You'd think they have to be tempted to have a crack at the Stayers. There's nothing particularly obvious from this seasons crop of novices, and in retrospect they would have thought he had a decent chance of beating Flooring Porter this season.
Added to that he's only ever had 6 runs over hurdles, and only 9 lifetime runs in total (Flooring Porter 15), and the next two seasons are likely to be his peak as a staying hurdler, so he will likely improve again from his excellent runs this season. They'll also consider Paisley Park was only 4 lengths behind FP and didn't get the best of runs, and I think they'd be confident TH will be more than four lengths better than Paisley Park next March.
The alternative of going novice chasing means he'd potentially be stepping into a really deep staying novice division. Even if he passed that test, the following season Monkfish and Envoi Allen lie in wait and are the same age as him. On balance I think they'll have a crack at the Stayers, as they'll see it as his best chance of open Grade 1 success.
Added to that he's only ever had 6 runs over hurdles, and only 9 lifetime runs in total (Flooring Porter 15), and the next two seasons are likely to be his peak as a staying hurdler, so he will likely improve again from his excellent runs this season. They'll also consider Paisley Park was only 4 lengths behind FP and didn't get the best of runs, and I think they'd be confident TH will be more than four lengths better than Paisley Park next March.
The alternative of going novice chasing means he'd potentially be stepping into a really deep staying novice division. Even if he passed that test, the following season Monkfish and Envoi Allen lie in wait and are the same age as him. On balance I think they'll have a crack at the Stayers, as they'll see it as his best chance of open Grade 1 success.
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