Fascinated to read that the highly-rated yet unexposed Sir Erec is being sent over hurdles, presumably with the Triumph Hurdle in mind. He must have shown the O'Briens something to warrant this bold move and is perhaps worth a speculative few quid @ 25/1 (I've taken some of that).

Hi Headmaster, TBH I couldn't get much 25/1 as Bet635 shut me down years ago and the others have done pretty much the same, letting me have a total of £12 at that price! Hey ho, it is what it is.

Sir Erec might be a foot note come Thursday evening, but there's also a chance that he might be 3/1 fav for the Triumph too, he's one of 'those'.

It's not usually my MO to back such a 'romantic' selection (I'm obsessive about proven ability via speed ratings) but sometimes you have to just read between the lines, especially when 'quality' connections are involved. Looking at Sir Erec's profile in the cold light of day, most reasonable judges would expect him to be wrapped-up in cotton wool this winter, ready for a cup campaign in 2019. The fact that he's going hurdling suggests one of two things to me:
1)He's shown himself to be a precocious 'lepper' at home, or
2)The connections fancy another Quixotic tilt at jump racing's Holy Grail (btw, Ivanovic Gorbatov made his hurdling debut in Thursday's race too).

Based on what we know now, would I back him at 10/1? Probably not, but at 20/1 or 25/1 I think a small punt is justified, albeit high risk.

Hi HM, I have a growing admiration for JPOB and I'm sure Sir Erec wasn't fully wound up for this. That said, it was a decent performance and if he improves from that debut (highly likely) then he is very much in the mix. The runner-up is apparently well-regarded, so perhaps it was better than it looked. Somewhere around 8/1 seems about right at this stage; if he wins a graded race next time I expect he'll be a pretty strong favourite for Cheltenham.

he looks like he could be a machine over hurdles...i'd be a tad worried he wouldn't have a stab at the supreme he looks good enough but if he goes triumph he will take some beating

He's not in the Supreme (nor the Ballymore for that matter), so it looks as though all roads lead to the Triumph - assuming JPOB's tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said "we'll see what kind of handicap mark he gets"

Some of his jumping today was a little bit sketchy, but it was only his second start over obstacles so there's every chance he'll improve on that front. It's still game on at this stage

Sir Eric well on drift today on here 6/5 this morning ,  can have 15/8 and coppers at 2/1 now!!!

Latest update from JPOB sounds encouraging, says he's been cantering and that all should be fine.

Money is usually the most reliable barometer, and his price seems to be holding-up pretty well on here.

Touching wood regularly!

Odds-on now

My heart felt commiserations Head that was desperately sad.

That looked horrible. RIP Sir Erec, you'll be sorely missed.

The way Sir Erec just stood stock still whilst being reshod at the start, was a pure joy to watch. A truly beautiful colt.
He looked so proud and magnificent with a definite aura of greatness around him.

For what happened minutes later was utterly devastating.
Such promise snatched away and gone for ever.


. Commiserations to all connections.

RIP Sir Erec