Flemenstar v Sacre

like to see it,but it aint gonna happen.
Irish Hennessey next.

I love Flemenstar and think he's a special horse, but have to agree with the above

SS in danger of scaring of most of the opposition so a genuine challenger would at least make for a spectacle. Having said that I can't see SS getting beaten

shirley only the Gold Cup will do? I wouldn't run it anywhere else

flemenstar in the champion chase would add a bit of much needed spice to the race as it is in danger of being a penalty kick for sprinter sacre , flemenstar is a strong traveller and good jumper and may be the one to give the monster a race !

I'd still make the monster about 1/3 to beat Flemenstar but at least it would give us something that might be able to run within 10lbs of SS coz there is little else that can

indeed I really want to see the monster show what he can really do and he will need some high quality rivals to do it

love to see him firing away from the front with that brilliant jumping of his, if SS ate him up, so be it, nice to see them looking at running in a race that is worth a horse like this,like the quote too about the ryannair being a non-entity of a race, it is, just ruins the proper championship races.

It'll be a cracker of a race alright, I'd like to see CC and flemenstar both run in the queen mum though.

Yes they probably would, the race deserves to have a quality field turn up, and SS needs top quality horses to race against him so to show him in the best possible light too....too many walk overs against real inferiors won't do his legacy much good.

any evidence that flemenstar has to have very soft ground ? i.e has he dissapointed on good ground ? who knows, he might revel on it !

PA Stables ‏@PA_Stables

Asked whether the Gold Cup was being considered, Peter Casey said: "We'll have to rule that out. He won't get that extra two furlongs."

Queen Mother target for Flemenstar
Last Updated: December 29 2012, 10:59 GMT

Flemenstar is set to have the Queen Mother Champion Chase as his Cheltenham Festival target following his reverse in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.


After putting previously unbeaten chaser Sir Des Champs to the sword with a brilliant display in the two-and-a-half-mile John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, Flemenstar was a hot favourite for the feature event of Leopardstown's Christmas meeting, but still had to prove his stamina over three miles.

Having travelled and jumped with his trademark panache under Andrew Lynch, the seven-year-old looked poised to go on and record an impressive victory rounding the home turn, but the complexion of the race quickly changed.

Profiles Peter Casey Flemenstar (IRE)
Flemenstar appeared a weary horse after jumping the final fence and although he stuck to his task well enough to finish third, beaten just three-quarters of a length by Tidal Bay in a barnstorming finish, Casey feels his stable star's stamina limitations were exposed.

The trainer does not feel it would be right to test his charge over an extended three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham in March and with the two-mile-five-furlong Ryanair Chase seemingly of no appeal, he is set to tackle the formidable Sprinter Sacre over the minimum trip instead.

Asked about whether the Gold Cup was still being considered, Casey said: "We'll have to rule that out. He won't get that extra two furlongs.

"You'd think he was going to win coming to the last fence (in the Lexus), he was cruising. He just found nothing after the last 100 yards.

"The Queen Mother, that will be it. The two-mile Champion Chase. That will be the one we'd go for."

Casey is confident that Flemenstar is capable of shaking up the current Champion Chase favourite Sprinter Sacre.

"Our lad is a great jumper and has plenty of speed. He jumped well (on Friday) but every time he landed he was wanting to get going," said the trainer.

"In Cheltenham, if we went for the Queen Mother, he'd have to go there, Andrew would be letting him stride on and we'd give that other lad (Sprinter Sacre) something to think about then!

"That's what we're going to try and do anyway."

Casey will consult Flemenstar's owner before deciding on a next port of call, but is leaning away from another crack at three miles in the Hennessy Gold Cup back at Leopardstown in February.

Casey said: "We'll have to think about where we go next and talk to the owner.

"I don't think we'll go for the Hennessy. There is the Red Mills Chase at Gowran in the middle of February. Whether we'll go down there or not I don't know."

Indeed, if him and Sizing turn up we av a proper race and if SS disposes of both of them easily he really is a tank

Love to see the 3 canterin down the hill side by side

Personally I think the Ryanair is a non-entity of a race

I'm sure the connections of Albertas Run wouldn't agree with that (who are now £350k better off for it), or Imperial Commander's who used it as a stepping stone to Gold Cup success.

The absolute race for him is the Ryaniar, especially if they think he could get the Gold Cup trip in the future.

Over 2m, if I were Andrew Lynch, I'd jump on Sizing every time personally.

If the ground is good, I don't think he'd get near Sprinter over 2m.  If we have a downpour the week before then it could be a different matter though.

This morning report:

The trainer does not feel it would be right to test his charge over an extended three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham in March and with the two-mile-five-furlong Ryanair Chase seemingly of no appeal, he is set to tackle the formidable Sprinter Sacre over the minimum trip instead.

Asked about whether the Gold Cup was still being considered, Casey said: "We'll have to rule that out. He won't get that extra two furlongs.

"You'd think he was going to win coming to the last fence (in the Lexus), he was cruising. He just found nothing after the last 100 yards.

"The Queen Mother, that will be it. The two-mile Champion Chase. That will be the one we'd go for."

Casey is confident that Flemenstar is capable of shaking up the current Champion Chase favourite Sprinter Sacre.

"Our lad is a great jumper and has plenty of speed. He jumped well (on Friday) but every time he landed he was wanting to get going," said the trainer.

"In Cheltenham, if we went for the Queen Mother, he'd have to go there, Andrew would be letting him stride on and we'd give that other lad (Sprinter Sacre) something to think about then!

"That's what we're going to try and do anyway."

Now at lunchtime they change their minds:

However, trainer Peter Casey said a decision on which race Flemenstar would target at Cheltenham would not be made until after the Hennessy, not ruling out any of the championship races.

"We spoke with Flemenstar's owner, Stephen Curran, this morning and it's been decided that he will go for the Hennessy," said Casey on Saturday. "We'll keep talking things over before the races close, but he'll probably be entered for all three races - Champion Chase, Ryanair and Gold Cup - at Cheltenham and we're in no rush to make any plans for the festival.

"All that's definite is the Hennessy. We think he deserves another shot at the distance. He ran too freely being held up in the Lexus and we probably used the wrong tactics. He jumped super but every time he landed he wanted to go on about his business. The ground was very gluey and that didn't help. He was absolutely fine this morning."

Must be getting lessons from Willie Mullins.

^
Didn't see that, oh dear, another owner refusing to accept the bleedin obvious

I really hope they go for the Champion chase. Plenty of chance it comes up soft with the amount of rain we have been having the last few months and then it would be a battle royale. Would make the race so much more interesting with both Sizing and Flemenstar going for it. The way he cruised into the race yesterday would be fantastic to see all three horses still on the bridle some way out.

i think the point is that we want a race and not a walkover.
it would be great to see SS having to take on the best around,and if he is so much better so be it.