No More Heroes - any worries about decent goodish ground being the most likely terrain at Chelt in March ? I know he is by a sire Presenting whose stock like decent ground as a general rule but all his good form is on soft ground and while there may have been excuses for his few less proficient performances on better ground, personally he would not appeal at his present price with this little niggle at the back of my mind

Elliott confirms that NMH is to get an entry in the Gold Cup. With the two Dons and Road to Riches entered its extremely doubtful he won't run. He says it's just incase some of the big guns don't make it.

I'm on Pont Alexander for this

Seeyouatmidnight and Definitly Red set to clash at Donny at the end of the month.

wrong thread

Good news for More of That backers.

He no longer has an entry in the Gold Cup, so looks like its all systems go for this race now.

Yes surprised he hasnt shortened on the back of this news as well.

JP told Jonjo to get back in his box.

Can't wait to see MOT over 3 miles. He's the real thing. imo.

More Of That backers .... would you prefer to see him with a prep run over 3m before the festival or happy with another prep run over the shorter distance and stepped up to 3m on the day just as they did with him prior to his World Hurdle win?

Even though he would have needed his comeback run and couldn't do anything more than win in his most recent win, I'm always wary of horses who have had wind ops. Yes he's 2/2 since but yet to be tested for stamina or against RSA class opposition. He's proven he stays 3 miles over hurdles pre wind op but is it a concern to backers? Connections obviously don't seem to think so given their chat about entering him in the GC, but he's still got to show he can do it over fences.

Maybe me just being too petty, infact I know I am. For the record I've backed nothing in the race, if anything I would have had a bet on Killultagh Vic but it seems he may be JLT bound. Just interested to see others opinions.

100% want to see them prep him over further. The Reynoldstown over 3m would be perfect.

"With MOT there is no such circumstances bar wanting to avoid NMH"

You're kidding right?

Just checked and the Reynoldstown isn't till the 20th Feb. I thought it was earlier so maybe too close to Cheltenham. Anyhow really hope they tackle 3m with him.

Id definitely rather see him run over the trip if I was a backer. I've backed NMH and I'm more than happy with his preparation for the race. 3 wins including a G1 over the trip and can go straight there with no worries.

Surprised his price hasn't shortened now he is not entered for the GC.

But concerned about NMH not having a prep run - Don Poli only horse in last 50 odd yrs to have won without a run in the same Calendar year. He also overcame the 2 chases stat but last years' RSA was utter garbage - this years' appears to be very different.

Looking at the entries if the first dozen horses in the betting were owned by different people they would all be running in the RSA. Because trainers have multiple horses prominent in the market then they will be kept apart meaning race won't be as competitive as it should be.

Still think Drumacoo is overpriced @ 25/1.goes Reynoldstown next according to trainer.last race fell apart probably  but still impressed me

With Don Cossack winning today hopefully that's NMH definitely going the RSA route.

Lydia Hislop tipped him on her Sportinglife column, though I don't know if that's enough to cause a market move.

I have another theory, though the market doesn't quite back this up, and it revolves around giving jockeys as many rides as possible, and making sure races which are there to won be are won.

It may be that Willie has looked at the RSA and decided that NMH and MOT are going to be very hard to beat. Coupled with Shaneshill's less than perfect jumping in both his outings in my opinion, aim Killultough Vic at the JLT as well. It's looking quite a weak race with no star so why not go double barrelled and give yourself the maximum chance of winning it.

By moving KV to the JLT with Shaneshill, and then running Black Hercules and Pont Alexandre in the RSA, Ruby and Townsend would both have a decent ride in both races.

Aim Roi Des Francs at the 4 miler and let Patrick ride that. Gigginstown will probably also have Rule The World in the race, and can use a jockey of their own choosing, such as Nina Carberry, to ride that horse.

I went through the last few 4 Mile chases and apart from Back In Focus, who was split up from Boston Bob, Willie doesn't really run a 'stable star' in it - it tends to be a decent horse which will give Patrick a nice spin and a decent chance of winning if things go well.

Like I said, the market seriously goes against this theory, and it looks like BH is being aimed at the 4 Miler, but with Townsend really doing rather well over the past 12 months or so, I'm wondering whether keeping him sweet is more important than keeping Patrick happy.

I strongly doubt it bud!

That all makes perfect sense to me Tory. As I posted in the Shaneshill thread, there have been several horses prominent in the JLT market who simply aren't going to run in the race. You had Douvan, L'Ami Serge and Vaniteux all in the first five in the betting, so I think a lot of this is just a correction.

Sportinglife has that many different tipsters putting their two cents in, you lose track of it all. Lydia, "Man on the Spot", Ben Linfoot, Simon Holt, Cunningham's chat etc.

Would be better to just have one and it would be noticed more.

....so in answer to the question, I personally don't take notice of it. Interesting read, but wouldn't sway me one way or the other.