Cheltenham Festival
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zarkandar ........2013 champyon hurdle .............
zarkandar ........2013 champyon hurdle .............
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"Given it looks as though ROR has regressed"
Oh that's a bold statement. We will see what the ground does, but i think they're just bringing him along nicely.  |
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So do i Greame.
Not the best prep,but hes had a couple of runs now,and by all accounts they are well happy with him. |
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I don't know what the best prep is for him Budd. I mean, last year it was Kempton then Champion, so they are where they are.
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Yep,no more they can do racewise,just get him there in the best shape possible.
They wanted Newcastle,Kempton,Chelt i think,but they decided to let the ground dictate.So no Newcastle,and it all changed. Just hope the end result is the same as last year. |
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I dunno Bud. Reminds me an awful lot of Punjabi they year after he won. Blew up in Bula as did RoR. Then was beat in Haydock trial as RoR was gonna be before poor Darlan lost his life.
His price us held up like Punjabis was on trainer comments and last year's performance. But you would have to agree he was more impressive in his two trials last year than he has been this. He just doesn't look the same horse imo. Add to the fact he will be tracked by Fly Grandouet etc.. It's a tough task. |
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OK they may have been forced a different route than last year, why was he not as fit as last year for each run?
Everyone says that Harry did all the training and that may be right, but did he do the scheduling etc. I cannot believe that if PFN's name was against the horse, he would have visited the yard and told Harry what he wanted. It is assumed therefore he will get to Cheltenham in peak condition - it will be the first time its his sole responsibity to achieve this so who knows for sure? |
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Just another thought I've had concerning zarkandar, this time last year we've told over and over again he was a sick horse, well, he won the tote gold trophy in that state, this year as a fighting fit horse he's workmanlike at wincanton with brennan on the 2nd turning in convinced he would win until the mistake at the last, take that with a pinch of salt but the zarkandar performance in relation to his performance last year when ailing???, and yes, we know nicholls will leave something to work on,but having said that, aren't we supposed to see a general progression through the season, zarkandar and ROR for that matter, to my eye have gone backwards from the bula run.
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Duffy i said the other day that Nicholls let a gamble take place on Zarkandar(i've assumed, rightfully or wrongfully), which gave Ruby the opportunity to give Hurricane Fly's rival a tough race. The ground was desperate that day.
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Intro for season, then 1st major target. Break, the prep for major season target. All good
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Nay Perfect Roobuck
Only Fly has had as good a prep for this as Zark. |
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2013 champyon hurdle
is that a black country accent foyles or just a typo  |
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a boost for the zarkandar wincanton form there by prospect wells ,zarkandar gave p wells 17lb and a beating there ,this probably not a great race but every little helps !
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^
now that is grasping at straws  |
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There is no doubt, in my mind, it is going to take a lifetime best performance (164 in my mind) from Zarkandar to win the race. The questions I keep answering are:
what level could he run if able to produce his very best? How likely is he to run to that? How likely is that to be enough to win? Will he need to run to that? My answers are: 174 max in a fast run race with relentless gallop from the start Not likely as the race tactics will preclude that 90%+ chance he would win if producing his max My estimate is that 167 will be enough to win due to tactical nature & no guaranteed pace Anyway, I do like thinking about these questions to come to an answer. And 5/1 seems a more than fair price if the answers I've given are correct. |
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clutching at straws ? i dont think it is really duffy ,isnt as if prospect wells is the only yardstick ,beat ror and grandouet ,and won a betfair (schwepps )off a big weight last season on his seasonal debut ,not saying he will win but a decent chance ! and at 14s not too shabby now !
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wanna sell me some 14s?
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Agree Foyles, prospect wells showed he's a good horse today. Came close in the Supreme, ran well when beaten by Zark then was too soon when running again 1 week later at Chelts, didn't stay 3m1f at Ascot and ran well today.
Good yardstick. Zark shows he's in good heart. Be stunned if he wasn't placed. |
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Cant see him being in 1st 3 tbh... Old course won't suit him. Will run on like a steam train like last year and be to late... Speed horse and proven Old course performers will be dominating again.. Be shocked if the 2 that finished behind him in the international don't reverse form add in the fly and he will be 4th if he lucky.
Ie prospect wells... Bar darlan (which fatally never reached full potential so dont know how good he would have been) it looks a bad supremes last year, so propect wells isn't a great yard stick in my eyes even tho zarkandar was giving him 17lb or more. |
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think their are 2 schools of thought as to how zarkandar will be ridden ! some think he will be totally outpaced at the back like last season and run on when its all over ! maybe he will be outpaced ! but he is flat bred and closely related to zarkarva who was not short of speed, is it not at all possible that the nicholls camp will be aware of this and ride him much more prominently this time in the 1st 2 or 3?
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I agree foyles and as long as he can keep relatively close to the front until the bottom of the hill, those that will definitely look as if they are travelling much better are going to be in for a real fight.
Its a big 'if' I readily accept though pretty sure that being healthier, fitter and stronger this year as a 6yo he'll be able to. In all honesty it's a close race to call and I can see all the arguments for the top 4 in the betting. |
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yeah me too roo a handfull with a decent chance and no great suprise to see any of them win ,cant see a definate front runner in this ,no overturn and c.halo going world hurdle so i expect zarkandar to be up there early !
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Hendo seems to consider HF a worthy favourite but in his video preview but PFN says he doesn't think there is much between the top 4 in the betting and I tend to agree with him. Not much of a punting proposition if you have to back 4 to find the winner!!
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Agreed and books now have the prices controlled with no value at this stage. Have only backed one and may live to regret not taking the plunge on ROR when he was 10s. If I can still get 6s when it is NRNB I will probably save with him if the ground is good.
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I think Mullins is gonna run thousand stars to pace set for fly.
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here we go.... destiny awaits
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Zark looks really well compared to last year.Deserted ROR wi 1st time blinkers.
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Zark looks great!
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nope not good enough on that going
well done fly backers |
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Great race credit to a great horse.
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Jacob could have rode a better race imo
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oh well thats life !well winners !
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You gotta hand it to The Fly!
Well done Ruby and Hurricane Fly. |
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Zark ran a great race but when the taps were really turned on, he couldn't go with the winner, even more credit goes to the winner because like simonsig earlier, he did it in the face of adversity through the race.
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Ground obviously good to soft not soft.
Zarkander never stood a chance of that ground. Would help if they actually got the going correct. |
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Ground obviously good to soft not soft.
Zarkander never stood a chance of that ground. Would help if they actually got the going correct. |
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Yep no excuses. Wasn't as outpaced as I feared he might and thought he might still come back - slightly disappointing he couldn't get past CF.
Winner deserves all the plaudits - proved himself a great horse. Got that race wrong, on we go and well done to all HF backers. |
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The front 4 all ran fantastic races, how well did ROR travel!!!! CF stayed on like a real terrier, zark travelled better than I thought he would, considered they really went for it, and he stuck at it like a good'un, truly great race that.
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Gutted here
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fft, 23 left yet, we're pnly working our way through the aperatif just now
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Zarkandar woulda made my festival tbh.
Still plenty of others to look forward too |