Champion Hurdle

Earliest thought is that it could be the best Champion Hurdle field for the last 10 years, at this stage, as a lot of good novices around, plus the best champion for the last decade, plus the best Juvenile for the last decade too.

The big question is who will turn up, as not all those at the top of the market are going to keep top class 2M hurdle careers on track through the build up to the Festival.

My own choices are OUR CONOR (best hurdle-jumper I can recall, like that lady Aussie - Pearson - doesn't lose any ground crossing the obstacles).
He could be brutal if stepping up into the big time this year, but his price reflects that.

My longer-shot, but one TF rate highly, and I rate very highly is the unbeaten UN DE SCEAUX.  Now Ruby rides all of William  Mullins at the Festival I am even happier, than watching him destroy a useful field in Ireland post-Festival. Who knows by next March he could have chosen him ahead of Hurricane Fly, depending how the season progresses.

With WM promising to attack Saturday prizes in England this season, I wouldn't be surprised to see Un De Sceaux over here for say the International in December to test out the track, personally if he's rated to run in the "Greatwood" Hurdle in November I would love to see him do a Sizing Europe and take that first.


25's with the bookies, and he could be the "dark" one from the decent Novice crop from last season.

I put an AP bet on THE NEW ONE the day after last years Festival finished. Also, I have always had a strong view that GRANDOUET has everything required to win a Champion Hurdle. He was coasting last year looking every inch to be in the places. He will only be 7 at next years Festival. I have to include him in my thinking for this race.

Countrywide Flame is a massive price,i will be having a bit of NNFB with betvic

Another vote for The New One here.

Our Connor looked flashy but I'm yet to be convinced of what he beat.

My Tent Or Yours for me, if he ever learns to settle he's going be seriously difficult to beat. Grandoeut as a saver, got to be one of the most unlucky horses around and one day it will all go right for him.

Grandouet going chasing me thinks.

Howdi - did you see this from NH this week. http://racing.channel4.com/preview-reaction/newsid=1238385/index.html#all-systems-go-for-henderson-stars. See extract below which could be interpreted either way depending on the spelling. Did he mean "too" or "two" ? The plot thickens. I think he meant "too" and the editor got it wrong which means he will stay hurdling and go for Champion with MTOY. Thoughts ?   


“I’ve still got the hunger, I want to go and win every bloody race there is and we’ve got a very strong team, both equine and human. It’s just about sorting out who does what and where they go. Oscar Whisky will go over fences. My Tent or Yours will have to come in as a Champion Hurdle horse, and Grandouet is one of those two. There’s an awful lot of good ones for those races and some good youngsters too.

1-5 hendo to win trainers championship buying money by the way!

id lay jezi to the hilt (almost as agood a bet as laying Liverpool on here to win the league at 10-1 ) - he don't like Cheltenham.

MTOY's for me, it would be easy to label him a bridle horse in the Harchibald mould and use the supreme as evidence, and I think there is something in that to be honest in as much as if another jock can get the fractions bang on against him and have something left then he's vulnerable.

I have a hunch though that MTOY's big positive will show that he can travel as easily as we've seen even off of a proper suicidal pace that should be hurting even the smoothest of travellers and if he can get that sort of race where his rivals are shot coming to the business end, he'll still be there on the bridle,the CH this year was a good example of this and was won by HF as he stayed on past beaten horses, I actually suspect that in that race under those circumstances, MTOY's would have won it.

Briefly with the others, I think that TNO will ultimately want further, he could be the Zarkandar horse for this year with long debates about whether he'll be quick enough.Jezki doesn't jump well enough for me, and as for Our Conor, could it be that his stock has actually fallen as questions marks start to be raised regarding the form of the triumph, it'll be interesting to see if he and HF clash in Ireland this winter, I suspect that HF will come out on top.As for the others then Un De Sceaux must go onto everyone's watch list as he's provided an instance where sometimes you just sit up and take notice at the style of the performance produced, who knows how good he's going to be and is easily the most interesting of the longer priced horses.

The New One for me also. By the time we get to the festival, he'll have the perfect amount of experience, age, and comes from a race which have thrown up plenty of CH contenders in the past, Peddlers Cross, Hardy Eustace etc. His second place to Zarkandar over 20f is excellent form.

Not at Cheltenham there isn't.

Hardy Eustace

Rock on Ruby

Istabraq


Ur right - Neptune hosses defo nt ones to follow in the CH

I look at the winning times of the novice hurdles and ch. The supreme was actually 5 seconds faster than the champion based on that MTOY or Jezki should be winning next year. However you have to bear in mind ROR and Zar set a much faster pace in the champion then champagne in the supremes. Either way both MTOY and Jezki can be major players and I am scared of their potential next year.

But TNO finished 3 seconds quicker than the fly from the last to the line and if you go through the race he ran some very good sections better than the champion hurdle. Combined with the fact he has plenty stamina and a killer turn of foot I really like his chances if he is 100% fit on race day. His turn of pace is brutal it will break a lot of horses hearts.

Will be a brilliant renewal. MTOY wins it for me. Think he was aimed at winning the Betfair Hurdle last season and Hendo's novice hurdlers always tend to improve a lot for another year. Look at the horses he's had beaten in the Supreme in the past few years. Think we will see a stronger animal this year and MTOY will find the extra bit he needs to quicken up the hill.

STS101 - Im not surprised that TNO was quicker from the last to the line. How did the early sectionals suggest how The Neptune was ran? Was it as slow as it appeared visually?

If you are trying to talk TNO up based on his time in the Neptune, the sectionals or even his time from the last hurdle, then the 148 rated Medinas (now rated 154) who won the Coral Cup later in the day over CD must be a shoe in for next years Champion.

He carried more weight than TNO ran the final split only very slightly slower, but won in a final time 5.5 seconds faster.

Whenever HF beats Thousand Stars by 10 or 20 lengths we are told that he has beaten nothing. At Liverpool TNO finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of TS - beware of false prophets.

Excellent point, The Sawyer. Whether or not you like TNO as a Champion prospect, to base your case on comparing the times of his race with that of the Champion hurdle the day before is misguided in the extreme.

NTD is absolutely having kittens about The New One and reckons he is the real deal. He certainly has all the credentials in terms of age, profile and form so hopefully he campaigns him correctly. I see they are starting early with the listed hurdle at Kempton in October. IIRC Rooster Booster may have won the same race but I'm not sure

But starting in October makes it a long old season, how many runs is he planning before the Champion?

I will be opposing all the runners from the Supreme Novices relentlessly in the Champion itself, the race has the worst record of producing Champion Hurdlers.