Un De Sceaux

Why did they run him over further. I suppose they don't think he will ever beat Altior.

Its criminal this horse has never had a chance in a champion hurdle/chase

2 grade 1 chases 16/17.18 nothing old about it.

Finally, a proper point and fire ride again.

Don't know how long he will carry on for but Patrick should retain the ride even if Walsh is available.

Exactly.
2 miles on suitable ground and catch me if you can.
Thats when hes at his best.
Fantastic to see.

Altior different class to the Irish two-milers.

UDS was runner up to ss in the 2016 qmcc

tremendous effort from the horse and a great ride from mullins

Altior is almost certainly the best in training. Being second best to him is no bad thing.

Either Min ran well below form or the QM was not as good as we thought.

been my fav horse in training for last five years - have backed elliott to be champion trainer but delighted to see this horse show it's true colours under a proper UDS ride. Just a real shame that WPM finally ran UDS in the top race against his other better fancied horses due to the trainers championship, in the past he would have gone for a 2m4f race or maybe even the stayers hurdle, how many more top races should/could UDS have won when given the chance and given a proper front runners ride?? oh well just hope he goes out on a high somewhere/sometime because this horse totally deserves it

Great to see UDS winning in some style

That race was a joy to watch, I had no bet in it but was cheering on UDS. He jumped great the whole way.

Could not have put it better myself Gordon

A magnificent horse , unbeaten over hurdles and in completed chases only beaten by Sprinter Sacre , Balko Des Flo and Fox Norton.
Douvan looked good but he is not the most athletic jumper of a fence and it showed at a few fences.

There are few horses who run from the front and deliver time and again ..... Tied Cottage , Desert Orchid , Anaglog's Daughter , Night Nurse.......he belongs with these superstars.

Makes you wonder why UDS never appeared in a Champion Hurdle deserved his place.

fox norton is a bloody good horse

This horse would have won the champion hurdle when Mullins didn't want to run him against Hurricane Fly. I think Jezki won the race. Un de Sceaux is an out an out 2 miler whose career has been blighted by being sent to races which Douvan, Hurricane Fly etc were not going to contest. What a shame for such a great horse.

With 1 million pounds in prize money, I don't think the owners will be complaining about how he has been campaigned.

Maybe not, just a shame the horse hasn't won the races he deserves to have won.

As a hurdler,he was never in the same league as Hurricane Fly or Faugheen when they were in their prime( 156 versus two horses rated mid 170s).

UDS has never left much behind. Arkle Chase, Tingle Creek, 3 Clarence Houses,Ryanair,3 from 4 in France and a host of big races in Ireland. He has been brilliantly campaigned all through his career. Slammed by Sprinter Sacre twice and beaten fair and square by Fox Norton And Balko Des Flos we know his limitations but he is, as 170 rated chasers go, as admirable,tough and consistent as we will ever see.

As a hurdler he was never given the chance to prove he was in the same league.
I think he was and I think his subsequent performances in numerous Grade 1 chases proves that.
His hurdling technique was as good as one could want from a Champion Hurdler, and the best races he WAS allowed to run in over hurdles at 2m he smashed the opposition every time.
Any other yard would have run him in Champion Hurdles.......absolutely no doubt in my mind.

His limitations as you put it.........Sprinter beat him 3 lengths at Cheltenham(no disgrace imo),and then 15 lengths after Cheltenham.
Fox Norton beat him after Cheltenham....just, and BDF beat him at 2m5f.

That is exactly the point, never given a chance to prove what his mark was over hurdles. Its all about opinions, but with any other trainer he would have been a champion hurdler.

So would Altior but he is an even better chaser leaving Buveur D'air to win the CH. It is inevitable with the concentration of so many of the top rated horses in so few yards that trainers will keep their best horses apart which means that if a horse could win (for example) the Ryanair or the Champion Chase (Un de Sceaux) while another in the yard (Douvan) would only win the CC, the horses are run accordingly.

Yes Sage,we all know the reasons why UDS has been campaigned as he has.
Does not stop people having opinions though.
I happen to think he deserved a crack at the top 2m hurdlers.
I also happen to think he deserved more chances at the top 2m chasers.
I do understand why he werent, just don't agree.

He won a Grade 2 hurdle by 16 lengths on the bridle!!
And never ran in a Grade 1 !!!

Anyone care to tell me another horse done that??

Buddeliea, you're correct above, but bear in mind it was an incredibly weak group 2, he was 1/14 to win, it was heavy going, and none of his opponents has won a race since (2014).

By the way, I really like the horse, so i'm not using the above as a negative.

Ok fair point, but what I am saying is that when a horse wins a grade 2, the next step would normally be a Grade 1,especially winning one so easily.
All about finding a horses level of competiveness, they did not do that with UDS over hurdles.
That imo cannot be debated.

I think Ruby Walsh has incorrectly influenced connections thinking.  Several occasions in the last two years Ruby has said UDS is not fast enough to win the Queen Mum and needs 2m4f and very soft ground to be at his best.  The evidence is he is best on ground no worse than soft and 2m is his optimal trip.

The only defeat that puzzled me was by Balko as it was so comprehensive, but maybe that horse was a big improver (although it didn't look it at Aintree).

If the Cheltenham Festival/Champion Hurdle (UDS should have run)had been the last week of a trainers title and Mullins was in with a chance of winning it. UDS would have run without a doubt.
Mullins will run in races to suit Mullins /Walsh not necessarily whats the best option for the horse.

"Mullins will run in races to suit Mullins/Walsh not necessarily what's the best option for the horse"

Absolutely! Shaneshill and Bellshill in the Supreme instead of the Albert Bartlett/Neptune for the former, and Albert Bartlett the latter. What distances are these two horses running over now? 2m 4f or more and not once over 2m since their Cheltenham Festival debuts; Mullins always have put Ricci's interest 1st (regardless) before Gigginstown and Wylie. Thank goodness Gigginstown told their horses away from him for the good of the sport otherwise Samcro, Apple's Jade, Petit Mouchoir, etc would have spent more time in the boxes than on the racetrack.

Samcro is taking on Melon (neck 2nd to Buveur D'Air) and Supasundae but no Faugheen in the Irish Champion Hurdle on friday. I firmly believe if Samcro wins well he'll be targeting the Champion Hurdle next Cheltenham. And where is Laurina running? In a non-descript Champion Hurdle for Mares only on saturday - what a waste of talent?

Apr 25, 2018 -- 12:39PM, sageform wrote:

So would Altior but he is an even better chaser leaving Buveur D'air to win the CH. It is inevitable with the concentration of so many of the top rated horses in so few yards that trainers will keep their best horses apart which means that if a horse could win (for example) the Ryanair or the Champion Chase (Un de Sceaux) while another in the yard (Douvan) would only win the CC, the horses are run accordingly.

Thanks, Sageform, and this is why the palace of dutching is best, but I've yet to master the practice.