John , you chose to be offended. That's not my fault. Tucker is a name i'd associate with a crew cutted American, beer drinking, knuckle fighting American football jock. I obviously didn't take in to consideration that my comments about rosary beads would insult someone who a) if he's a catholic has insulted his own religion by saying rosary beads are useless b) a typical orangeman with a stick up up his ass c) an unlikely aethesist. I don't think my opinion is foolish. Would you say you and the folk who think Zarkandar will win are fools if he gets beat ?


Foyle, that's fair enough. I just seem him of less as a CH candidate than i did earlier on in the season. My opinion is shaped by my thinking that to me he isn't the best home contender, and i think Grandouet came out of the International race as a better CH prospect, and ROR is the current champion. We will see what happens.

"Whether he takes his chance remains to be seen but dismissing him is clearly foolish and will remain so even if he does not win in the end "




So the people who say i am wrong, they will be right even if they're wrong ? I don't need numbers, stats and statstics. I don't care how many races he has won. It's too easy to take a race and predict half the field will win. I'm saying that in my opinion Zarkandar will not be winning. Nothing i say will put anyone off. I simply don't think he is fast enough, and will be aimed at the WH next year. Great run from Grandouet in the International by the way.

"you have absolutely no idea how much improvement there is to come and are basically guessing. It's pretty easy to say a 5/1 shot won't win because you have a very good chance of being right but to say he won't win and his backers need to pray (implying you think the horse has absolutely no chance)"




I have no idea how much improvement is to come ? and i shouldn't say in my opinion a horse can win because the thread title is called 'Zarkandar'(incase you hadn't noticed by the way). I am saying to me he looks like a World Hurdler, so that to me says i don't think there is much improvbement over him at 2 miles. He worked hard in the International against 2 hamlet cigar smokers, and didn't impress me yesterday. Of course i don't know what improcement there could be, as like everyone else on here i don't have anything to do with their stable. What kind of comment is that you fool ?

As someone who first backed him 11 months ago, I would have loved to see him have won on the bridle, jockey's arse in the air and looking around for non existent dangers. However I knew this would never be the case when I backed him and I know it now. He simply isn't that type of horse.

PFN would have left work to do, some people seem up forget that he knows exactly what I'd needed to get a horse cherry ripe for March. I also think he would prefer better ground ( he is flat bred after all ) though I accept HF apart, most others need it better whereas Zark has proved he can win on soft.

And as for not having to jump the last hurdle last year is frankly a ridiculous argument imo - not sure there is a better hurdler in the field, its one if his greatest assets.

I remain very hopeful but many can win, including MTOY if he runs.

Good luck all

the best horse on the day will win simples there are 5 or 6 in with a shout and if your there 2 out and still going well you could well be the winner GL all on whoever you have picked

i am not saying he will win but he is the type of horse who because of his workman like style of winning races gets a bit underated ,the betfair (schwepps h,cap )he won at newbury an example zarkandar wins well off a big weight and because it is not vissualy impressive" its virtualy ignored, mytentoryours wins it on the bridle(addmittedly as a novice )!  and is lauded as a superstar .

Just to be clear

the improvement I am talking about is from LAST years Champion Hurdle to this, not from the Kingwell or any other of the trials. He needs to improve what? 8lbs+ would see him bang there I would think (that would see him run 173 on RPR)

that's the improvement that no one can know and that's why any 'can't win' statements are just ludicrous. He can IF he improves enough

pure logic

Got about as much chance as ROR did last year

the original point of the thread was that 14/1 could be a value bet ,and as he is now down to around 6s on here if you backed him at around that price and laid  some off at the current price then the 14s could be considered fair value now !

For any horse in most cases to win the champion hurdle they can not experience anything like being out paced and have to come from anywhere too far back in the race, you have to be able to hold a position at all costs whether you're under pressure or not, if you want to find a winner of the race that made up stacks of ground to win you have to go back a long way....so that scenario that zarkandar experienced last year is highly unlikely to succeed, he was niggled at to the 3rd last and then when they stepped it up was absolutely left for dead,on what we've seen from him he's LIKELY to lack the toe to compete when they quicken.

I was wondering if the way he stayed on last year may have looked slightly more flattering than it was because the effort those few others made before they flattened out obviously accentuates his finishing run as they stopped, looking at brampour who was hard at it miles before zark but is the only other guage from back there who couldn't go with the others you can compare him with, brampour was about 2.5 lengths behind zark turning in and was eventually beat just under 5 lengths so on the face of it would you be hoping to see a bigger gap between those two when as I say, brampour was hard under the pump a good way before Zarkandar was, perhaps yes, in my humble opinion, he'll get outpaced and that will do for him.

Roo, you're right I have been consistent, so consistent in fact that I couldn't be bothered to write something new, so I just copied and pasted an old post from another thread

As usual I expect so

I'd rather back Khyber Kim tbh.

im a fly man but respect this fella, fit or unfit, he doesnt seem the type to me to do too much, just enough is enough, i wouldnt want the fly eye ball to eye ball with this horse in the last 100 yards because there will be only one winner, tactics will decide the day i think

To be honest I cant forgive the fly for last year so im in the Grandouet camp.  ROR loves chelt so will be my placepopt horse.  Graeme if you have an opinion voice it.  Thats the half the fun!  I cant see simonsig winning the Arkle as cant see Henderson having two superstars in a row - as simple as that - no stats, maths or twenty six post arguements!

Bit harsh on Fly there, he's lost but 1 race in years and you can't forgive him?

If anything Flys interrupted season last term should be a warning not to back Grandouet. 1 run in almost 16 months is all he's had. Very rare to win the race off 1 prep run and the horse who did it Sublimity had his prep in Feb. Going straight to the Champion from the Bula never results in a win.

Menorah, Binocular, Sublimity & Osana were fav or 2nd fav for the champion having gone there straight from the Bula in last 5 years, all lost.

CV to be honest if you check my history I was all over HF before it win two years ago, in my mind I think it won a stayers CH.  Last year it run well before and after the race,  owners were very happy in parade ring and could not understand the run(Fact).  I have taken the opinion it win a bad race the year before.  Right or wrong thats my view.  Off the rest you are down to last years novices which dont seem up to it so by default and its beating of overturn last year I have bet Hendersons.

Well if you think Flys run at Punchestown after the Champion Hurdle was a good run then I'm pretty sure you didn't see the race. He was very unimpressive labouring to best Zaidpour.

The record of horses trying to win the Champion Hurdle off 1 prep run is horrid. Fly had clearly had troubles last season missing his 2 intended runs prior to his run in Leopardstown.

But hey look at Kauto Star in 2008 Gold Cup, never travelled or jumped from pillar to post. Horses ain't machines. Kauto the next year obliterated the field in a manner we'll probably never see the like of again. Goes to show, great horses can bounce back.


Grandouet was my main danger to Fly until his setback. He can;t win won with buckets of negatives against him. RoR doesn't look the same horse as he was last year. Cinders and Ashes and Countrywide Flame were beaten by a 14/1 shot for supreme Dodging Bullets.

So we come down to Fly and Zarkandar, two horses who have won all 3 of their starts this season and going into the race with the perfect prep. If we can learn anything from history it is that you want horses with good preps for the Festival.

So those are my 2 for this.

First two in the market good work there.  See you then - same trainer.

In relation to Zarkandar whatever else you say he really shouldn't be winning okay/decent if admittedly not top class races at Wincanton due to the course and I don't think he would have done it last year. He's done it twice this season and he's won a slowly run Bula. He may not win but he'll be ridden differently, be a different beast and will make them run for their lives in March.