Horse Antepost
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Hope you're listening Nicky, let me sort this out for you.
You screwed up taking Darlan out at Cheltenham, and now you are worried you will look stupid by running him anywhere else if the ground is soft. Problem is, that might mean not running him till April. So why don't you just say publicly that in hindsight that was a bad call, it happens, and move on. We're all aloud to **** up now and again.
Grandulet apparently has to go to Cheltenham, for reasons I don't understand, but that's fine. Darlan is still rated 151, so if he's half the horse you think he is he can win the Ladbroke doing cartwheels, then go to Ireland at Christmas. If he gets beat of 151 there's still time to send him over fences but you have to stop messing about.
Binnocular for the xmas hurdle is fine, except that he never wins first time out so why hasn't he had a run? Never mind, maybe you can get him fit at home. OW can stick to 2.5 all season so no problem there.
Don't see what the problem is really. Oh hang on, yes I do, it's that suddenly in your old age you've developed the habit of wrapping horses in cotton wool and withdrawing them for no possible reason, ruining races and wasting their owner's money. Why on earth was Sprinter Sacre, who I drove 250 miles to watch I might add, withdrawn? He would have done less work than he usually does in the morning winning that. And have you seen the size of his feet? Not only will he handle soft ground, he might be a stone better on it. Which is a bit scary, isn't it?. Anyway, stop it, for God's sake, before you spoil the whole bloody season.
Hope that helps.
You screwed up taking Darlan out at Cheltenham, and now you are worried you will look stupid by running him anywhere else if the ground is soft. Problem is, that might mean not running him till April. So why don't you just say publicly that in hindsight that was a bad call, it happens, and move on. We're all aloud to **** up now and again.
Grandulet apparently has to go to Cheltenham, for reasons I don't understand, but that's fine. Darlan is still rated 151, so if he's half the horse you think he is he can win the Ladbroke doing cartwheels, then go to Ireland at Christmas. If he gets beat of 151 there's still time to send him over fences but you have to stop messing about.
Binnocular for the xmas hurdle is fine, except that he never wins first time out so why hasn't he had a run? Never mind, maybe you can get him fit at home. OW can stick to 2.5 all season so no problem there.
Don't see what the problem is really. Oh hang on, yes I do, it's that suddenly in your old age you've developed the habit of wrapping horses in cotton wool and withdrawing them for no possible reason, ruining races and wasting their owner's money. Why on earth was Sprinter Sacre, who I drove 250 miles to watch I might add, withdrawn? He would have done less work than he usually does in the morning winning that. And have you seen the size of his feet? Not only will he handle soft ground, he might be a stone better on it. Which is a bit scary, isn't it?. Anyway, stop it, for God's sake, before you spoil the whole bloody season.
Hope that helps.
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I'm sure Mr Henderson will be grateful for your invaluable advice
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If Henderson fails to take you up on this advice the minimum you will of achieved is giving me a late night chuckle
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 if you're listening Nicky can we have a response. |
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Suspect Nicky couldn't give a hee haw about what we think H! Fair point about Darlan though - ground at Newcastle is only just raceable apparently. Maybe he was more concerned about humping a big weight in the gluepot that was Cheltenham on the last 2 days of the Open meeting.
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Good post Barry.
He also made an almighty rick, one I agreed with at the time but hey i'm no trainer, by running Oscar Whiskey in the World Hurdle. Even now they are still underestimating his CH chance. |
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I'm quite sure Mr H doesn't give a hoot what I think, rightly so, but it was all well meaning. And it is annoying when trainers fail to consider what should be their highest priority when placing horses, namely my ten to follow entries:).
NH does seem to be getting a bit over-sensitive these days. A lot of English trainers make me laugh the way they react to a bit of rain, saying things like "obviously we can't risk him in that ground" .. when the ground is better than they get to race on all season in Ireland or France. I think the horses we race here are essentially the same species, and few have been killed by the odd splosh of mud. If they're fit, they won't be killed by getting tired either. Late night chuckles was the only positive outcome I could hope for though, so glad to hear it worked at least once. |
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i think the criticism is warranted in this case
what an average start to the season he's made for such a talented string i read his pitiful excuse the other day that apparently his horses don't cope with soft ground as much as other trainers' what absolute tosh, what kind of national hunt trainer gets put off by bad weather and soft ground? is it not the same for all of them? still on the bright-side at this rate Darlan will be very fresh for his seasonal re-appearance in the champion hurdle  training masterclass |
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http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/article/2/8289997/super-sacre-the-star-turn
there's the interview if you're interested, the relevant quote is "For whatever reason, our horses by and large don't seem to act on soft ground and as a result there is a lot of juggling to be done," reflects Henderson is it just me being harsh or is that a massive cop-out? why not just be honest and say 'i only want to win big races in the spring, i really don't care what you think' |
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Agree with most of what BarryM says. Especially re the Ladbroke. If Darlan is a Champion Hurdle horse but missed the Greatwood because he couldn't be risked on that ground, why might he run in bottomless conditions against better horses this weekend when. If he's a Champion Hurdle horse he should be kept fit at home and sent to Ascot to spaff up in a very valuable race off 151 before they take on the big boys. Something doesn't add up...
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At least he's not saying his horses are 'over the top' yet.
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A lot of his horses seem to be bought by his big owners,certainly the Cheltenham types,so makes sense to buy the sort of horse that acts on typical festival ground,i would think.
So it would not surprise me one bit if a lot dont like soft,and if he thinks he should not run them cos of that,then fair enough imo. |
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I cannot necessarily agree with that budd. NH races are run in the winter, sorry aren't we meant to get bad weather?
But maybe its fair enough that he doesn't want to run his horses on soft ground. However he'll be a cheerleader in saying there needs to be better prize money and valuable races will go unsupported and with a handful of runners. Then he'll come on later in the season when meetings are cancelled demanding that races are rescheduled because 'my horses need to race'. He even started going on about the Fighting Fifth moving to Newbury - now wouldn't that be convenient? There are races for his horses to run in, he chooses not to run them. End of. |
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Just summising Roo,and trying to 2nd guess the trainer,which aint easy!!
2 of the main meetings are in Spring,and he seems to try and run his horses on the best ground possible before that,which is fine. I do agree though that he cant have it all ways,and sometimes he has to just run them,as he did when Zaynar ran in the bog at Kelso. |
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Just for the record, what he said when he withdrew Darlan and Sprinter Sacre from Cheltenham was that he thought they'd handle soft ground, he just didn't want to "risk" them on it first time out.
I'm not sure what the risk in question is - that they might get dirty? That's undeniably possible, but wouldn't such a powerful yard have, say, a bucket? And by implication does "first time out" mean "when not fit", because there's really no excuse for that from a big yard. |
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Having now watched Sprinter Sacre make his debut on ground very similar to that which he could not be risked on at Cheltenham, I remain not entirely convinced that he would have had such a desperately exhausting battle with Wishful Thinking that he would have been ruined for the season. Actually, I rather doubt that he will come off the bridle ever again.
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Guy's unfortunately the Cheltenham festival has become the priority of jump racing. Like it or not everything bar maybe the Hennessey & King George is basically used as a prep race for Cheltenham these days. It's the be all and end all for big owner's and that is why Nicky isn't going to give horses unnecessary races in heavy ground early in the season when he wants them primed for March. You & me might think it's a case of turning these horses out race after race in G1's and expecting them to be at their peak each time but it's a little more difficult than that. No matter what ability an athlete has when competing at the highest level they need to be at their peak of fitness. I think Saturday's display shows exactly why Nicky didn't want Sprinter Sacre running at Cheltenham in heavy ground. He won as he wanted to in the Tingle Creek but he has a long season ahead. Horses can only give a certain amount each year. They are not machines even if they appear to be. The last thing Nicky wants is a stable full of tired horses in the Spring.
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