think he means conti lol

yep,i would agree brooksie.

If cue card was ever going to beat Bobs Worth it would of been on bobs worth first start over fences having his first run of the season over a trip far to short. In the supreme he came there tanking and faded. Has just always struck me as a horse that just don't find much when spent.

One man was a 3 miler though and didn't pull and had the requisite class to win a queen mum because he had to beat ask tom in perhaps the worst queen mum in years,another question we don't know the answer to is how will CC react to being asked to race slower and conserve every single bit of energy he can because although he settles better these days he by no means has it cracked yet, I reckon he will want to go quicker and waste energy, I just can't have him at all, he's all speed.

bobs worth hadnt had the breathing op when he beat cue card over a distance too short for him and over cue cards ideal distance

Bob's Worth's the next Best Mate!

You heard it here first !

It's always very interesting to see how people think about stuff and the comments they make

I've had Cue Card on my mind for quite some time now and have been reflecting on everything that has happened. My conclusions are that everything he has done in his entire racing career (which consists of just 13 races since 25 Jan 2010) has been preparation for this stage of his career. He is about to embark on what will be, his trainer thinks and hopes, a career as a top class steeplechaser and next week the King George is going to reveal plenty about him and his likely future. Drawing hard and fast conclusions based on what he has done so far hardly seems worthwhile, I think the best we can do is think about the spectrum of possibilities and rank them in order of likelihood. There are doubts about his stamina, from some quarters, and people already say 'he's a two and a half miler' and so on but I remind you that there were similar doubts about Best Mate at the same age (also won the Haldon Gold Cup on debut as a 6yo). I don't think anyone can say for sure but the trainer and jockey have no doubts that he will stay. They also report him as 'much stronger' which is entirely normal for a horse about to turn 7 years old.

My own opinion is that, on balance, the horse is more likely to end up a true Grade 1 staying chaser than anything else. The other possibility would be that he remains at intermediate trips and tries 3 miles now and then in King George. I think it extremely unlikely he will be tried at minimum distances. The collateral form is outstanding and I think we can already see that getting that close to Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle, over a trip too short, was an excellent effort. Indeed, Kicking King ran similarly when second to Well Chief in the Arkle and he went on to be a top staying chaser. With Al Ferof, Menorah (won a Grade 1), Sprinter Sacre and Cue Card himself all winning since the Arkle it really points to the strength of the form. Bobs Worth has of course also franked the form in no uncertain terms - we could argue all day about whether BW is better than CC as that issue is yet to be resolved. However, I do think the Arkle form is significantly stronger than the RSA chase form so it will be interesting to see how that progresses over the next couple of years.

I have not had a bet in the King George but I have taken up the 'ante post offer' from VictorBet which gives you a bet to the same amount if the horse does not run and I have backed Cue Card for the Gold Cup at 33/1. If CC wins the KG and the trainer then states his intention to go for the Gold Cup, and I think he will if happens, then surely CC will be trading somewhere near the head of the market. And if CC fails to stay then he surely won't run in the Gold Cup meaning I get to use the 'ante post offer' and stick the bet on another horse or race.

As I said earlier in the thread, I have looked back through the race all the way to 1980 and I have to say that Long Run is really the only horse that truly fits all the trends as a typical King George winner so I will not be surprised if he wins at all. Kauto Stone also fits quite a few of the trends (won more than 1 Grade 1 chase, won at 3 miles, won last time out etc) so he would continue the trend if he won. However, I'm hoping that Cue Card fulfills the other key trend that struck me when I was researching the last 30 odd years of the King George which is that this race has been the proving ground for top class horses. Time and again stars reveal the true extent of their ability, for the first time in their career, in the King George. Kicking King, Best Mate, See More Business, Desert Orchid, The Fellow, and I'm sure others, all displayed their class (and or ability to stay) here for the first time before going on to have fantastic careers. The race is a proving ground for stars and I'm hoping that everything Cue Card has done up to now has set him up to make a similar impact and that he turns out to be a truly top class horse. Hope I'm right, would be great to have another new superstar staying chaser around

that is only an assumption based on what you've seen so far. He could relish the soft going and glide along untroubled for all we know. As I said in my post, making hard and fast conclusions is not worthwhile, you simply cannot know whether he will struggle to do anything in advance as he is still unexposed. The King George will be the proving ground as I said above and we will be able to draw much firmer conclusions AFTER the race. For all we know he could be a 185+ chaser on soft ground over 3 miles - certainly if he could maintain his Arkle pace at the distance he would be a potent force. We will know next Wednesday

I am sure Cue Card could win races at 3 miles, but i am still scratching my head to find a zippy type like Cue Card that has ever won the King George.

Unless of course he is deceiving us all with his keenness and in actual fact he is not exerting anything extra.

i am daft enough

If Mullins is happy with the horse think there's everychance he'll run it especially if the ground doesn't look like being too bad.
He'll have noted the race is starting to cut up a bit and may see it as an easier option than taking on Flemenster in the Lexus.

he wouldn't be too shrewd imo if he thought the KG would be an easier option than the Lexus

Had my first couple bets today in this race, LR 11/4 and cue card at 9/2. Cant see past CC so will be having him winning me the most in my book in fact will be a kind of jackpot horse. After watching that race again today with bobs worth i cant get past him anymore! Wish i had took some 10/1 in early October but never mind nothing can be done about that now and the race is a much different one now! May well cut up to a 9-12 runner affair, in fact i am sure it will, with them about the only certain runners, their prices are sure to not be bigger!

GL 

will be a two horse race long run and kauto stone two top class French horses that won the big races over there. Both won't mind the ground both will stay.

Thanks mate

Thats why its a gut feeling Judo,as they have a lot more to do yet,but both going the right way for sure.
I will be amazed if Flemenstar does not show us a lot more when hes extended,but again we wait and see.

As for the KG and Lexus,im not convinced we have a top KG coming up and think in time the lexus may well provide the better horses(if SDC and Flem run),yet again we wait and see.
The way the weather is we could potentially have a smallish KG field with horses struggling to get home.
Hope im wrong of course,but its possible.

Well I agree with those who say SDC won't come over, it'll be better ground in Ireland by the looks of it.

It was worth a small investment after Al Ferof pulled out - still, decs are tomorrow aren't they? You never know, might be able to get out of it

Well thats something im sure would get people debating.
We can say all we like right now,the horses will tell us as the season progresses.
I reckon Flemenstar will be the top staying chaser this season,with SDC and Bobsworth challenging.
Only time will tell if im right.

Good,makes it all the more interesting.

Bobsworth will win the GC. I know he's favourite but can't see anything else as solid as him. Hopefully Tidal Bay boosts the form in the lexus.