Fighting Fifth Hurdle

No. Form Horse Age Wt Trainer Jockey OR NagMe Bet
1 32131/4- Al Eile (IRE) 23 9 11-7 J Queally T J Murphy 155
16/1
2 121/113- Binocular (FR) 263 5 11-7 N J Henderson A P McCoy 169
Evs
3 33084-6 Blue Bajan (IRE) 21 7 11-7 Andrew Turnell G Lee 159
40/1
4 211-412 Go Native (IRE) 22 6 11-7 Noel Meade D J Condon 147
16/1
5 1211-11 Solwhit (FR) 13 5 11-7 C Byrnes D N Russell 165
13/8
6 42/2140- Sublimity (FR) 184 9 11-7 t Robert Hennessy P A Carberry 161
10/1
7 31/420-7 Won In The Dark (IRE) 114 5 11-7 Miss S Harty R M Power 157 40/1


Betting Forecast: Evs Binocular (FR), 6/4 Solwhit (FR), 10/1 Sublimity (FR), 20/1 Al Eile (IRE), 20/1 Go Native (IRE), 33/1 Blue Bajan (IRE), 33/1 Won In The Dark (IRE)

FORMWATCH
Al Eile (IRE) 4-1fav (11-7) In touch on inside, hit 6th, challenged going well 3 out, led briefly approaching last, no extra flat, 4th of 15, 6l behind Solwhit (11-7) at Aintree 2m 4f hdl G1 (1) gs in Apr.Binocular (FR) 6-4fav (11-10) Mid-division, headway approaching 5th, chased leading pair before 2 out, not fluent last, ridden flat, ran on towards finish, 3rd of 23, 1/2l behind Punjabi (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m hdl G1 (1) gs in Mar.Blue Bajan (IRE) 13-2 (11-4) Held up in rear, mistake 5th, soon beaten, 6th of 7, 31l behind Celestial Halo (11-10) at Wincanton 2m Ltd hcp hdl (1) gs.Go Native (IRE) 7-4 (11-12) Held up in rear, headway in 3rd 3 out, travelled well from 2 out, squeezed through on rail and ridden to challenge before last, no extra approaching last, kept on same pace, 2nd of 5, 13l behind Voler La Vedette (11-3) at Down Royal 2m hdl Grd 3 sft.Solwhit (FR) 7-4 (11-10) Tracked leaders in 3rd, squeezed between horses to challenge before last, quickened impressively to lead run-in, drew clear close home, won at Punchestown 2m hdl G1 hvy beating Muirhead (11-10) by 2 1/2l, 4 ran.Sublimity (FR) 20-1 (11-10) Sweating, held up towards rear, headway approaching 3 out, no further progress, 15th of 23, 47l behind Punjabi (11-10) at Cheltenham 2m hdl G1 (1) gs in Mar.Won In The Dark (IRE) 33-1 (11-12) Chased leaders, 4th halfway, ridden in 5th 2 out, no extra in 7th entering straight, kept on one pace, 7th of 9, 16l behind Solwhit (11-12) at Punchestown 2m hdl G1 hvy in May.

Going: GOOD to SOFT, Good in places 3pm 26/11/09
Weather: Dry, bright and breezy. Cooler than of late. V windy with odd showers forecast for next few days. 3pm 26/11/09
Number Of Races: 7
Going Stick: 6.4 Chase & 6.9 Hurdle
Price Band: Festival


1.Solwhit
2.Binocular
Well clear of the 3rd which imo will be

3.Sublimity

am I missing sumthing but hows Solwhit not fav for this

Because on their best formlines Binocular is entitled to beat Solwhit

Err...
Punjabi beat binocular & Solwhit beat Punjabi.....

I know it doesn't work out like that, but Solwhit wins for me.

Binocular should go short in running.

Should be interesting, two very quick horses, Solwhit has the benefit of a rum, and Henderson's goodun's are generally penalty kicks fto this time of year. Hope Go Native runs a nice race.

I'm talking about Binocular hammering Celestial Halo in a race that will be run similiarily to saturdays and Solwhit narrowly beating Punjabi under said conditions. I give Binocular the upper hand as I rate Celestial Halo and Punjabi pretty identical. This years champion hurdle will have little bearing on who will win the fighting fifth imo. Totally different races.

Where has the original poster got the notion that this will be run on soft ground out of? Is Newcastle in East Galway or what?

Go Native to do them all.

I also think that Sublimity and Blue Bajan will scrap it out for last.

Will you give me evens on Sub in a match bet with Blue Bajan TGM. If the ground is nearing good I make Sub nearly as big a danger as Solwhit.

You also make Michael Hourigan a good trainer so i think we can ignore this little jewel.
Please dont try and tell us that Sublimity has as good as chance as Solwhit.

Jimeen if the ground is good on saturday I think Sublimity will go close. Time will tell as they say. Now that you have put your head above the ground why don't you tell us your verdict instead of coming on here after the race and telling people what they should have done.

I've never been a fan of Binocular but I reckon he'll win tomorrow. Flat track is the key to him and the vibes have been very positive. He'll beat Solwhit I reckon.

1. Binocular
2. Solwhit
3. Sublimity

Allduck- Ive never once told people what they should have done after any race,you pay your money and take your chances has always been my motto,and whether you win or lose after that is in the lap of the gods.
Personally i had fancied Binocular for this years Champion hurdle and was humming and hawing whether to face it at 6 ante-post,but unfortunately i havent.Solwhit is both admirable and progressive and you have to admire the take on allcomers attitude of connections.Its a no bet race for me,my heart is hoping for Solwhit but my head says Binocular,but i cannot have anything else in the race under any circumstances.Either way there shouldnt be alot in it,but if i was forced to bet i think i'd have to take Binocular although i really do hope Solwhit beats him.

Jimeen thats the first time I have seen you express an honest opinion regarding an actual race on this forum. The rest of the time you seem to be more concerned with sideswiping people.
Regardless of that I agree with a lot of what you said although I am pretty confident Binocular will beat Solwhit on the prevailing ground in what is likely to be a tactical affair. I disagree with your dismissal of Sublimity who is a former champion hurdle winner along with other top level successes and admirable performances including running one Punjabi to a short head in this race last year (the same distance Solwhit beat Punjabi by). He had a breathing operation after cheltenham and his saval beg run where he finished upsides Alandi doesn't suggest to me that he is a backnumber by any means given a decent racing surface.
I have backed Binocular already for tomoro and I am likely to go in again but if Solwhit can beat him then I will be the first to hold my hands up and say I got it wrong.
As for your Hourigan quip if you have been as successful in your career as he has been in his then you will have done well.

Galwayman

Rotten Johnny 26 Nov 19:33

I'm no more than a mile from the track and on Monday there was still standing water in my garden. I'd be surprised if some of the course wasn't still heavy.


Biodiesel 26 Nov 19:36
is the going that bad - soft/heavy going at least so.

Solwhit it is for me so.

Cheers Jonny

Rotten Johnny 26 Nov 19:38
I think it'll be good to soft on the day.


Biodiesel 26 Nov 19:47
its dries up that fast, hardly

Rotten Johnny 26 Nov 19:50
Just been out and it's still heavy where there's no sun. Some of the drainage at the track isn't that good, the good to soft estimate is probably way too optimistic.

*********************************************
Allduck... Binoc beating CH that day wasnt a race where u can assess true form, CH needed the run and the track was as flat as a pancake.

Binoc to be feared on a flat track, but Nwc has steady little incline, all for Solwhits liking. With a nice cut in the ground too this should suit Solwhit more. The run under the belt is also a bonus. I Will be goin in very heavy on Solwhit

Davy will stalk Binoc then slay him under a furlong out

Bio Binocular has beaten Celestial Halo twice and if Mccoy had more faith in the horse then he would have made it 3/3 last march. Solwhit has had a fair run of it but its easy to pick holes in the punchestown form and I think he has to step up another level tomoro.

The way I see it is if its a slow, tactical race then Binocular will do him for toe and if its a strong gallop (pretty unlikely) then we will have a real race on our hands but I still think Binocular will edge it. I think he is more of a proper two miler than Solwhit who seems to be just short the real top gear for two miles but is a relentless grinder and won the Punchestown champion hurdle because of the heavy ground and a virtuso ride from Davy.

May the best horse win anyway.

Solwhit got incredible acceleration.

In Punch they raced on fresh ground and Punjabi def acted on it.

Binoc has a high very high crusing speed but I havnt seen him show a burst of acceleration yet, most time cause he didnt have to but in C.H when it was needed he just didnt pick up

Bio I must take you up on your point about Solwhits incredible acceleration because I have yet to see it. All I have seen is a horse who gallops relentlessly. He was flattered by the others in Punchestown when he powered away from Muirhead (who I believe to be too one paced for the way Irish two mile races are run) and Hurricane Fly (who needed the run and its questionable how good he really is). He got outpaced in punchestown in april before running on strongly to nab Punjabi. I believe he is at his best over 2 1/2 miles and has done very well to achieve what he has over the two miles. I have yet to see him show the electric pace of Binocular and while Binocular is probably at his most potent around speed tracks like Kempton I think he has enough class to do the job tomoro.

SOLWIT TO EDGE OUT SUBLIMITY IMO

Punjabi had also just ran the race of his life at Cheltenham before getting beat by Solwhit. I'd say that whilst Sublimity ran Punjabi close last year, Punjabi has always been a horse described as stuffy and takes a lot of getting fit so he would have no doubt improved a bundle for it. Binocular on the other hand is more of an athlete and connections had no hesitation in puttin him in the race once they knew Punjabi was not feeling well with his bloods.

I`m guessing you didn`t have the forecast tgm! :^0 Well done.

Shout TGM - Go Native must be one of your favs, remember you having him at good prices for the Supreme

think we saw some of the greatest gangsterism today!

Their pockets full

they must be delighted withselves

Dont really know what to make of that race today except Binocular was very disappointing and Solwhit showed he has a good shout in a true run champion hurdle but lacks any real tactical pace.

As for your assertions Bio thats just lunacy. He was too slow to beat todays field in a slowly run race. You done your dough the same as me knowing before the race how it was likely to be run so take your beating.