Ballymore (Previously Neptune) Novice Hurdle 2018

[Scooby91]

It was very soft at Cork when he ran against Robin de Foret?

When he ran behind cracking smart and robin des foret in the same race it wasn't heavy. Fabulous aga is very effective on heavy I'd happily make him a couple of lengths better on heavy ground.

Basically. Jetz, fabulous saga, delta work on soft ground. Wouldn't be a whole lot between them for me. Id back jetz.
On heavy I'd expect fabulous saga would perform better, whether hed beat jetz or not.... But id expect him to get closer.

[somer1]

After watching ND today i cant see samcro getting beat in this race and have started hitting the 9/4 with ladbrokes.Going to follow it down all the way to the festival now.

[Kevloaf]

After watching ND today i cant see samcro getting beat in this race and have started hitting the 9/4 with ladbrokes.Going to follow it down all the way to the festival now.

On the blind side the biggest danger?

[Can't Catch Me]

When he ran behind cracking smart and robin des foret in the same race it wasn't heavy. Fabulous aga is very effective on heavy I'd happily make him a couple of lengths better on heavy ground.

Basically. Jetz, fabulous saga, delta work on soft ground. Wouldn't be a whole lot between them for me. Id back jetz.
On heavy I'd expect fabulous saga would perform better, whether hed beat jetz or not.... But id expect him to get closer.

Have to agree to disagree then Scooby. Jetz has gone from finishing level with Delta Work to finishing three or four lengths behind Cracking Smart. I think he's improved considerably. If he hasn't... Samcro is probably the certainty of all certainties.

[Innoko]

Runner-up Cracking Smart, who had finished five and a half lengths behind Next Destination at Navan last month, stayed on well to get within a length of the Mullins-trained six-year-old.

"I'm delighted with that run and I'd imagine he'll go straight to Cheltenham for the Albert Bartlett. That looks the race for him," said trainer Gordon Elliott of Cracking Smart.

Looks like he will be going after all.... He was definitely 25-1.

[Can't Catch Me]

Runner-up Cracking Smart, who had finished five and a half lengths behind Next Destination at Navan last month, stayed on well to get within a length of the Mullins-trained six-year-old.

"I'm delighted with that run and I'd imagine he'll go straight to Cheltenham for the Albert Bartlett. That looks the race for him," said trainer Gordon Elliott of Cracking Smart.

Looks like he will be going after all.... He was definitely 25-1.

Good stuff. Think he will relish the spring ground too. Just can't have him out of the frame in this race, and if ND doesn't go here, think he will be one of my main bets of the week (AB that is)

[Faugheen_Machine]

CS is top priced with William Hill. A good horse to back with their concession.

[TimRiggins]

Runner-up Cracking Smart, who had finished five and a half lengths behind Next Destination at Navan last month, stayed on well to get within a length of the Mullins-trained six-year-old.

"I'm delighted with that run and I'd imagine he'll go straight to Cheltenham for the Albert Bartlett. That looks the race for him," said trainer Gordon Elliott of Cracking Smart.

Looks like he will be going after all.... He was definitely 25-1.

Shame you didn't think he would go

[Innoko]

Shame you didn't think he would go

Haha!

I should never think! That's my problem

[TimRiggins]

Haha!

I should never think! That's my problem

Same as that, lol.

Those any race markets have saved me a lot of pain and aggravation this year.

Can't lose anywhere near as much if it goes tits up, either

[Rhinestone_Cowboy]

Can somebody confirm that this theory I have concocted for Samcro sidestepping the race with ND yesterday is nonsense? My theory is they didn't want Samcro to run and beat ND as that would mean ND would most likely run in the AB which Gordon Elliot would rather keep open for Cracking Smart, and thus leaving him the genuine possibiliy of training the winner of both races. Absolute nonsense right?

[Can't Catch Me]

Can somebody confirm that this theory I have concocted for Samcro sidestepping the race with ND yesterday is nonsense? My theory is they didn't want Samcro to run and beat ND as that would mean ND would most likely run in the AB which Gordon Elliot would rather keep open for Cracking Smart, and thus leaving him the genuine possibiliy of training the winner of both races. Absolute nonsense right?

Its elaborate at the very least!!!

[Kevloaf]

Can somebody confirm that this theory I have concocted for Samcro sidestepping the race with ND yesterday is nonsense? My theory is they didn't want Samcro to run and beat ND as that would mean ND would most likely run in the AB which Gordon Elliot would rather keep open for Cracking Smart, and thus leaving him the genuine possibiliy of training the winner of both races. Absolute nonsense right?

Its elaborate at the very least!!!

I love that theory. I want to believe it.... but....

My honest opinion would be that Gordon Elliott wouldn't sacrifice a Grade 1 race during the season in the hope of picking a more important one up at the festival.

[Rhinestone_Cowboy]

I love that theory. I want to believe it.... but....

My honest opinion would be that Gordon Elliott wouldn't sacrifice a Grade 1 race during the season in the hope of picking a more important one up at the festival.

haha...told you it was nonsense, sort of thing you come up with when you still haven't backed Next Destination for this race. Although happy with the 0.5 E/W double I put on ND this race and CS for the AB after the last time the pair met, think it was around 220/1 with Laddies, would settle for that coming in if Samcro gets chinned

[Cashew King]

Is On The Blind Side dismissed from the thinking here should this be his engagement ?
Personally I want him in the potato race but if Hendo thinks has the gears to win this he has to be taken seriously....

OTBS has arguably the best form on offer, with the Cheltenham win looking really strong now & suspect he improved on that at Sandown. If you’ve backed Samcro at a fancy price- good luck - but how anyone could get stuck in at less than 2/1 more than 2 months away when it’s won at 1/5 & 1/4 in poor races is beyond me. Next Destination has stronger Irish form & I suspect the English form is stronger - both Momello & Poetic Rhythm highly regarded by their connections and fine the business since. We’ll find out on March