Maguire Peddlers still for Arkle

Sauce, tar

...and since when has the entry for a race ever been the domain of the jockey? I thought the trainer(mainly)/owner decided?

Probably just repeating what the trainer has said i.e. Arkle = Plan A

To elaborate on the original post. Reports coming from tonights haydock preview night JM says PC is well and he intends to make it a true test in the Arkle to see what SS's got up the hill.

Agree with the above thoughts though, doubt JM really knows the trainers / ownersintentions.

Why doesn't McCain make a statement? The drift on here in the Arkle is a worry for any backers and the bookies have been shortening him for the Jewson over the past couple of days. This sort of silence gives racing a bad name. Trainers need to be more open especially with such a high profile fixture coming up.

As elaborated on, by the previous poster, this is the word coming from Haydock preview night. Will be interesting
To hear what comes from Bangor as Donald is on the panel there. I imagine Maguire the stable jockey will be pretty central to the horses running plans.

Last week he said PC was ready to face SS 'head on'. Now that doesn't appear necessarily to be the case. I wouldn't trust this f*ckin weasel as far as I could throw him.

If you can't trust Ruby, then who can you trust? Not saying Ruby was lying about Kauto but it is not a jockey's place to say where a horse might run. Not Jason's fault, he has to answer questions.

No great revelations at Bangor, mixed messages from McCain but general feeling seems to be that he hasn't been 100% but he is getting there. Main target still the Arkle. Reading between the lines the suggestion seems to be it's Arkle or nowhere, I wouldn't be backing him for the Jewson, well not unless you consider McCain's comments to be as reliable as PN's

So he's not 100%, hasn't run since Kempton, hasn't done a lot of schooling - if any - and he's ready to take on the monster? He's having a f*ckin laugh.

feel the same way about mccain. i've gone right off him this season with all his misdirection and vagueness. been defensive and smug in a couple of interviews i've heard when asked quite straight forward questions.

Liar liar!! For past month or so then?

I I was the owner of PC I'd be pretty miffed, two poxy prizes at Bangor (no offence) is all you've got to show for the season. Might as well have stayed over hurdles and picked up some place prize money in the CH with a possible bonus if HF didn't turn up. Going to be well out of pocket after training fees I would have thought. Lets hope he is Ok and takes on SS in the Arkle...

Cant give him away - double figures now

Something is amiss - The story about the "vibes aren't good about Peddlers" are perhaps true after all.

the layers obviously not listening to jason then

if everyone connected to peddlers is still saying arkle is plan a, and jeswon plan b. why do the markets on here suggest the opposite? very strange. not a stable i associate with misdirection.

Fickin terrible pr from trainer, why not mention on his column on here ffs!!!!!!!Keep everyone guessing apart from stable laying the crap out of it?

they don't know whether the arkle trip is the best for him...well you'd have thought that just getting beat by hurricane fly clear of the rest would be a big fooking clue.....first real problem that mccain has had in his fledgling trainer career and he's made a complete balls up of it.

What is remarkable is that this indecision is occurring now.  They've had since November to make up their minds and prepare accordingly.

you'd have more respect for them if they just came out and said that SS scares the sh1t out of them.....this is what the delay is all about , they are hanging on until the last minute in case something happens to him!!

before you get too bitter with donald worth remembering a few things.things have not got well with peddlers this term,as gutted as donald would be to miss the arkle he wants to do whats best for the horse not whats best for everybody's ante post betting slips..would pitching the horse into the white hot arkle be the right thing for the horse after kempton ,hes not had enough jumping experience after failing to get a run in him due to the problems post kemp with his back muscles,he faces possibly the gratest 2m chaser of all time in the arkle.he is  a future gold cup horse who's natural distance has always been further than 2miles...if you owned the horse bearing in mind the problems hes had why wouldnt you go for a g2 jewson over an intermediate trip as a stepping stone  to the gold cup perhaps next yr,the ultimate plan a down the line.donald has been hinting strongly this is the dilemma he faces and many have taken those hints...hence the drift and jewson money .he is in no rush to decide tho and prob wishes to see how he schools b4 making a final decision,a football manager doesnt announce his fa cup final team 10 days b4...why should he not be able to take in all relevent facts b4 he decides.when someone says somethg is plan a it is becos that is what he favours but it assumes everythg is a1 ok with the horse,it clearly hasnt been tho so wouldnt be giving him too harder time myself if he changes his mind.in the meantime make your own conclusions and adjust your portfolio accordingly,its clear from the market that other people have read donald's inference that he is leaning away from the arkle.

Well said that man couldn't agree more Rooster.

Personally think wont be going. hope not the case though,was looking a good Arkle without Peddlers will take a lot of class from race, leaving it to Sacre and Al Ferof.

What did Jason say on Talksport this morning, he was interviewed at 855, i missed it...

Agree with Stevo1 - I don't think this is a red hot Arkle and it's a race a fully fit PC would have every chance of winning imo but there are only 2 opinions that count here and that's the owner and the trainer. SS MIGHT be a great 2 miler in the making but he is by no means a shoe in to win the Arkle he has to finish better up the Hill than he did in the Supreme last year and any **** in his stamina will be tested to the full in this race.  The race will lose a huge amount of it's appeal without PC.  Yes I have backed him but I have also backed AF and CC so I am not purely talking through my pocket.  I reckon SS can and quite possibly will be beaten in this and I for one cannot understand why DMcC doen't think so.  PR wise this is a poor affair.  A short explanation of the current position in non cryptic form would be very welcome.

LOL at betfair blocking the word CH1NK despite it being used in it's correct context !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No mention of PC at all in the interview Shropshire Lad.  Uninformed interviewers

Got to disagree with rooster to some extent.

If the horse is not fit enough or A1 ok to run in the Arkle, then it is an insult to the owners/trainers of the horses that run in the Jewson that he is ok to run in that race.

If the decision is the Jewson because that is the race that suits him better, then that's fair enough but say so - don't say that Arkle is still Plan A

This is from Chris Cook on Twitter-McCain wasn't even definite when asked if Peddlers Cross will run at the Festival. "I would think he will" but asked people to bear with him

Peddlers Cross reported by McCain to have been "very, very sore" after pulling muscles on last run

Doesn't sound promising at all
i reckon they'll pull the plug with him for the season,which might not be a bad idea if he's not 100%.
He'll come back a better horse next season and hopefully stepped up to 3 miles

Now on the RP site DMcC saying he thinks he will run but not sure in which race and if we bear with him a few days all will be revealed.  Stop talking in riddles man FFS.  He say's it all depends on a schooling session but what has the injury setback got to do with his intended festival target.  If PC is fit to run why would the injury have any bearing at all on what race he runs in.  The horse is either fit to run or it's not.  All season he's said Arkle so why would an injury setback make you consider a different race.  I seriosly now think connections are ducking the clash and using the injury as an excuse which is a poor poor show.

what a strange week its been , monday peddlers was getting nicely backed cut by most firms , and dm saying everything on target for the arkle , left him in the champion and jewson , but arkle the target then starts drifting like a barge , nothing from dm ,in todays post says "i dont know what happened  i know nothing  about betting  " the horse is in grand shape hes fine , the arkle is the plan unless something happens to make us think differentley " surely if hes 100 per cent he must go for the arkle as he would have all the right ticks in all the right boxes, why would you go for a jewson with a 100 per cent peddlers ? very worrying from my mind , as ive made a 1oo per cent peddlers my nap of the day on tuesday , please mr donald mccain inlighten us punters

Would dm not think 2 miles around Cheltenham would be the same as a 2 1/2 mile race.. Come on dm run the pc in the ankle I'm sure you will beat as and don't be scared give everyone the race we all want to see .....    If your reading this stick by what you have said all along plan a is the way forward ..

Trainer finally seeing sense
Impossible to beat Fav in Arkle & Sir des Champs may be for RSA. Field clear for Jewson

the point is donald my old boy, at various times during this horses career we've heard the line from you" we don't need to prove anything to anyone about the horse, we know what we've got", well i actually think that as things have transpired this season the fact is that you do have something to prove, i for one just wish that you actually showed the faith in the horse that you have kept telling us all about.

Perhaps Donald will enlighten us at the Q&A tonight.

It seems clear enough, the horse needs further than 2 miles over fences. He has shown he isnt a sharp jumper so it is better to go up in trip where his slower jumping will be less of a negative in the context of his preparation for a future Gold Cup horse. He isnt a Queen Mother horse of the future so they dont need a stuffing in the Arkle to save all your bets when they know he needs prepping over further. If he isnt going well at home he will likely miss both.

So why doesn't DMcC just come out and say that then eric - you might well be right (did I really just type that !) but just man up Donald and say it instead of all this mumbo jumbo we have had up to now.  If he runs it in the Jewson we have all been had.

How can anyone have been had? His last run was a while ago when it was clear he didnt jump quickly or well and he was said to have been injured. He was also fav that day and hammered fair and square by his main Arkle opponent who Geraghty privately thinks could be better than Moscow Flyer.

With this information anyone backing PC for the Arkle has done so in the face of an awful lot of negatives available to them which would suggest the Arkle is not the best race for him if they are looking to the Gold Cup as the future. The Jewson is becoming a race for horses with Peddlars Cross profile, not quick enough jumpers for 2m Champion Chasers but probable Gold Cup horses of the future furthering their education without the knowledge they are an out and out stayer already for an RSA.

Anyone backing him prior to his last run have to accept he could be switched depending on his trial runs.

End of imo.

If anyone was asking me about hisfuture I dont think he will be a good enough jumper or have the finishing toe for a Gold Cup and will be a strong Ryanair contender year on year. The Jewson will be his trip imo.

So why did the trainer not come out and say Jewson in the aftermath of that race - he didin't and for weeks after he said Arkle (Plan A earleir this week remember).  He talked the talk but as he has got nearer the race he has had the jitters imo.  I am not saying the Jewson isn't his best trip or chance what I am saying is that DMcC had never talked in public about PC running in the Jewson until the week just past.  If the beating by SS made him change his mind then why keep talking up his chances in the Arkle ?

eric talking absolute bollocks again,no surprise there

If you ever post up anything that doesnt have'loser' tattooed all over your forehead I'll let you know.

eric is right on many things about peddlers cross


does anybody think he will run at cheltenham

Yes. I think he will run in the Arkle.

The Owner has invested big time in racing, he lives not far from me, he has only put this money in to win championship races. Look at the number of time she has run Overturn .

He wants the main dish. If he is fit he will go Arkle.

EDIT ; He (s)

Donald McCain on twitter;

"Peddlers will be schooling over the next couple of days & I'll then sit down with Tim Leslie & let everyone know which race he'll go for .."

More....

"I appreciate it's frustrating but as soon as we decide his target, I will let everyone know straight away"

Any thoughts on that?

Good schooling - Arkle / Bad schooling - Jewson ?

and then this....

Is the Queen Mother Champion Chase out of the question Peddlers Cross - yes, for this year anyway

That is interesting for me. Why if not out of the question for future years, would they even be considering anything but the Arkle this year?

This is starting to royally P me off now. Last Wednesday it was "Plan A" now;

"Peddlers best form is 2m, so why now Jewson a consideration? - same reason he ran in Neptune, sometimes happens too quick"

"simple question is plan A still firmly the Arkle for Peddlers Cross - options still open at this stage"

Seriously, what is he doing to the every day punter? Yes i've backed him but this is still a joke.

I believe Ruby Walsh made an observation at a Dublin preview meeting about PC's inability to jump fences quickly. I don't know whether that is a fair observation or not but if it is true, PC's pissing in the wind in the Arkle.

Indeed he did according to another thread. I said it before he had jumped a fence, better late than never RW

I suppose you could argue that he made the statement on a factual basis and you were just guessing though?

Yes that's why he would be sh1t at antepost because he has to see it before saying it.

Anyway maybe we're both wrong ... it remains to be seen.

Eric this argument is nothing to do with the horses ability or what race suits it best or any layman's judgement of whether it's a good jumper or not.  This is all to do with DMcC not making public any doubts about the horses ability to compete in the Arkle.  As late as 5 days ago the Arkle was still "firmly Plan A" this after a winter of talking up the clash even after PC was well beaten by SS.  Now after a few days of cryptic mumbo jumbo DMcC has even back-tracked on the Plan A statement.  There was no talk of things happening a bit quick for PC before the CH last season.  If the owner thinks the Jewson is an easier target and just wants a festival winner fair enough but just come out and say that.  How anyone could back the horse now for the Jewson is beyond me as the information tonight suggests the horse will run in that race if the now infamous schooling session this week does not go as well as they hope it will.

To my mind the only rational act is to lay Peddlers in both the Arkle and Jewson (which I have done). This is a reflection of what can only be described as lack of confidence displayed by trainer on PC directly and D Mc describing hid best chance of a Cheltenham winner being Cloudy Lane in Foxhunters (14/1 last week when Peddlers was 3/1).

No, it is about you whinging about something even the SLife predicted might happen after his last run (take a look at the Analysis where they thought 'A step up in trip will now be contemplated with the Jewson presumably coming into the equation') hoping if you get a protest march going you will get a run even if the trip doesnt suit the horse.

As I say I might have been wrong nearly a year ago. The Arkle has cut up worse than expected ...

eric_morris
When: 12 Apr 11 20:55

What happens to the best hurdler in England over 2m after he hits a couple of fences lets say because he is fairly straight backed and perhaps not agile enough for fences a couple of novice chases in? Do they try for a 5th in the Arkle or go back hurdling?

Don't totally see the relevance of his straight back as many top 2 mile chasers just hurdle their fences anyway, point is does he jump them quickly enough at speed?  I'm guessing the schooling session will be to determine whether he can hurdle fences quickly and confidently enough to compete at 2m,  if he is more careful then the Jewson would seem a more sensible target.

if its a jumping issue he wont win the jewson either then!

i thought he jumped well on his first 2 chases, looked a natural imo. went right handed and hit the first and that was that!

either run him in the arkle or go back over hurdles imo!

You dont see the relevance re the Arkle when it references the Arkle? Hurdling fences is a good idea for any novice chaser in the fastest novice race on an undulating track at the Festival is it?

Did he have time to even know he was running right handed before he hit the first? 

Not sure you are getting what I'm saying.  The most effective style of jumping fences is very different for a top 2m chase, you need a horse that gets from one side to the other quickly and takes a chance at the fences.  If he is jumping just a little slower - not jumping badly just more carefully - then he'd be better running over the longer trip.

Agree

No, I don't see the relevance to the question of whether he will be better over a longer trip.  Question is, does he get from one side to the other quickly.  If he has a straight back but can hurdle his fences Remittance Man/Barnbrook Again style (and most top 2 milers since) then 2 miles will be his best trip.

The issue here isn't really about which race suits him best.

It is about the movement in the markets over the last few days and the fact McCain has said absolutely nothing since the about turn after his last run to suggest that the Arkle wasn't the target.

remittance Man didnt hurdle his fences imo. I think you are trying to backfit your argument. You really dont want novices hurdling their fences at all over 2m on a staying. undulating track at a breakneck pace of an Arkle.

had he not lined up at kempton nobody would be talking about his jumping. he never touched a twig in his first 2 runs and was v efficent by all accounts.

i dont know what mccain is going to do but if he thinks the horses jumping isnt up to scratch then id forget the jewson aswell!

i thought he had said a couple of weeks before the race that the Jewson may be considered? Just how long before the race would him saying this be acceptable to you ... 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 2 months?

Any 2m race, novices or not, horses that get from one side to the other at the fastest speed possible by hurdling their fences have a big advantage.  Go on youtube and watch Klairon Davis in both his Arkle and CC, or more recently Big Zeb.

The problem a lot of people have is that since the start of January Mccain has been talking of the Arkle as Plan A.Anyone listening to this and playing in the Antepost Arkle market up until the middle of last week has every right to feel a little aggrieved with Mccain

Im knee deep in on the arkle - very disappointed with the lack of balls to make a choice either way - lets bet honest either way it is not winning at chelt if they can make mind up at this point.

Completley agree Magic Carpet.

Immediately after the Kempton defeat, Jason Maguire & Donald mentioned sparingly that the Jewson was a possibility. But in the proceeding days and weeks Donald has almost shown an act of defiance about that run and has actually catergorically stated the Arkle will be his race. So on that basis lots of punters have the right to feel p1ssed off if he does not run.

I dont want to get into what is hurdling a fence or not but horses who are more agile make better and quicker fencers imo. They can put themselves right much easier and therefore dont make the number of mistakes or as serious ones as less agile horses make that may put them out of a breakneck Arkle ... the leaders are not going to wait for them to catch up at that pace .. a slower longer race they may get back into the race. Of course we saw this in PC's last run he couldnt make the ground up as he was a slower jumper with Sprinter Sacre pulling away at each fence after that.

And I think everyone who has backed SS, would actually like to see a rematch.

Personally I think that the drift behind Peddlers Cross is simply because punters do not know what race he is going to run in. When a trainer is hesitating about what the horses target is it will put out negative vibes. I work in a busy betting shop and I have taken bets on Al Ferof, Menorah and Cue Card all week.

The reason Peddlers Cross is drifting out on here and with bookmakers is simply a case of supply and demand. If he was confirmed for the Arkle tommorow he will once again be around the 11/4 & 3/1 mark in my opinion.

I would discount Peddlers Cross' last run as smashing through the first fence would not have helped his chances running against possibly the best flat track 2m chaser I have ever seen. I do think however that Cheltenham is a completely different ball game.

With a strongly run Arkle as will be the case (Cue Card connections toying with the idea of just being a pacemaker in the race) I can see no reason whatsoever of McCain doubting this horse for this race this season. If he was to ever win a 2m Grade 1 Chase in his career it will be this year. We all know that novice races are run at too fast a pace and as long as he can put in an error free round he should be able to wind it up down the hill and stay on better than anything else to win.

I think he will require a step up in trip next year and his optimum trip will be 3 miles in time. To me this years arkle will be mor of a 2m 2f / 2m 3f race once the pace and physical demands of the course are taken into context.

I have backed Peddlers Cross since the start of the season for the Arkle and actually went in even stronger after his defeat to Spinter Sacre at Kempton.

People need to remember Mr McCain isn't as experienced at Nicholls or Henderson are with the media and he has been hyping up the horse and I think he has been caught like a rabbit in headlights with so many questions being asked about the horse.

I will sit patiently and wait for him to reveal later in the week that the Arkle is the plan and I imagine he will start around 5/2 on the day.

I do expect him to win.

With Cue Card connections already stating they intend to make this an out and out frenzied pace, I would have thought that would be enough for PC camp to think, this may just setup for them and the arkle is the right race.

Interesting that RW has publicly observed that he doesn't think PC jumps fences fast enough to win an Arkle. As fas as I'm aware, Ruby hasn't ridden in a race against PC over fences, so who told him that, JM?

Probably his old man Festivalfanatic.

I hope you will all confirm not, but is there even a remote chance he could pull the plug on fences and backtrack to the Champion Hurdle?

Donald McCain said the Champion Hurdle wasn't an option in his QA last night I believe

Thanks for that clarification resner.

I can't fathom why Donald McCain is dithering on the issue as to which race Peddlers Cross runs in.  If the horse is showing positive signs at home then given the choice of a fast paced Grade 1 Arkle or an equally competitive Grade 2 Jewson I would expect the horse to be aimed at the higher class race.  Plenty of class & stamina required to win an Arkle judging by previous winners My Way De Solzen & Tidal Bay. If the horse isn't showing the right signs in his home work then he shouldn't run in either race.

it could of course be one massive ruse and he's always going to run in the arkle,perhaps they want the SS camp to think that at least that's one less danger to worry about( not that i think that the SS camp would be scared of anything anyway) but i just think that by all the negative talk they are perhaps trying to take all the pressure off him by talking down his chances more and more....personally i hope he runs and kicks SS ar5e into shredded duck...but that's just me

Don't forget the Peddlers record at the festival the last 2 years...... ran on with great turn of foot to win the Supreme and then the only one to get anywhere near HC openly observed as the next quadruple winner of Ch Hurdlers.

Whats has SS done at HQ in the festival ?

What has this horse ever done wrong at the festival...

He will be there,  8/1 will look pretty  big this time next week.  !

When did Peddler win the Supreme?

I remember his Neptune win

and who the fook is HC

next quadruple winner of Champion Hurdles? who was the last then? and you think he will be winning the Champion in 2014? blimey

Jewson & Arkle suspended

8-1 not looking so big now!rw was right!

I suspect the biggest influence on the decision to choose the Jewson has been JM.