Originally posted by Zachx02 View Post
For me if he was going to win the race he'd have won on Saturday and although the ride was crap(if paddy brennan was on instead i reckon he'd have won) if the horse is good enough to win a stayers he would have gone and won and would have needed to do so in an impressive fashion posting at least an RPR in the mid 150s for me to entertain it, but he could be one for the pertemps now, like alaphilpe for the trainer 2 years ago.
For me Theleme just wins, I remember putting him up in the roll ups thread in May when bet365 priced up the French CHurdle early and he was something stupid like 4-1 and ended up going off at 7-4 or something I believe, the form just adds up from that race and you can't say it isn't good form either and can't be used as you'd be saying all of the Mullins Battalion, Hermes Baie who he knocked off as Frances best hurdler, Flooring Porter and Feronily behind all didn't run to form which would just be doing anything to try and crab the performance and I don't believe we've even seen the best of him either as he's 6 and still progressing
Lisnagar oscar was well beaten in saturdays race at haydock in the same season as which he won the stayers. it can and has been done.
Paisley park won the race by 1/2 length off 147, only 8lbs higher than what crambo ran off on saturday. it was a very similar run to crambos, finishing like a train and unlike crambo getting up in the last strides. The rpr's might be different but the performance was very similar.
Unfortunately crambo couldn't reach the 2 very well handicapped irish horses that had lightweights compared to the 11-10 he was carrying. I find it highly unlikely they'll go for the pertemps to be done like that again.
His best performance for me came in his win at sandown when he was ridden much more prominently, that was over 2m4f in heavy going, he stayed on very strongly up the sandown hill that day, being headed and battling back.
The french 6 year old who is a single figure price has never seen a hill, nevermind like the one he'll encounter at cheltenham. Both going downhill and coming back uphill.
In the stayers hurdle there's a lot of running in the last 7 and half furlongs, only 2 hurdles to jump in that distance.
In that sandown race i mention there was 2 hurdles omitted and also in his aintree win there was 4 hurdles omitted,
The run in at haydock from the back of the last is nearly 2f and this is where crambo was doing his best work.
The sandown win where he finished so well uphill.
It all points to him being very well suited to cheltenham and the stayers.
Studfarm it's quite easy to crab somebody who's makng a case for a horse, especially when that horse has just been beaten.
What i'd like to hear is why you don't think crambo can win the stayers?
And zach why are you so sure theleme will just win, having never raced in britain?