I would trust Mullins with my life ffs.

Cider,if the Gold Cup winner had been trained to an inch of its life it still wouldn't have won.
The rest of the field faced mission impossible today barring falls.

That's the point, hyping a race as for example one of the runners won the gc lto is disingenuous, if it's expected to be out with the washing. It doesn't really matter what the CV of the runners is if they aren't effectively going to be taking part in the race.

It was a race that had good horses in it, but on paper was a two horse race, which it ended up being. Last year's was a much better renewal, in my opinion.

All those people saying this was the race of the season, better than the Gold Cup. Yeah right. Apart from a two horse race it was a training gallop for slow horses. Fecking shysters make these races an anti-climax.

Mullins isn't guilty of hyping the race up.

The winner was given a “soft lead”?  That’s not how I saw the race.  GW set a searching pace is the race I saw, hit his flat spot then came again, courageously.

This race today might as well have been in private at Closutton. No serious punter could have a bet. Half the field were out for fresh air and a leg loosener.

might leave a mark for the rest season on both the front two more so the winner

Not sure why there was so much negativity for this race.
It is perfectly placed in the calendar for a pipe opener.
Only two of Mullins' entries were suited to the conditions and those two ran great races.
It is never a betting race, never has been.
Plenty of big targets ahead.

Eight of the last ten winners were trained by Willie M, three odds on. The original poster was correct in my opinion - why is it even in the calendar? Yes it's good to see top horses having an outing but it's well over-hyped. You don't have to have a bet that's true but you can't take it seriously surely.

What's the point in running the Lancashire/Betfair Chase?
Last 20 runnings has seen 7 or less runners on 17 occasions.
Most often won by the front two in the market.
Season has to start somewher.
Doubt the Irish give a fig about what the Betfair forum thinks.

Agree with that. And as Leif says, the Betfair should not be a Grade 1 either.

Sadly all of the best 3 mile chasers in training apart from Galopin des Champs ran over the last 2 days so every Grade 1 race will be won by one of those so get used to it.

O'keefe is fav for the Irish Jockeys Championship, not Townend. I wonder why.

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Townend is being very selective what he rides in the last couple of seasons and I would imagine WPM has advised him to keep to the better horses to prolong his career hence Danny and Brian Hughes are picking up a lot of spare rides where previously PT would have ridden the stable selected in all races.

CF Swan did the same kind of thing  but at least PT is still riding chasers.

It seems the only people in the entire universe who have a interest in horse racing who didn’t look forward or enjoy yesterday’s race reside on this forum.

It was a two horse race whichever way you looked at it,Cider.
The third (Fastorslow)had been off injured since it ran in the same race last year and was hardly likely to be 100% first time up.
The Gold Cup winner was unlikely to be suited to the drop in trip and was ridden accordingly.
Some of the remarks on this thread show their utter ignorance o race reading and quite what they were expecting will have to remain a mystery

What I do think is that the two day navan fixture last weekend was different class to the punchestown two day fixture and I should think fairyhouse next weekend will also be better.

Even then, it could easily have been a prep for Kempton for GW, and left to FTF to take the race easily. Only the market told us it was off for its life. Or it could have been FTF out for a run, as the drift possibly suggested until the late market moves. Outsiders are just guessing which ones are wanted/expected on the day, especially this part of the season.

uptheirons I hear you, and yep some people moan for moaning's sake. For me there is some justification here. Whether I agree with it or not, I can at least see it's a valid opinion.

David Toft: "A brilliant John Durkan, but where were the other top notchers?"

"How do you explain so many other classy types not running with much obvious encouragement on their seasonal returns? Yes, the trip was wrong for plenty but, even so, they were pretty much all beaten a distance in old money, and if any one of them come out and win a Gp 1 next time it will be hard to see their runs on Sunday as more than a public schooling season."

"The run of the race played a big part on Sunday. It's rare for a horse to take a keen grip like Gaelic Warrior did, go miles clear, and still have enough left in the tank to win, let alone rally his way back to the front past a specialist at the trip."

So, so, so true. Well done Mr David Toft for being "sensible".

I just would like to add one thing. Did Townend get away with setting a "strong" gallop as reckoned by some pundits? Or, were the other jockeys including Walsh on Fact To File guilty allowing Townend too much rope?; Fact To File is a specialist over 2m 4f, well demonstrated in The Ryanair win.

Townend and Walsh cannot both be right. Or Gaelic Warrior had a fitness advantage over Fact To File judging on the betting market; Gaelic Warrior was heavily backed into 13/8f whereas Fact To File was a drifter from 5/4f to 9/4 2f.

Schooling in public, and a fitness advantage for one over the other of the two major principals. Either scenario is not good PR for Irish Racing, is it?

imbecile123
Go and play on the motorway ffs