Quote:
Originally Posted by scanman
Yeah, he ran a really game race. While he was never going to win it, they found a lucrative, level weights race for him to pick up some decent money for his connections. Certainly, Cheltenham and the other big/expansive UK racecourses favor his running style, and as such, can still be useful.
The Ryanair Chase was a good spot for him. The race shaped well, in that, it became a softer race because of the defection of Sprinter Sacre from the Champion Chase. Had SS ran in the Champion Chase many of the horses that ran there would have gone in the Ryanair instead, whereby I am certain HB would have been an also ran.
However, it would be foolish to bring him back to the US, as he has proven that US racecourses do not favor him. The only exceptions to that would be to run him at Butler, Glyndon, and/or Great Meadow over timber fences. Those layouts are huge (Butler has a 3/4 mile straight finish).
It will be interesting to see where they will point him. For now, his only entry is in the Grand National, which would be a waist of time as it is a handicap and he is rated way too high and he's a non-winner beyond 2 5/8 miles.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by scanman
|
Thank you so much for that and for your take in the (other) above post.
I do know names like Sprinter Scare and Cue Card but am not so up to speed that I am able to keep track of who is pointed where or injured and so it begins to run together a bit, I'm embarrassed to say.
Interesting stuff and I appreciate... not only your insight but your patience.
As we get closer to the Grand National I hope you'll let me know who interests you and why.
Thank you again!
