walking then gentle exercise to slowly get him fit. is there different levels of unfit-ness
anyway, some horses are just more mature than others and reach their personal peak at different times
horses like peddlers have proven their ability to race at the highest level already so they only have to prove their ability to jump the fences. but surely that will be tested to the limit in the arkle. cant have they run faster on the flat but jump slower.
sprinter sacre on the other hand has only had 1 race to date in last years supreme so for me that would be enough to keep him to novice company
in most years i would say in the arkle you would get only a couple of top class animals compared to the champion where you might get a few. so you would expect to run faster for longer putting lots of pressure on horses in the champion but this years arkle looks exceptional.
of course horses reach their potential at different times and a young horse should keep progressing with age, as he grows and strengthens. but that doesn't mean they will get better at jumping with age
take long run.............when he first came over he looked awesome at kempton.then he finished a very respectful 3rd in the RSA. whether that was down to poor jumping, his age, sam setting him alight coming down the hill or the end of a long season, either way a year later a year older and stronger he wins the gold cup as a 6 year old but still not jumping well
my point is he won despite his jumping not improving from his novice year but because he was older and stronger. so if a horse is at/or very near his physical peak he can put it up against more experienced horses.
some horses are just natural jumpers and aren't necessarily going to improve their jumping with age
call equiname won the champion chase on just his 5th chase start. alot of horses run more than that in their novice year
i'm not trying to force the issue just enjoy a racing debate
another one is when a horse wins after a 2 year absence its an amazing training performance, but when a horse wins first time out its nothing special. surely when a horse gets roughed off he gets unfit during the summer. as when he returns the trainer has to start off walking then gentle exercise to slowly get him fit. is there different levels of unfit-ness
anyway, some horses are just more mature than others and reach their personal peak at different times
horses like peddlers have proven their ability to race at the highest level already so they only have to prove their ability to jump the fences. but surely that will be tested to the limit in the arkle. cant have they run faster on the flat but jump slower.
sprinter sacre on the other hand has only had 1 race to date in last years supreme so for me that would be enough to keep him to novice company
in most years i would say in the arkle you would get only a couple of top class animals compared to the champion where you might get a few. so you would expect to run faster for longer putting lots of pressure on horses in the champion but this years arkle looks exceptional.
of course horses reach their potential at different times and a young horse should keep progressing with age, as he grows and strengthens. but that doesn't mean they will get better at jumping with age
take long run.............when he first came over he looked awesome at kempton.then he finished a very respectful 3rd in the RSA. whether that was down to poor jumping, his age, sam setting him alight coming down the hill or the end of a long season, either way a year later a year older and stronger he wins the gold cup as a 6 year old but still not jumping well
my point is he won despite his jumping not improving from his novice year but because he was older and stronger. so if a horse is at/or very near his physical peak he can put it up against more experienced horses.
some horses are just natural jumpers and aren't necessarily going to improve their jumping with age
call equiname won the champion chase on just his 5th chase start. alot of horses run more than that in their novice year
i'm not trying to force the issue just enjoy a racing debate
I am not a fan of backing Novices outside of novice company in ANY race tbh, be it handicap or graded race. Preparation is key to horses winning chance and whilst some novices pull it off, it cant be a profitable long-term strategy.
If I was forced to bet in the VC chase today AF would have been 4th or 5th choice on my list.
If I was forced to bet in the VC chase today AF would have been 4th or 5th choice on my list.
Grand Crus next Noivce to run in open company although it wont be quite so strong oppo in the Argento ..
Alder brook won the champion hurdle as a novice on just his 3rd ever hurdle start
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