Fighting fifth

Peddlers Cross the one I want to see!

peddlers cross makes all, never headed, minces in

He will run.

Why are you ignoring the fact that Binocular is entered at Newcastle,as well of course as the C Hurdle??
Seems a bit strange to me.

I respect Binocular but i remember how he ran on his first run last season. Im just thinking 7/2 is a good price on Peddlers

Yeh,fair comment,Bin did not run much of a race last season,but if he turns up in form,watch out!!
Agree PC is an interesting one for CH,have backed it at 24,bit short now though i think.

Will hype us all along with excuses until then. Where will the fast pace he needs come from in the FF

marodima at 250/1.... is jamie snowden takin the piss

where will the fast pace come from....peddlers cross i would have thought....unless the mccain stable fancy stacking them up and turning it into a sprint!!![smiley:crazy]

Always surprised by lack of faith people seem to have in Binocular. Obviously a slight injury last season affected jumping and the feel it gave McCoy, but up until that point extremely consistent, tough and progressive. Taking into account Henderson's comments on how well he schooled last week,  which he crucially had not done until his injury cleared up, think 3s Binocular to repeat is incredibly tempting. Looked like a horse ready to go imperial this season as opposed to being a flash in the pan.

Yes their was something wrong given his running in the CHurdle.However he still ran fairly well in those races,close 3rd in the xmas hurdle and not that far away at Newcastle which was first time out,and can happen,which imo shows his class.
Connections are bemused when he dont perform as they know he can,as he did at Ascot and the CHurdle this year.He was obviously regarded as better than Punjabi,so the problem must have started after the Ascot race where he comfortably beat Cel Halo.The way he ran in winning the CHurdle suggests that he is now over those problems,and should he stay sound he could well emulate his owners last great hurdler

Binoculor at evens or above is a gift. His champion hurdle win was probably the best since Istabraq.
He had a blip early last season but is reported in great form now. I'm opening the vault and putting
2 large on.

I would rate Khyber Kim a very good horse and seeing what Binocular did to him, I think he'll  win at Cheltenahm. I think he'll probably take this aswell tbh, I'm of the view there was something amiss most of last year. It is funny about the pace issue as I always had him down as a very quick horse rather than a grinder, therefore IMO even if its a slow pace provided he settles I think he can win here.

must be out tomorrow i think

or today now

Race looks paceless (Bygones may take it up)

Won't suit Binocular and certainly not Peddlers, can see a boilover

Starluck/Sublimity reverse forecast imo.

forecast rain all week and its going to be feezing so ground is gonna be most likly heavy.

That's an interesting angle on the 2009 race, Yodacricket. How you maintain the race position you want, without risking over-stretching and unbalancing your horse, coming from the top of the hill to the turn for home, must be one of the main tests of riding the course, even for experienced jockeys like McCoy. Binocular certainly wasn't as balanced and fluent over the final hurdle in the 2009 renewal as he can be and that, arguably, cost him some momentum in terms of making up the ground on the front two.

I suppose what we can never know is whether the horse was simply finding it harder going in 2009 (not perhaps 100% right on the day, as the trainer speculated afterwards). In that case, it may have been the effort of fighting fatigue that was the key factor slightly unbalancing him from the top of the hill to the run-in. Interesting that in the 2010 renewal, McCoy momentarily had to rein back the horse as they took the final turn, so well had the horse come down the hill and so easily was he travelling. The same ease of movement wasn't there with Binocular as they turned for home in the 2009 race.

With Binocular, the ground is clearly important for the horse (though there may be a danger that the extent of the importance of the ground is over-emphasised to the exclusion of other factors that may be important in understanding the horse). Getting the horse balanced and fluent, and releasing that fantastic ability he has to quicken well off a fast pace, may actually require a few different factors to come right on the day, including of course how he is ridden. I just have a feeling he may prove to be a harder horse to work out from a punting angle than his frequently short odds might suggest, though equally a very interesting horse to observe and analyse.

Interesting thoughts on Binocular re 2009 and 2010 Champion Hurdle. Still think Newcastle, Kempton and Sandown performances last season were that of a horse with a physical problem and should be forgotten. Ground, pace and track are misnomers in my opinion as his record shows incredible versatility - Remember Liverpool? Henderson schooled him again last Friday (Alan Lee, The Times) and they were delighted with him.They think if he schools well then all is well physically with the horse. I think 2010/2011 will be his season and will be really surprised if he is turned over on Saturday.

a think n henderson has a gd chance off the big race double