Cheltenham Bumper: A race to avoid ?

[Lester]

Will the 2012 graduates change perceptions about the bumper ?



2011

1 Cheltenian:Unlikely to be raced this season. Unseen since winning this race, but a slight strain will see him minded until next year to go novice hurdling.

2 Destroyer Deployed: Has only raced once since Cheltenham when finishing second on his hurdling debut on New Year’s Eve.

3 Aupcharlie: Now trained by Willie Mullins having changed hands over the summer. Finished third and second respectively on his two hurdling starts when odds-on favourite.

6 Ericht (fav): Was third on hurdling bow behind Steps To Freedom at Cheltenham and filled the same placing on only run since in maiden hurdle. Entered for Huntingdon on Friday.

2010

1 Cue Card: Finished fourth when sent off 7/4 favourite for last year’s Supreme Novices and began his chasing career this season with a win. Hit and miss since then, but won last time and leading contender for Arkle.

Al Ferof: Last year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle winner is now unbeaten from two starts over fences and another leading Arkle contender.

3 Frawley: Missed all of last season and has so far been absent since winning a Navan maiden hurdle back in September.

20 Shot From The Hip (fav): Ended last season by winning the Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle and his first run this term came at Christmas when fourth on his chasing debut.

2009

l 1 Dunguib: Four-time winner over hurdles before finishing third in Supreme Novice Hurdle when odds on. Only raced twice last season, the second of those finishing eighth behind Hurricane Fly in Champion Hurdle. Out for the whole of this season and due to go chasing in the autumn.

Some Present: Has won just once in 10 starts since Cheltenham and now without a win in nine.

3 Rite Of Passage (fav): Finished third in the Supreme Novices Hurdle the following season and then went on to win the Ascot Gold Cup of 2010. Only ran once last year when third behind Fame And Glory at Leopardstown.

2008

1 Cousin Vinny: Began his novice hurdling campaign finishing third in a Grade One behind Hurricane Fly and then winning twice. Has only won once since and is unraced since Punchestown Festival 2010.

2 Corskeagh Royale: Won only once (maiden hurdle) in 20 starts after Champion Bumper although racked up more than €70,000 in prize money by being consistently placed.

3 Zaarito (fav): Won a hurdle and two chases after his bumper days and had a troubled time over fences along with some niggly problems that restricted him. Holds an entry for the Boylesports.com Hurdle at Leopardstown later this month interestingly.

2007

1 Cork All Star: Like so many of these highlighted horses, won a maiden hurdle early the next season but never really fulfilled full potential. Injury initially saw him retired, but after almost two-and-a-half years off the track, he returned to go hunter chasing in England.

2 Sophocles: Unraced now since November 2009, he won his maiden hurdle before winning at Galway on the flat and failed to win since.

3 Aranleigh: Won a couple of hurdles before going chasing and injury saw his progress derailed. Won two on his return over fences \[Ian Winterton\]before another absence and was most recently pulled up at Leopardstown.

8 Mad Fish (fav): Never ran again after finishing eighth, beaten just six and three parts of a length in the Cheltenham race.

[mayo]

Came across this ....maybe tomorrow.



Cue Card's victory starts comparison with the great Arkle
Trainer Colin Tizzard may aim novice straight for Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival
Chris Cook at Cheltenham
The Guardian, Friday 12 November 2010 19.45 GMT

Cue Card's scintillating win at Cheltenham in the Novices' Hurdle has earned him a high rating from Timeform and the possibility of heading straight for the Champion Hurdle at the Festival in March. Photograph: Julian Herbert/Action Images
In the moments after his Cue Card had set the large crowd here abuzz with excitement, Colin Tizzard electrified the media by raising the name of Arkle. A certain amount of euphoria is entirely appropriate in this winner's enclosure but the trainer may already regret his moment of levity because no horse, even one so full of promise as Cue Card, can compare favourably with the mighty chaser whose statue looked down on Tizzard as he spoke

Having hammered a quality field, Cue Card was slashed to 3-1 favourite for the Supreme Novice Hurdle at next year's Cheltenham Festival, but there is widespread suspicion that connections may be tempted to forget the novice race and pitch him straight in against the very best in the Champion Hurdle, for which he is 20-1. How about it, the trainer was asked.

"I don't want to compare anything," said Tizzard, "but Arkle won the Gold Cup as a five-year-old. So it wouldn't be the stupidest thing in the world, would it, to run [Cue Card] in a hurdle? He'll be five after Christmas."

As eyes opened wide, jaws dropped and pens stopped scribbling, Tizzard clearly realised he may have been a bit rash. "I'm not saying he's Arkle," he added, but it was too late for backtracking. Now we know that there is no limit on the hopes and expectations held for this horse at his Dorset stable.

As it happens, Tizzard had his facts wrong and Arkle was seven before he won the first of his three Gold Cups, but to dwell on that is to miss the point. At the age of 54, the trainer has finally got his hands on a horse that could win him the sport's very best prizes.

"It was everything we hoped for," Tizzard said of today's success. He was, however, prepared to admit to a brief moment of doubt as he watched his son, Joe, edge Cue Card ahead of their last remaining rival on the home turn. "I saw Joe starting to move on him for the first time ever. And then he went away, but he didn't go past Dunraven Storm that easily. In the end, he won [by] eight lengths. Joe asked him and he found more."

[Old Vic]

His time may be coming ...