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ELEGANT ESCAPE 2019/2020 - The Road To Gold Cup glory.

Trabolgan who was the fav? for the gold cup but never made it due to serious injury . Most people believe Trabolgan would have been classed as one of the all time greats but for injury.
20 years previous to Trabolgan another horse carried 12 stone to win this race. Burrough Hill Lad who was one ofthe highest rated chasers in history and went on to win the king geroge and the gold cup.


If you want to find the 2 other winners who carried weight and won then go to the 1960s ARKLE and MILL HOUSE.


These names of the horses who carried top weight in this werent just Gold Cup winners.

They were some if the greatest horses of all time.

ARKLE
MILL HOUSE
TRABOLGAN
BURROUGH HILL LAD
DENMAN


You need to be an all time great not just a standard gold cup winner to do this and therefor anybody who thinks Elegant Escape isnt good enough to win a gold cup is living in La La Land if they think he can win the Ladbrokes Trophy carrying top weight with a mark of 160.
 
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ELEGANTLY TASTED said:
Standard gold cup winners like Native River won this carrying 11-1 with a mark of 155.
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I'd argue NR's gold cup looking back isn't great form. Yes Might Bite looked good and probably was, but 3m2 on soft suited NR down to the ground. It's really what Elegant Escape needs to have any sort of chance, a complete slog.

This to my eye looks a very poor Hennessy, but still winning off 160 would be a very good performance. I'd still say he'd be properly outclassed in a normal GC.
 
ARKLE
MILL HOUSE
TRABOLGAN
BURROUGH HILL LAD
DENMAN

Elegant Escape joins the above names if he wins on Saturday.


There is a reason why I christened this horse The Legend and its because that is what he will become if he can do this.


This is racing folklore and history in the making.

Only people who believe he is an all time legend like me should be going anywhere near him for Saturdays race. Fact.
 
Big Bucks said:
But Native River was a 7/2 fav. Also didnt go on to win the GC until the following year?
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Native River was only a standard gold cup winner not an all time great. The form of the Tizzard yard at cheltenham when he got beat in the gild cup was horrific. But he wasnt a Ladbrokes Trophy winner off top weight. He carried a very workable 11-1 with a 155 rating. He doesnt make the legends list.
 
ELEGANTLY TASTED said:
ARKLE
MILL HOUSE
TRABOLGAN
BURROUGH HILL LAD
DENMAN

Elegant Escape joins the above names if he wins on Saturday.


There is a reason why I christened this horse The Legend and its because that is what he will become if he can do this.


This is racing folklore and history in the making.

Only people who believe he is an all time legend like me should be going anywhere near him for Saturdays race. Fact.
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So because I dont have the confidence you have in him to win the GC Im not allowed to back him to be in the frame for Saturday? haha
 
jack1092 said:
I'd argue NR's gold cup looking back isn't great form. Yes Might Bite looked good and probably was, but 3m2 on soft suited NR down to the ground. It's really what Elegant Escape needs to have any sort of chance, a complete slog.

This to my eye looks a very poor Hennessy, but still winning off 160 would be a very good performance. I'd still say he'd be properly outclassed in a normal GC.
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You dont seem to understand that the Hennesey is a race that suits the horses who have been layed out for the race and are ultimately a lot better than they have so far shown.

People say its a weak field but have no understanding of what the race is about. You wont tend to get horses like Lostintranslation, Defi Du Seil etc etc running in this race as there ability hasnt been hidden from the handicapper.

If a horse whos ability has never been hidden wins this race carrying top weight against horses who are potentially a stone above there current mark but who have been laid out for this and get in off a nice low weight then they need to be ALL TIME GREATS. The list confirms this.
 
Big Bucks said:
So because I dont have the confidence you have in him to win the GC Im not allowed to back him to be in the frame for Saturday? haha
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You are allowed to do whatever you want though you need to realise if he does it he joins a very elite historical list.
 
ELEGANTLY TASTED said:
You dont seem to understand that the Hennesey is a race that suits the horses who have been layed out for the race and are ultimately a lot better than they have so far shown.

People say its a weak field but have no understanding of what the race is about. You wont tend to get horses like Lostintranslation, Defi Du Seil etc etc running in this race as there ability hasnt been hidden from the handicapper.

If a horse whos ability has never been hidden wins this race carrying top weight against horses who are potentially a stone above there current mark but who have been laid out for this and get in off a nice low weight then they need to be ALL TIME GREATS. The list confirms this.
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Whisper raced off 161 and was beat a neck to Total Recall. He isn't an all time great. Very good horse not an all time great.

Thanks for explaining a handicap race to me Potato appreciate it.
 
ARKLE
MILL HOUSE
TRABOLGAN
BURROUGH HILL LAD
DENMAN


Is 20/1 a good price for Elegant Escape to join the above list?

No clearly it isnt.

This is in fact one of the highest quality henneseys in many a year

If a future gold cup winner like Native River had to only carry 11-1 in this race off 155 then with The Legend having to carry 11-12 with a mark of 160 then it clearly shows you this is in fact a very high class running of the race.

EE is only rated 5lb above Native Rivers mark in this yet carries 11-12 compared to 11-1.

The reason is this is a very high class field here.
 
jack1092 said:
Whisper raced off 161 and was beat a neck to Total Recall. He isn't an all time great. Very good horse not an all time great.

Thanks for explaining a handicap race to me Potato appreciate it.
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Whisper DIDNT win the race he was 2nd. An alltime legend would have won. He wasnt and he didnt.

Going into the race Whisper had only ran in 4 chases winning 2 and being 2nd twice.

He never recovered from the effort he put in at Newbury and was never placed again. Possibly injury problems with that horse I cant fully remember.

The current gold cup champion CONEYGREE ran in that race carrying 11-12 and got pulled up.
But ultimately he didnt win. Only an alltime legend can possibly win carrying 11-12 off 160. Fact.


ARKLE
MILL HOUSE
TRABOLGAN
BURROUGH HILL LAD
DENMAN

Only legends make the list.
 
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The team have a top jockey onboard The Legend.

Sir Harry Cobden takes the ride.

He has really come of age this season I feel and is riding like a boss. He exudes confidence.

This is great news.

If the Legend can win this race and join racings all time greats hall of fame then every top jockey would give his right leg to ride this horse in the gold cup.
 
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We are also wearing 1st time blinkers. I believe Quevega perhaps suggested he would benefit from blinkers earlier in this thread.
 
Tizzard famously ditched Cue Cards long term partner Paddy Brennan for Harry Cobden.

It caused uproar at the time amongst the racing public as Cue Card was one of the most loved horses in training but it taught us that the Tizzards are not afraid to break up a long time partnership.


Harry Cobden was beating Altior for fun last weekend he steps it up this weekend when he attempts to win on a horse who would instantly become a racing legend and one of the alltime greats were he to win
 
ARKLE - Considered by many to be the greatest chaser in the history of the sport. 202 timeform rating the highest ever.
MILL HOUSE - 1963 epic gold cup winner
TRABOLGAN- Injury ruined his career
BURROUGH HILL LAD- Won this, the king geoge and the gold cup becoming one of the highestvrated chasers of all time
DENMAN- Gold cup winner and NH legend. The Tank.

Just 1 day to go til we find out if Elegant Escape is one of the greatest staying chasers in the history of the sport.
 
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"We learnt plenty from Newbury on Friday – a pretty big occasion itself – that should be of use there 24 hours later. In particular, we learnt that the ground was nowhere near as soft as hoped/feared but somewhere between “good” and “good to soft” judged on times."


Simon Rowlands saying the ground is closer to good at Newbury.
 
ELEGANTLY TASTED said:
"We learnt plenty from Newbury on Friday – a pretty big occasion itself – that should be of use there 24 hours later. In particular, we learnt that the ground was nowhere near as soft as hoped/feared but somewhere between “good” and “good to soft” judged on times."


Simon Rowlands saying the ground is closer to good at Newbury.
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Not good news ET.
But it could bring the national back on the agenda if/when his mark gets dropped after saturday ?
 
The team are fine with good ground. Elegant Escape has never lost a chase on good ground.

According to timeform the only time he ran on good ground in a chase was in the John Francombe grade 2 at Newbury as a novice. It was his lifetime best form at that stage of his career beating the on fire Black Corton.

No idea who started the rumour that Elegant Escape is a tugboat who needs testing ground but that seems a popular opinion. It isnt mine however.

The Great Escape Super Show remains on track.

I dont believe the champ is ground dependant at all.

https://youtu.be/8ieaYqW9FcA
 
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https://www.sportinglife.com/racing...ladbrokes-john-francome-novices-chase-grade-2

This horse doesnt like good ground?

This is the only evidence we have of him on good ground over fences. I dont know how anyone can say he doesnt like it. I know Tizzard and all the media say it but it isnt true.

He jumps fast on good ground and travels nicely on it on all known evidence.

He never was outpaced at any point on the ground. Didnt hit his traditional flat spot in that race that he normally hits when its testing.

I would imagine the ground will be very similar to that grade 2. No excuses whatsoever from me from a ground perspective.
 
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