saint roi ........champion hurdle 2021

decent bet for me,mullins nearly got arctic fire from the county to champion hurdle the following year,can't think of another race he will be aimed at unless he goes over fences and he didnt look like a obvious chaser from tv

goshen very unlucky and a freak according to gary moore but not many triumph winners win the champion the next season , and not great value at the price  imo not saying he cant win but difficult . shishkin possibly going fencing sharjah better on good ,honeysuckle and benie may go elsewhere . abracadabras great chance and  around 10s but too short for me at this stage .

Goshen looks an absolute freak, that said, all that is already factored into his price, Shiskin's price is obviously on the assumption he's going chasing, he'd be a bet if you could get a steer on how he's taking to fences or if the early impression he gives isn't great over fences.

Epatente was a good winner but it was still a poor race but she delivered on her promise but we don't know how much more she has, her price in what has to be a better race doesn't appeal.

Looking down the list the one that offers the best value to me is SALDIER, he goes into next season with better credentials than this year and still with the potential before him, he's injury prone but we know he would have probably beaten the CH winner 2 years back earlier in that season and was impressive first time back this season beating horses who ran prominently in the CH itself 25/1 looks very fair, he's got to be very interesting if he can get a clean run at it.

cant argue with that duffy worse bets than saldier at the prices tbf has course form 5th to farclas a few years back  and he may well have beaten espoir that day in ireland , whatever it would have been close and he is decent value  at the price if he gets there .good luck .

goshen looks like he will go backwards to me

saint roi rated 149 after the county a 12 pound rise which was what i roughly expected.

aramon pishes up again off top weight in a galway festival handicap ..........

Saint roi down to run in tipperary sunday

did it smoothly as his price and the quality of opposition hinted he should ,nice pipe opener........... 12s best price with the books .

I'm very happy with that. The race conditions suited him very well and it was a big advantage. Noel's horse (Beacon Edge) coming out was a help as well and we'll take all the help we can take at this stage of the season!. He did it nicely but he had a big advantage with the conditions of the race. Mark (Walsh) said he was meeting the last wrong and fiddled it. I think he got a bit tight for room over the third last. I was worried that he was coming off the bridle but Mark said he was just tight for room. Otherwise he was very slick with his jumping and I'm not worried on that front. That's the type of speed he shows all the time at home and his last piece of work before Cheltenham was electric. I thought going there he'd take a lot of beating. The likes of the County Hurdle are hard races to fancy horses in though. He did very well during the summer and is out early purely because this race suited conditions wise. The Morgiana would be on the agenda but that might be throwing him in at the deep end. He's a second season novice and there might be easier options. I think there is a race at Down Royal for second season novices (Grade 2 WKD Hurdle).  W P Mullins

thanks irishone!

Dont count yer chickens

This from J P

McManus has an exciting young hurdler in Saint Roi, who won the highly-competitive County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The five-year-old, trained by Willie Mullins, made an impressive return to action when winning a Grade Three contest at Tipperary at the weekend.

Saint Roi is likely to run next in the WKD Hurdle at Down Royal at the end of the month.

“He did it nicely the other day. The conditions of the race suited him well,” said Berry.

“I think Willie is thinking of going to the north with him.”

One of the star rides up for grabs this season will be Epatante, whose main aim will be to hang on to her Champion Hurdle crown.

The Nicky Henderson-trained mare was one of five winners for Geraghty at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.

“Nicky is very happy with her. We don’t know at the minute where she will start off. She has a good few options. We’ll see when she’s ready,” said Berry.

“The Champion Hurdle is definitely the target.”

Saint Roi (Willie Mullins)

The season is already under way over here in Ireland and I think we may have already seen a potential star.

Saint Roi absolutely sluiced up at Tipperary last week, winning a Grade 3 hurdle by 5½ lengths.

I was so impressed by the way he won the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. He travelled like a dream and quickened well to win comfortably.

He’s going to be trained as a Champion Hurdle horse and, from what I’ve seen, he’s got the ability to do it.

If he does, then he’ll be the first horse since Rooster Booster to win both the County Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle, which would be some achievement.

......katie walsh said that btw

thanks for that irish !  the winter game starting to kick in now,exciting times fingers crossed,.

soz just noticed this beet should have said  1 point each way ^^^^^^^^^all my bets on it are each way .

abracadabras beaten today by aspire tower after travelling well found little and btn over 4 lengths , could have needed the race badly but still not ideal and out to around 9/1 . saint roi into 2nd fav for champion hurdle.

race run at a crawl happy with saint roi will be a different ball game in a fast run champion imo

certainly needs to jump better

sure he will in a fast run champ in march

Winner did not jump well, pace was too slow for him and he hit the front way too soon, then tried to pull himself up all the way to the line but was still too good.

Winner was the best horse in the race IMO and if they get the right headgear onto him we might see an even better horse to what we've seen already.

Abacadabras has had a big fan club that does now appear to have deserted him, whereas there has been an over reaction the other way to Saint Roi's win in the county where he was very well handicapped. I just don't quite get the Saint Roi Champion Hurdle leap!!

Make no mistake
This was the best in gordons
V the best in willies
Both likely cheltenham winners
Whichever race they go in

Thats twice now that JTM has finished virtually alongside Abacadabras.
One is 10 the other 25 on oddschecker.
Personally i dont think any of those two or SR will win the CH,but i know which one i would back e/w at the prices.

Are you any the wiser as to which of those 3 would win at Cheltenham in March? I would just favour Saint Roi as he was finishing strongly and should relish the hill. I still think that Epatante will win if she turns up in the same form this season but mares being what they are, that can't be guaranteed.

You do like to think SR will get a better ride .....

Willie Mullins retains full faith in Saint Roi despite his odds-on defeat at Punchestown on Sunday.

Mullins was aiming to win the Morgiana Hurdle for a 10th straight year with last season’s County Hurdle hero, but he endured a luckless run.

Having raced keenly through the early stages before making a mistake at the final flight, Saint Roi eventually closed to within a neck of Abacadabras.

“So much went wrong, but there are a lot of positives to take out of it,” said Mullins.

“He was beaten only a neck and in another couple of strides past the line he was probably in front.

“He made mistakes and got on the wrong side of things here and there, but the performance was still good. He was pulling hard and Mark (Walsh) was caught between a rock and a hard place.

“The ground was testing and he was hoping he’d drop the bridle halfway around. Then they all rushed by him at the second last and he found himself in a bad position, but these things happen.

“I’m hoping what we learned about the horse might be to our advantage the next day. I’d imagine Leopardstown at Christmas is the obvious route with him.

“He made a few mistakes, but I think that was because he was pulling so hard on heavy ground. On faster ground there will be a better pace and it will suit him better.”

Ditto the winner, looks like there might be continued added value each time Abacadabras runs this season, I'm not even his biggest fan but would take him over the county hurdle winner off 138 at the prices.

I think SR ought to have won yesterday with a more tactical speed - he lost crucial position when the others quickened. But, winning the Champion Hurdle against Epatante? I do have grave doubt, all things being equal.

I think at the current prices the 25's available about SALDIER and SCEAU ROYAL represents a little bit of value.

Saldier has issues with his soundness but has form surrounding a previous CH winner and his winning of the Morgiana beating an albeit disappointing Sharjah puts him right in the bunch immediately behind Epatante.

I don't know if Sceau royal is going back fencing and it would be easy to overlook him as he would appear exposed and has been around and proved to be below the level required but that's not taking account an apparent change to him so far this season. He appears transformed, he's always been a smooth traveller but is now finding lots off the bridal too. His easy dismissal of Ballyandy in Wales got a little boost in the Greatwood as that one ran really well off top weight.

When you look down the CH market what we saw yesterday in Ireland constitutes a large bulk of the opposition to the solid fav and there is another bunch of horses that will only run if their fencing careers doesn't work out.

Yeh, im on Saldier at 25,just hoping he can come back in the form hes capable of.
If he does hes a major player imo.
At this stage i see last years winner,Goshen and hopefully Saldier as the ones.

am also on saldier 25s each way but more confident with saint roi if all line up .

I think people need their head testing wanting to back either saint roi or abracadabra at the current odds... both should be 12/1 at least in my book

some interesting possibles for the fighting fith ,,,epatante,goshen,sceux royal,abracadabras,main fact,not so sleepy,ballyandy,jason the mil,among others .

Yes Harry, have to agree with that.
Aspire Tower is 20/1 with any amount of improvement to come.
And he comes out very similar to ABRA on the last run.

Cant wait to see Goshen hurdling again, just hope he is the same horse as last season,added to the improvememt for age i would expect..
Most exciting horse for me this season.

Yes agree budd but once again considering how he has run so far on the flat, albeit probably needing it, his price is still well to short to want to take a shot at him for the champion

epatante the one to beat but worth remembering that this time last year she wernt on the radar having been unsighted  when fav for  the mares novices hurdle at the fest, she only really started to come onto the champ hurdle radar when she won the newbury handicap then the xmas hurdle showed what she was capable of .impressive in the champion and room for improvment but just the price puts me off , abra 158 saint roi 157 on official figgas  and a few others have plenty of room for improvement so its all to play for and as we know anything can happen. agree abra and saint roi should be around double figgas but happy to be on at 25s each way . am also on abracadabras at 12s each way .

I was against Abas all last year, his head carriage has been iffy from the word go, you could see it as far back as the previous festivals bumper and the concern is that his quirkiness is getting worse.

That being said he is still operating at a high enough level with that hindrance to him so it is reasonable to wonder just what he might look like if they can sort him out by way of some kind of headgear, they must try, he could have another another level to go to.

Imagine if he put his head down and ran right to the line the other day, he'd have been a cosy winner and Saint Roi would have looked comfortably held even with the run he got.

good post duffy i did back him for the supreme novice but his bumper run was always at the back of my mind, it jumped to the front of my mind on the run to the line,regarding sundays race i could not agree more with those comments.

Already decided to ignore that race in relation to the CH,aside from a cheeky e/w dabble on JTM at big odds, i just dont think Aba or SR are any value to be honest,from what i have seen anyway.
Be intersting as the season progresses, but their are a few others that imo represent better value.

saldier no go on sunday ,was due to take on honeysuckle and co ,a bit concerning given his fragility , have cashed out of my bet for the churdle on him ,can always go back in later if everything seems ok .

Hope hes ok, im on him at 25.

probably nothing untoward budd but with his history if ya can cash out till more news on him ,dont think his price will contract till he is declared for one of the trials .

Yeh  Foyles, just had a look on irish racing site but cany find any info on why he not running.
Given his past its worrying.
Think hes potentially the best 2m hurdler around.

Hoping for Honeysuckle and Epatante for my 10 to follow. The opposition to either is not looking strong.

might be in the  racin post in his column tommorow bud

Cheers Foyles

Surely Honeysuckle will be second favourite if she runs in the CH?

Depends what happens in the Irish Champion hurdle I'd have thought when she will face Abacadabras and Saint Roi.

Honeysuckle
Saint Roi
Abracadabras
Darver Star

.....and its only December ,
Henderson wont be sleeping too well !

If Honeysuckle was to turn up in March, Hendo may have a concern, but the other three? Doubt much sleep lost there imo.

He should be more concerned about whether Goshen turns up!!!
And a fit Saldier.

Gavin isnt worried about bringing Darver over according to my farrier

I am a big doubter of Goshen. Showed nothing on the flat after that bad fall and has been withdrawn at least once already. I have a feeling there might be a mares 123 in the CH this season.

Sage
There are doubts re Goshen.
Thats why i said whether he turns up.
If he does that means hes proved himself this season.

Honeysuckle , epatante and who sage ?

Concertista......i hope !!

One of the mares that Henderson ran at Newbury? Not sure which is the best despite the result last week. Few had Epatante on their radar this time last year.

At the prices I would take Concertista over Honeysuckle, I dont think Honesuckle is quick enough, Abacadabras would be my first choice out of the Irish though, he'll travel through the race at the pace no problem, just what's between his ears late on could cost him....as well as Epatante of course.

i am not getting too carried away by epatante she beat scuea royal getting 7 lb, arguable half a dozen could have done the same ,she obviously has a good chance but not unbeatable by any means .might not have beat a great deal  the champ hurdle ? she is too short for me ,if she wins so be it .

concertista would be a play for me at 16s if i could be sure she will be going for this , and as its willie we prob wont know till late where she goes .

atrick Mullins feels Saint Roi is currently number one in the pecking order among the potential Champion Hurdle contenders in Closutton.

The JP McManus-owned gelding is set for a rematch with Abacadabras in the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas having chased home that rival in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown last month.

The French-bred looked a slightly unlucky loser then having run into some traffic problems and Willie Mullins' charge is favoured in the ante-post markets to turn the tables.

Speaking at the launch of Leopardstown's Christmas Festival the trainer's son and assistant assessed the yard's four potential runners in the race:-

“Saint Roi looks the number one at the moment. I know he hasn't won a Grade 1 but he has huge potential.

“He's won around Cheltenham and for me, at he moment he could be the Champion Hurdle horse.

“We were very surprised with how keen he ran in Punchestown and he gave Mark (Walsh) an awful time. Because he was so keen his jumping got sloppy.

“He winged the third last and Mark was left in a situation where he could go forward and risk him doing too much and having his race run before the last or take him back and hope he could get a run. It just didn't work out and that happens

“Looking at the race you'd like to think he'd be able to reverse the form with Abacadabras but it's not always that simple.

“I don't particularly think he needs a strong pace, for whatever reason he just got fresh on the day.

“Davis Casey rides him every day at home now and I don't expect that to be an issue again to be honest.

“It's a fascinating race. Obviously Abacadabras won the last day and he's the one we have to go and get.

“With Aspire Tower, four year olds don't have a fantastic record stepping into this open company so for me he has to prove it.

“Concertista was very impressive the last day but that was a second season mares race and this is another big step up.

“I hope she does run though because Paul (Townend) will probably ride her and that means I'll get back on Sharjah!

“I think he could be a huge price at around 10/1 as he loves the dry ground there and loves the track.

“He got a little break after Galway. We tried him back on the Flat but he just doesn't seem the same horse on the Flat.

“Last year in the Champion Hurdle it was such a big field and we dropped out. In a normal year if there had been seven or eight runners we'd have been five lengths closer.

“Would that have turned the tables with Epatante? - maybe not, but if it was a smaller field this year I wouldn't mind another crack at her.

“Saldier is a very exciting horse. He was probably going to beat Espoir D'allen in Naas the day he fell as Ruby hadn't gone for his stick and Mark (Walsh) had.

“He got a nasty fall there which put him back and he's very fragile.

“We chose not to run him in the Morgiana or Hatton's Grace as we felt he wasn't ready enough.

“You don't want to be too hard on him at home either so it's a balancing act.

“He's going to be better at March whatever he does at Christmas.”

thanks irish,very informative  and usefull!

I think Epatante was impressive last year, and her 1st outing this season was too despite beating 2nd raters; the 7lbs bonus is merely the icing on the cake. I think she'd beat the boys on level weight esp on a sound surface.

Sad to see Goshen today, hope hes ok.

Agree impossible123, she would win at levels. Epatante looked so easy at Newcastle but there is no point speculating about how she would do at levels with geldings because she will always get the mares allowance. Aiden Coleman and Evan Williams both in their different ways agreed that their horses would not see which way she went and they know more than us mere home punters.

Aspire Tower is lot bit bigger price than Aba and SR, and comes out pretty much the same as those on form this season.
If i were looking to back one of the Irish newcomers, at the prices it would be AT and also JTM, who twice now has finished close to Aba..
I know i said i dont really rate that irish form in relation to the Champion Hurdle, but i do think any horse has his price.

AT should surely improve being a 4yr old, although may be a year too soon, but prices tempt me.
Yeh,think ive talked myself into a small wager.

He's 7/4 for The Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown against Abacadabras, Aspire Tower, etc. Not value if one thinks he was extremely unlucky last time they met?

Have had a silly bet after yesterday on Buzz , around the 70 mark . Will be rated higher than Epatante was before her Xmas hurdle win . Looks imo to  be a natural Cheltenham horse in the way he travelled  and finished , holds head to the left and won on flat at Newbury . Yes he is quite exposed flat wise but hopefully there is more to come over hurdles , had a relatively easy run yesterday and wont mind any ground . Obviously a second or third string , but Nicky  ran plenty in the race last year .

"A natural cheltenham horse".....

What exactly is that please ?

Appears to stay and go that way round and on any ground is probably more accurate , I might have got carried away . Will be interesting to see if he is given a prep there .I presume his ' unexplainable ' run in the Dovecote last year has meant a quiet approach .

Not much mention of Aspire Tower on the forum.
I was impressed with his performance last time, and i expect further improvement.

Have taken big price for this weekend/CHurdle double.

a bubble not entirely burst but not ideal if an epatante backer at short odds, she didnt jump as well but she looked beaten fair and square it has to go down as dissapointing especially as the winner gave her 7 pound and a 6  length  plus beating .all eyes on  leopardstown  next week and a new name at the head of the market a distinct possibility.

I dont think that will happen Foyles, unless one of them wins impressively.
Just watched the 2 races involving them again,and to my eye the ones that come out best over those 2 races,are AT and SR but not by much at all.
If one of them or Aba improve enough to win well then its possible one could be fav, but it would probably have to be SR or Aba, as AT seems to have no friends(not sure why), despite my eye telling me he's the one more likely to win the Champion Hurdle out of the 3.

aspire tower should improve budd and he is a decent price still 20/1 easily available ,that  leopardstown race will tell us more  no doubt but that is a hard race to call saldier,sharjah ,saint roi,aspire tower ,abracadabra beacon  etc anyone of those can win at least with petit mouch in we have a chance  of a true run race . i suspected they were getting carried away with epatante all that "she made the hairs on my neck stand up" bollax  after her last win she beat scuax royal getting 7£  and shes near evs fav after that ffs . she may still win the churdle but the way some were saying she only had to turn up . i cashed out my saldier bet but now with him declared i will look again ,he is fragile tho so that doubt there .

Aspire Tower 50 for Tuesday and Champion hurdle double, if anyone interested.

He'll probably win another prestigious handicap race at one of the Division 1 tracks again. I think Hendo and Epatante can sleep easy after the Matheson today.

Abas was too bad to be true, never happy with the way he was traveling which is usually an asset, Elliott's horses aren't running great lately could be partly responsible, have to see how Dublin racing festival pans out.

Pleased with AT, good run again. Wil be a player in the CH.
Just a shame Sharjah was in the race

i'd like to see HDB put him away now. he was very busy last season and he is quite hard on himself. He clearly goes well after a break.the trainer obviously knows much better than I do but as a backer thats what i am hoping for.

it would be hard to say which of elliotts was the most disappointing this week ballyadam,percy,samcro or abacadabras,

Or Henderson with Altior, Epatante and Santini? At least 2 of those were second. Stable form has always gone up and down like a yoyo. Philip Hobbs was having a terrible time in October/early Nov. when he is usually firing them in but now he is getting winners when he is usually quiet.

good point sageform

Good point Sophie, i think they may have regretted running AT between xmas and March last season.
Hes good fresh and think it would enhance his chance without a run before the festival.

had a smallish each way on not so sleepy  at 50/1 pulled up in this last year but a good winner of the betfair hurdle at ascot  and the only horse to do the double  off a 15 pound higher mark than last year in that competetive  handicap . rated 142 in that he will be around the 150 mark now and goes straight to the champ hurdle . on the face of it he has masses to find but could be capable of a big run and at 50s you dont need to put much on to find out . we dont know what this covid pandemic will do and if the irish will be allowed over fingers crossed they will but if not then this becomes a  lot less competetive .

abacadadras scoped badly after last run along with many of gordons that dissapointed last time .

Not only does it become less competitive
It also becomes a massive drop in income
Big call in Ireland to **** the borders
Unfortunately works both ways

Shut ?

irishone
irishone 02 Apr 20 10:49 Joined: 22 Sep 06 | Topic/replies: 45,294 | Blogger: irishone's blog
Envoi will probably contest this next year , particularly if ground is soft.

What price Envoi Allen in the Champion ? Good inside info

Only an idiot would try and predict something like that eleven months in advance of the race lol

Mind you some idiots have been known to try and predict who will run in which race over a year away !

Foyles, what’s your take on the race now ?

Not many trial races left now. Kingwell and Betfair Hurdle (another MAS ).

very open race imo hibore  jt favs  roughly 5/2 and the whole field have ? marks one way or another , epatente last run and the back problem ,honeysuckle jumping at speed on possible  faster going . those 2 too short for me , will stick with what ive got saint roi ,abacadabras and not so sleepy each way at decent prices  and hope for the best ,wont be backing anything else . not so sleepy if he lines up  is a live outsider  not sure chelt is his course but could outrun his odds .

I’ve not got a bean on yet and will wait fill the day or at least a few days out. Think Saint Roi will improve for the better ground we should get in March.
Definitely wouldn’t rule out something winning from left field.

yeah hib better ground and a hopefully big field you couldnt rule him out if he lines up ,its up for grabs imo ,few years back i backed jezki all through the winter and he kept getting blitzed by hurricane fly in the trials ,like a fool i layed a lot of my bets off on him thinking he couldnt reverse the form with the fly, then spring ground at the festival and you know the rest .

ouch!  had kinda given up on his chance on the win  anyway tbf !

Tough to pick them a year out
God bless ye for trying
jp and wp had a little discussion
There me thinks

they said they'll probably run the
other one you've backed ,Foyles,
James Du Berlais.

it is hard to pick them a year but its what we do and we are used to having a fair amount of nonners and losers but the big priced winners that we hit now and again more than make up for it !

havent backed that one penzance i was thinking about it but when i asked the anorak for some info on it i left it ,the missus had a few quid on (she liked the name ),its still a big price so may have another look ,am left with not so sleepy 50s and abracadabras 16s each way .

Do you keep records foyles ?
I got the impression this was just a fun forum with a load of amateurs on it to be honest ...