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2025 Novice Chasers

Irish Point will surely avoid Teahupoo again if he were to stay Hurdling which just leaves the Champion Hurdle for him again at the Fez or skip altogether ? Perhaps they'll wait until Willie plays his Champion Hurdle cards before making a decision. Personally think he'll go chasing with the Arkle as his target. He's got the best hurdle form for that race so why not ? The CH this season could be a stonking good race if all of Willie's and C Hill turn up fit and in form. Bring it on !!
 
DenmanSacre said:
Only rated 138 over hurdles. I'd imagine they'll campaign him for an attempt at the Grand Annual if he can jump. Get him out early to get the 4 chase runs in.
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I'd say that's a very good shout. Had a super season last year but he's just below that G1 class.
 
Spectre said:
Options open with L'eau du Sud. If he's up to it he'll go to the Arkle, but he'll have sufficient runs for experience and a handicap option.
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14/1 in the Hills 'Win Any Race' market which covers every angle.
 
Lobos said:
Irish Point will surely avoid Teahupoo again if he were to stay Hurdling which just leaves the Champion Hurdle for him again at the Fez or skip altogether ? Perhaps they'll wait until Willie plays his Champion Hurdle cards before making a decision. Personally think he'll go chasing with the Arkle as his target. He's got the best hurdle form for that race so why not ? The CH this season could be a stonking good race if all of Willie's and C Hill turn up fit and in form. Bring it on !!
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Agree that the Arkle could easily be Irish Point's target and that he had the best hurdles from last year.
Would love to see Ballyburn, Impaire Et Passe and Irish Point lining up in the Arkle!
 
YoungHustler said:
Agree that the Arkle could easily be Irish Point's target and that he had the best hurdles from last year.
Would love to see Ballyburn, Impaire Et Passe and Irish Point lining up in the Arkle!
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Does he have the scope for chasing ? Dont think he is that big ?

Also record of elongated hurdles career before chasing isn’t great …,which obviously is against IEP
 
Interested in seeing West Balboa over fences tomorrow. Wasn’t that long ago she was being considered as a stayers hurdle candidate (she was sent off fav for the long walk against the boys but disappointed)
Hope she can improve over fences and should she do so she wouldn’t look out of place in a mares chase. May see if there’s a WTAF price in the morning, would chance her at the right price.
 
Hardy Eustace said:
Interested in seeing West Balboa over fences tomorrow. Wasn’t that long ago she was being considered as a stayers hurdle candidate (she was sent off fav for the long walk against the boys but disappointed)
Hope she can improve over fences and should she do so she wouldn’t look out of place in a mares chase. May see if there’s a WTAF price in the morning, would chance her at the right price.
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She's interesting for sure. On paper her breeding screams chaser. It's actually pretty awesome tbf. I struggle with backing British trained horses at this time of year and I probably still wont because her price is likely to hold, but I will look on with interest and I do have a lot of time for Dan Skelton.
 
Lobos Majborough being clipped in for the BANC :onthego::onthego: We know :biggrin-new:
 
Yosser said:
Lobos Majborough being clipped in for the BANC :onthego::onthego: We know :biggrin-new:
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With Ballyburn looking likely to go Arkle I can see Dancing City (PT) and Majborough (MW) being Willies main two darts in the BANC. It just makes sense. Boomshackalacka.
 
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Willie doesn’t send his Gold Cup horses to the BANC if it can be helped as he feels it can bottom them. I really don’t think he’ll be sending a five year old that way. I could be wrong but it would be very in-Willy-like.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see him kept over hurdles for another year taking the first half of the season off like Lossiemouth. Could he even be aimed at a weak looking stayers division? Not that 5yo fair any better there!
 
Exar Essay said:
Willie doesn’t send his Gold Cup horses to the BANC if it can be helped as he feels it can bottom them. I really don’t think he’ll be sending a five year old that way. I could be wrong but it would be very in-Willy-like.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see him kept over hurdles for another year taking the first half of the season off like Lossiemouth. Could he even be aimed at a weak looking stayers division? Not that 5yo fair any better there!
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I honestly can't weigh up what they are going to do with Majborough. I am just jesting a bit but he was one of the batch of horses i backed the Saturday after Cheltenham. I know Willies MO isn't to run his juveniles over fences and especially over a trip but the way he talks about him just makes me think he is a special case. I can't cash out the bet, it was done over the counter so am happy to sit back, watch and wait but..... He sent Blood Destiny chasing last year and he was highly thought of so maybe he is changing his MO a bit. The more i think about Blood Destiny (call me crazy) but the more i think he will be campaigned over the mid trip with the Ryanair in mind. He was a juvenile going chasing so still has plenty of improvement possible. He is definitely on my watch list. Him and Grangeclare West are the ones i am eager for info on of the open company horses.
 
Yosser said:
I honestly can't weigh up what they are going to do with Majborough. I am just jesting a bit but he was one of the batch of horses i backed the Saturday after Cheltenham. I know Willies MO isn't to run his juveniles over fences and especially over a trip but the way he talks about him just makes me think he is a special case. I can't cash out the bet, it was done over the counter so am happy to sit back, watch and wait but..... He sent Blood Destiny chasing last year and he was highly thought of so maybe he is changing his MO a bit. The more i think about Blood Destiny (call me crazy) but the more i think he will be campaigned over the mid trip with the Ryanair in mind. He was a juvenile going chasing so still has plenty of improvement possible. He is definitely on my watch list. Him and Grangeclare West are the ones i am eager for info on of the open company horses.
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Completely agree re Blood Destiny and snagged a bit of 140 on BFX for pennies a few days back . I do like a 5 rising 6yo with a patchy novice chase season. They are entitled to find consistency the following season as they mature. And BD jumps like a stag. His beginners chase was probably the most taking of the entire novice division last year.

But Majborough feels special. I’m not sure Willie will risk him over a fence this year. He doesn’t need him
either. He has such a strong hand in the novice chase division this year.

He’s definitely one I’ll be waiting for an entry on before backing (and probably won’t even then).
 
It was very unlike Willie missing hurdles with F2F and sending him straight over fences but he did it. Sometimes you'll come across horses who look/feel and are more mature than their years that you can do the 'unusual' with and Majborough may be another one of those. Yes he could stay Hurdling but if Willie thinks he's big enough, strong enough and mature enough to go chasing them he'll not waste a further season over hurdles with him with very little to go for.
 
I’m not sure what this suggests, but the only 5yo to run in the race in the last 10 editions was Adriana Des Mottes in 2015. And he was with Willie. However the horse never ran again.
 
Majborough certainly looks like a chaser but he also looked very much on the green side in the Triumph, which made it all the more impressive, but would certainly be a surprise to see him go to the BANC as a 5yo. Even ignoring the age difference, FTF had at least run in a point, Majborough doesn't have much experience full stop. I guess the obvious counter would be a season of hurdles is a better prep for chasing than a bumper campaign! Funny one to know what to do with really, bags of potential and obvious improvement to come, but no rush. Then again when you look at the current BANC market and go with the current market assumption Ballyburn heads to the Arkle, it doesn't feel vintage, there's a good but not great looking group that have either beaten or not been all that far away from each other a couple of times, i'm certainly not as keen on Dancing City as some tbh.
 
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Exar Essay said:
Willie doesn’t send his Gold Cup horses to the BANC if it can be helped as he feels it can bottom them!
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New dynamic this year given the changed conditions of the Turners, very unlikely any future Gold Cup horse will have a sub 146 mark so if he wants to run G1 nov chasers at Cheltenham it’s either 2m or 3m…
 
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Not Mullins of course but A Plus Tard would've gone a fairly similar route to the one mentioned above / available this year, with a Ryanair year between that and GC.

On the actual point quoted though... Al Boum Photo ran in the BANC before winning his two Gold Cups for Mullins. And Fact to File went to the BANC last year despite a complete lack of racing experience. I don't think there's much evidence that Willie doesn't like the race for future Gold Cup horses anyway to be honest.

​​​​​​Rare for 5yos though to be fair :indecisiveness:​​​​​​​
 
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