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Originally Posted by NoChanceToDance
I think many jocks would have come off Kauto today, Ruby is class. I doubt he's looking forward to riding him over those tricky downhill fences though!!!!! I know i wouldn't!
Well Chief was different class today, i backed him thinking if he was close to beig fit he would win well with the weight he was getting. He beat Azertyuiop and was only beaten by the great Moscow in the champion chase a couple of years ago. 4 weeks til the festival, so the bounce factor shouldnt be too much of an issue, if it was 2weeks then they might have a problem.
I was really Impressed with Aran Concerto today, don't forget, Leading Run himself is a very nice horse, was the best bumper horse i have seen in a long time and is still a graded hurdler. The way Aran Concerto picked up really impressed me. which race do you think he will go for at the festival now?
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I reckon Ruby will be looking forward to the prospect of riding Kauto Star at those downhill fences immensely if he's travelling as strongly as he has for 99% of his 5 races so far this season and he has the Gold Cup at his mercy!!!
I think there's a real danger that the media fears regarding KS's jumping are going to overshadow the brilliance of his achievements in bringing up the 5-timer this season. He's over a stone clear of his closest challengers - and lets not forget that the British duo Exotic and Listener have had jumping problems of their own in the past.
Similarly I would be far more concerned about the fact that War of Attrition has lost his last 3 races than I would that Kauto Star has made a couple of (serious) errors in winning.
For me it's a close run thing as to whether Kauto or Well Chief are the banker of the meeting. That horse is similarly far clear of his field on ratings, and if all goes well over the next few weeks surely he wins. He was actually running about a stone behind his best form in winning at the weekend, but without the likes of Moscow Flyer and Azertyuiop around it seems unlikely that he'll needs to reproduce his form of 2 seasons ago.
Aran Concerto didn't really tell us anything new and remains a most exciting prospect. He doesn't look short on speed, but his pedigree suggests 20f+ will provide his optimum test. The old SunAlliance has to be the race for him.
Whilst on the subject, I'm struggling to believe that Lounaos is still such a big price (11/2) for the Triumph. For all that Katchit is likeable, he's lacking in scope, and Lounaos has considerably better form to his name. There's no way he'd be that big if he were trained by Noel Meade, for example. Mountain is likely to do better but is far too short anyway, and Degas Art is probably the one towards the top of the betting who I'd fear most.