Faugheen any news ?

[mayo]

03 May 2012 Stonehall Harriers at Ballysteen, Sunday 29th April


Nine runners went to post for the opening four-year-old maiden which was won in very impressive fashion by Faugheen.* Rodger Quinlan produced the son of Germany to challenge three out and went on to score by eight lengths for trainer Andrew Slattery. Afterwards Andrew indicated: ‘this is a real good horse who is still very backward, he is only eighty percent fit, but his homework has been very good’.
*
now with WP Mullins

[Hoof]

Tour

Faugheen 5g Germany - Miss Pickering Mrs S Ricci 1-1 RPR 133b He looked an exciting prospect when winning his bumper by 22 lengths at Punchestown in May. He had a little setback after that but is going novice hurdling and should do well over 2m4f or further. He is going to make a fine chaser one day.

[mayo]

http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/n...upreme-novices

Donn McClean

The Willie Mullins novice team is, as usual, replete with talent. Faugheen is another who could step up in trip as the season progresses but, for now, he deserves his place in the Supreme picture. Winner of his only point-to-point, the Germany gelding was held in high regard last season, but didn't make his debut under rules until May, when he danced in in a Punchestown bumper. He reportedly had a slight setback since then, but he remains a really exciting novice hurdler for the season ahead, and it is significant that he holds an entry in the Royal Bond Hurdle at Fairyhouse on 1st December.

[mayo]

Ruby

of all my mounts over the weekend Faugheen was the most impressive.For a horse having his first run over hurdles, he was quite keen and I only got him settled when I was turning in but I was very impressed with the way he did it.

Big call

[Old Vic]

Runs over 2m4f today ...another big word from Ruby

Faugheen, which I ride in the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle, absolutely bolted up at Punchestown on his first run of this season and the third, Oscar Chimes, won since in Thurles, so the form doesn’t look too bad.

He has been in very good form at home, worked really well during the week and is, without doubt, the reason I’m staying at home.

[Old Vic]

A classic Mullins update


The trainer's son Patrick reported: "Ruby said he'll be better with more jumping as he was a little untidy, but he has a huge engine. He could go up or down in trip and is probably one for Christmas. Hopefully he'll be a Cheltenham horse in time and all his form is working out well."

[mayo]

Ruby


Walsh said, “His jumping was better today but there is still room for improvement. He’s done very little racing and Willie was keen to give him another run in a winners race rather than go for one of the top class races. He’s entitled to take his chance in the big time now.”

[Old Vic]

Faugheen Video Form Navan Win 07/12/2013 starts at 33 secs

[mayo]

Lydia not convinced

Faugheen is unbeaten in four starts now - a Point, a bumper and two hurdles - and boasts a tall reputation, like many (frequently with justification) from the Mullins yard. His jumping has frailties but it was better at Navan last Saturday, when dotting up against lesser rivals, than on his Punchestown debut. He's ante-post favourite for the Neptune and Albert Bartlett in many books, but more evidence in a better grade is required.

[mayo]

Pat Keane

Does anyone have a clue as to how good Faugheen is? He first appeared on the radar for most of us when winning a bumper by 22 lengths at Punchestown in May, a contest that has been working out quite well.

But I never get worked up when it comes to bumpers and prefer to wait until a horse is launched over jumps before getting too carried away.

Faugheen’s stable companion, Turnandgo, is a good example of a horse that looked a star in bumpers, especially when winning by nine lengths at the Punchestown festival, but has been basically disappointing in two outings over flights this season.

But the best example of all is surely Moscow Flyer, who failed to win in four attempts in bumpers.

Once a set of obstacles was placed in front of him, however, it was like watching a completely different horse.

He went on to develop into one of the greatest of all time, winning seven over hurdles and nineteen as a chaser.

Faugheen, unlike Turnandgo, has won both his outings over hurdles, at Punchestown, and without leaving second gear.

Neither contest took much winning, however, and we are going to learn a lot more about him as we go along, hopefully in the near future.

[mayo]

Josses Hill franks bumper form

The five year old changed hands after finishing a 22 length second to the well-regarded, and unbeaten, Faugheen in a Punchestown bumper in May and made an immediate return on the investment when making a winning debut in the same sphere for Nicky Henderson at Ascot in November.

[Old Vic]

Another tip for Neptune

Faugheen is a horse I’ve been very taken with on all his starts. He appears to have plenty of gears and no lack of stamina and he could easily run in any of the novice hurdles. But I think his target has always been the Neptune, the race where you need both speed and stamina to win. People will point to Pont Alexandre as last year’s hot pot for the same connections only finishing 3rd in the Neptune. But I’ve heard from a couple of separate people that the horse badly sweat up on the day and didn’t seem right. Ruby couldn’t make use of him out in front like he wanted to, hence the rather sedate pace, the horse hasn’t been seen since due to problems and then injury so I’m happy to ignore the inevitable comparisons. Faugheen has had the most glowing reports of all the Mullins novices and is a very exciting horse.

I’m also very keen on Faugheen by simple fact of where are the rivals? It looks a race seriously lacking any strength in depth.

Apache Stronghold has had setback after setback since he won in Navan in November and may be going straight to the festival, a big negative in my opinion.

The Tullow Tank has option of Supreme or Neptune and I’d expect him to face off with Faugheen in the Deloitte next month, if he is beaten there I’m sure they’ll try avoid Faugheen in the Neptune and aim him at the very open Supreme.

Briar Hill won’t face Faugheen and on breeding he’s a strong stayer, same sire as Morning Assembly among others who are out and out stayers. Aided by his lazy running style where he only does enough to win he looks tailor made for the 3 mile race.

Deputy Dan’s trainer said he’d go for the 3 mile race but if the ground was testing he’d go for the Neptune. It’s rare we see any testing ground at Cheltenham so he looks an unlikely runner.

Red Sherlock has had two facile wins at odds on and it’s unknown as to his quality. At this stage he looks the be the pick of the English horses as he is unexposed and was an expensive purchase.

Royal Boy showed some tenacity to get the better of Josses Hill, but the latter was beaten 22l by Faugheen in a bumper so you’d not be too worried about the merits of that Tolworth win in relation to this race.

So it's a horse who I'd imagine will go off less than 2/1 for this race meaning there is juice in the 5/1 available, especially as VC are top price and have non runner free bet concession.

Www.jumpsadvisor.com

[mayo]

The AR on Faugheen http://thenhanalysisroom.blogspot.co...eliminary.html

Chief among those in waiting is Faugheen. Reference to Pont Alexandre (favourite but well beaten in this race last year for the same stable) is worth dismissing unless it focuses for comparative purposes on their respective physicality, which is the significant aspect. Pont Alexandre had the build of, and ran akin to that of, a strapping three mile chaser. He powered his frame through deep ground against inferior rivals but he did not do it quickly and the accompanying disparity between racecourse evidence, Festival race suitability and general expectation bordered on the enormous. Faugheen is much better situated. He is quite a narrow horse. His chest and shoulders do not offer a great deal of staying power at this stage; he is built to race quickly when required, but the engine does not necessarily cut out over longer trips. Although he is something of an unknown quantity - because he has simply outclassed all his rivals to date - that is not an excuse to opine that he "could be anything" when quite clearly that is not the case (nor is it ever). We also know more about him on the racecourse than was the case with Pont Alexandre, for example. Faugheen won a 24f Point race (as did Simonsig) before dismantling Josses Hill, who looks very promising himself this season. Including his Point victory, the following in-race comments appear: "qckn clr", "quickened clear", "travelled easily...not extended", "eased into lead next...easily" and from his latest and least impressive performance, "easily". That was over three miles in heavy ground but by again outclassing inferior rivals it was a performance that strongly evidenced why three miles under Festival conditions is not something that would be particularly suitable. His On/Behind bridle ratio is very much tilted in favour of the former.

Only recently, Simonsig and The New One's "jumping" was sometimes brought up as a negative, yet both won this race comfortably, Simonsig going on to win an Arkle Chase despite carrying an infection and The New One going on to win an International Hurdle this season. Hurdling techniques are rarely perfect; they combine with or result from the physicality of the horse and the conditions in which they race on any given day. Faugheen on occasion jumps from the shoulder, so he will run to a hurdle and push his shoulders over first leaving the legs a bit stiff and straight as they go over, rather than those components working together in a more fluid movement. Such aspects of micro-analysis rarely present a problem to elite horses so if Faugheen is a top class novice in waiting his hurdling will not affect his Neptune performance in any significant way. As of yet though we have not seen him switch behind the bridle, and that aspect of his physicality is still largely unknown.

[mayo]

Donn

Faugheen’s form just gets stronger and stronger as time goes by. Even when he stands in his box, his form gets stronger.

The latest Faugheen fillip came when Josses Hill ran such a mighty race to finish second, just a half a length behind his stable companion Royal Boy, in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Kempton last Saturday, the pair of them clear of their rivals. Josses Hill is the horse who finished second to Willie Mullins’ horse in his bumper at Punchestown last May when trained by Andy Oliver, 22 lengths behind the winner. He is an exciting prospect now for Nicky Henderson.

That bumper is working out well. As well as Josses Hill, third-placed Stonebrook, trained then by David Kiely, has run in two bumpers since for Donald McCain, and has won both, while fifth-placed Rock The World has finished second to three good rivals in his three hurdle races since.

Faugheen has now won all five races that he has contested, a point-to-point, a bumper, a maiden hurdle, a novice hurdle and a Grade 3 hurdle. He has beaten 51 rivals and he has won his five races by an aggregate of over 45 lengths. The comments for each of his five wins were, respectively, easily, impressive, not extended, easily and easily. He has won on good ground, yielding ground, good to yielding ground and heavy ground, and he has won over two miles, two and a half miles, two and three-quarter miles and three miles.

He could be an Albert Bartlett horse in March, but then again, he could be a Neptune Hurdle horse, and there is no telling what he could be after March and beyond.

[Old Vic]

He said: "He's a horse we like a lot, he's a horse that's hard to keep straight. We struggled with that last year, but we've been very lucky this year and Willie has done a brilliant job.

"He certainly has toe, so I think two miles, two and a half miles will be good.

"He can get the three miles as he's shown (but) he runs a bit free, that may be a concern.

"If we can keep him right, I think he's got a great chance wherever he runs."