2013 World Hurdle

[OnTheBridle]

Cracking offer all right ...think hills did the same thing last year ..didn't go Nrnb but had lots of specials ..

That's correct, it's worth checking everyday as they are doing an enhancment everyday till the fest, tomorrow is the one thats taken my interest and i'll be on!

[Old Vic]

Seems Reve D S is Ok after all http://www.fatjockey.com/forum/showt...Reve-De-Sivola

[Yeehaa]

Wonderful Charm

Writing in his exclusive column at www.betfair.com/paulnicholls he said: "We have given it a lot of thought and if the ground stays dry from Monday onwards, it is now highly likely - but not definite - that Wonderful Charm will take his chance in the World Hurdle next week.

"I know that some people have backed him for the Coral Cup and I obviously have sympathy for them. But those are the perils of ante-post betting, and that can't influence our decision.

"My primary concern is clearly to my owner and, after speaking with Mr Geffen and Ruby last night, we are all of the opinion that we should throw our hat into the ring in the World Hurdle. And I think the horse could just be up to running a big race."

Nicholls admits the handicap option had been a tempting one but he'll learn more about his horse in a World Hurdle.

"People will say that we are throwing away a golden opportunity in the Coral Cup off 149, but we would rather find out if he was good enough for Grade 1 company in such a valuable and prestigious race at the Festival - and a very open one at that - than a handicap," he added.

"If it doesn't work out, we can step him back in grade and then go novice chasing with him next season."

[mayo]

Reve De Sivola should probably be clear favourite. The recent rumours concerning doubts about his wellbeing are a worry of course (smoke, fire, etc,), but he hasn’t drifted markedly in the market, which is the litmus test of the veracity of these rumours.

He is not a fashionable horse, a disappointing chasing career saw to that, and he hails from a relatively unfashionable yard (i.e. not Nicholls, Henderson or Mullins), but he is a top class staying hurdler. A Grade 1 winner as a novice and second in a Neptune Hurdle, he won the Long Walk Hurdle this season as easily as he liked, and he beat Oscar Whisky in the Cleeve Hurdle on merit. It doesn’t make much sense that Oscar Whisky is a shorter price that Reve De Sivola in some lists.

He loves Cheltenham, and the World Hurdle is usually a real grueller in which stamina and guts win out much more than speed and pace. That will suit Nick Williams’ horse well. He majors on stamina and guts. He goes well on good ground (his Grade 1 win was on good ground) but easy ground would bring his undoubted stamina into play.

[Old Vic]

Oscara Dara to run...Tinkler or Carbs?

"I think we've all come in here a bit with ifs and buts, but I can reveal that we're going to run Oscara Dara in the race too," he said.

"He won very nicely at Kempton on his penultimate start and in fact on his rating, he's got 4lb in hand of Wonderful Charm so we thought it had to be worth giving a go.

"It will be interesting to see how it all stacks up in the absence of Big Buck's."

Oscar whisky

"I think you just have to take it as it was," he said. "I don't think it can possibly have been his true running.

"I'm not worried about the ground. He's won over two and a half in soft ground. "Sure, if it had dried it would have closed the gap to Reve De Sivola, who loves soft ground. But I think he handles it all right."

[mayo]

You could set your clock, likewise, by Solwhit. The Ladbrokes World Hurdle was his ninth Grade One success, and also the most wonderful – being his first since a tendon injury. He was sidelined for nearly two years, but Charles Byrnes was convinced the flame still burned at nine. Stepping him up to three miles for the first time, the Co Limerick trainer booked the per-fect man for the job in Paul Carberry.

With Oscar Whisky never looking comfortable and eventually pulled up, Solwhit closed stealthily from off the pace as Celestial Halo – carrying the familiar Big Buck’s colours of Andy Stewart, but unconsidered at 40-1 – mounted a startling challenge to Bog Warrior. As Bog Warrior dropped away, Carberry set after Celestial Halo and Solwhit saw out the climb to the line to win by two and a half lengths, with Smad Place again finishing third.

“We never lost faith in him,” Byrnes said. “In the past he was one of the few horses who could put it up to Hurricane Fly. He developed a bit of heat in a leg, but we always believed he still had all his old ability. In the last couple of weeks especially he has really come together. I’ve no doubt he would have beaten Big Buck’s if he’d been here last year.”

He will duly aim to bring him back in 2014, when it is hoped that an ageing Big Buck’s will be back to resolve that bold claim. This was a first success for the Irish since 1995 – and a gratifying moment for his artistic rider. “The English have been dominating this race, and there was also Baracouda for France, so it’s great to ride an Irish winner,” Carberry said. “I’ve been runner-up in a Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle, but I’m not usually riding the big horses in the big races, so this is the top.”