Cheltenham Festival
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50 years ago, Arkle and Flyingbolt bestrode the NH scene. For a golden period, until Flyingbolt became ill, nothing could live with them and they outclassed everything that took them on. Handicaps demonstrated just how superior they were. Flyingbolt was never beaten, or really extended, over fences until his career was ruined by brucellosis, while Arkle was only beaten once by Mill House, when stumbling in a hole may well have been to blame, other than when conceding gargantuan weights to top class opponents.
Since those days, Kauto Star and Denman achieved extraordinary feats and, while neither achieved the overwhelming dominance of the earlier pair, they were as close as anything else has come to doing so, with perhaps the single exception of Desert Orchid (notwithstanding his Cheltenham Achilles' heel).
Both the first and second pair mentioned were stablemates whose careers dovetailed. We now have Vautour and Faugheen. Could they achieve a similar dominance? It seems not too far fetched to me to think that they might. Both seem to be on a different planet from the rest. Quite simply, they could turn up tomorrow in any race over any distance (OK, Faugheen has not jumped a fence, but were he to do so) and be expected to win. I feel we could be at the start of something extraordinary and wonderful where these two are concerned and they should be relished.
Since those days, Kauto Star and Denman achieved extraordinary feats and, while neither achieved the overwhelming dominance of the earlier pair, they were as close as anything else has come to doing so, with perhaps the single exception of Desert Orchid (notwithstanding his Cheltenham Achilles' heel).
Both the first and second pair mentioned were stablemates whose careers dovetailed. We now have Vautour and Faugheen. Could they achieve a similar dominance? It seems not too far fetched to me to think that they might. Both seem to be on a different planet from the rest. Quite simply, they could turn up tomorrow in any race over any distance (OK, Faugheen has not jumped a fence, but were he to do so) and be expected to win. I feel we could be at the start of something extraordinary and wonderful where these two are concerned and they should be relished.
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Replies: 21
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LOL behave
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 'til the next one. 12 months ago you could've said the same about Bobsworth and Sprinter Sacre, same stable and they had actually won open age Championships by large margins - how did that pan out again? |
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Whoaaa there ...... Stop the lights.
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With talk like that the books will have them odds on before December.
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Just a thought chaps - and I, for one, will be much worse off if Faugheen wins the Champion Hurdle - but their performances at the weekend had an extraordinary aura about them. They won't be the last from that stable to project that feeling this season, as Mr Ricci may have assembled the strongest ever team of horses under one ownership over jumps, but what huge talents they are.
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cyclops 25 Nov 14 14:29
Just a thought chaps - and I, for one, will be much worse off if Faugheen wins the Champion Hurdle So you're laying it when you think it's the next Arkle??? |
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Laid him when Mullins said he'd be going chasing. Had no thought at that time that he may revert back to hurdles and come back in trip. Quite possibly an expensive mistake.
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I didn't detect an aura surrounding faugheen's performance at the week-end myself....good performance fair enough...but as an isolated performance...nothing out of the ordinary.
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Ruby never twitched, even when the others were close behind and going well. An inch of rein and off he went. Aura aplenty for me.
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If you never had previous knowledge of what the horse had previously done(that's where your aura is coming from), you'd have forgotten all about saturday's race already......we see far more easier winners than that through the course of a season....sign of a victory and aurore d'estruval are just two in the last couple of weeks off the top of my head....aura's about them too??
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Point taken, but harsh, I think, to bracket Faugheen's win with that of a handicapper winning off a handicapper's mark and a mare beating mares. I think it's the previous knowledge - that Faugheen won a point to point on heavy and destroyed the Neptune field but still brushes aside good horses reverting in trip that certainly adds to the aura but I'd have sat up and taken notice of him on Saturday whatever he'd done before. I really would (financially) love to be wrong, but this is a machine.
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Fair point and I suppose I'm biased against him until he jumps at pace in a CH on better ground and do it well......vautour on the other hand
 ...should be running in the CH himself. |
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Or the 2 mile Champion. Or maybe both, like Flyingbolt.....
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what does that make Briar hill then,who is better than both !
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What are you basing that on Carlisle?
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is BH rsa bound Carlisle or will it be PA or both?
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BH is world hurdle bound isnt he?
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World hurdle,they all said Briar hill was there best chance,it had already beat very wood easy giving it weight,only does enough,Briar hill was there banker last year,10-1 is an each way certainty,providing it doesn't fall,did more of that beat much?
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Briar Hill has an awful lot to prove after his injury. Could well have affected him mentally as much as anything.
I like Faugheen, but can't help but feel he isn't going to be quite in the same league as Vautour. Was looking at the entries for the forthcoming week in Ireland today, and Ricci does have a quite unbelievable stable of horses this season. |
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BH is world hurdle bound isnt he?
who knows mate with mullie  ive backed AP for the world  maybe a daft moment |
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They are both exciting horses,and could literally be anything,but could say the same about countless horses over the years at their early stage of career.
Personally I am more excited to see how UDS gets on bowling along in the 2m chases....hopefully he jumps ok. |