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2026 Champion Hurdle

riccirich said:
Wasn't there a market move for him before the supreme though as well due to him apparently working well? He bombed there, so it's hard to judge at the moment. Is he just a good work horse who capitalised on others underperforming at punchestown, or was cheltenham actually the one off and punchestown is more his true ability.
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Yeah I think there was, but easy to be working well prior to race and bomb out with someone like him who had 4 or 5 month off.
 
darlojim said:
Going to be very interesting to see how it plays out for sure

There's been some very positive words on Irancy in the past 10 days or so from his work and many people just seem to think his Punchestown win was pure fluke but I wouldnt be so sure.
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Could it be a RH thing? The Ballyburn/Firefox race is all but irrelevant as we know JP's get given a very gentle introduction and he finished his race off nicely. The Supreme was a blow out but he really didn't look comfortable. His other wins have been impressive. Willie did suggest he might be kept RH.
 
Exar Essay said:
Could it be a RH thing? The Ballyburn/Firefox race is all but irrelevant as we know JP's get given a very gentle introduction and he finished his race off nicely. The Supreme was a blow out but he really didn't look comfortable. His other wins have been impressive. Willie did suggest he might be kept RH.
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Yeah it could well be for sure

But they'll at least try him again LH you'd imagine
 
darlojim said:
Yeah it could well be for sure

But they'll at least try him again LH you'd imagine
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Oh for sure. At Christmas I'd imagine if winning today. But I do think he will go close this weekend. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go off a lot closer to Lossie, maybe 7/4, given how well they think he is going at home.
 
What price does Irancy (20/1) go if he beats Lossie at the weekend?

4/1 ?
 
darlojim said:
What price does Irancy (20/1) go if he beats Lossie at the weekend?

4/1 ?
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You are probably right. Utterly ridiculous though in view of the field. Lossiemouth will likely go 7/4 if she wins.
 
Tricky one trying to work out Irancy for me.
I do much prefer form prior to the festival and at the festival than after and will stick with that for now.
Mind you, 20 is tempting, especially if one really goes for the Punch form.
Actually I may dabble at the 28 wtaf available, just in case!!
 
darlojim said:
What price does Irancy (20/1) go if he beats Lossie at the weekend?

4/1 ?
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Suspect he'll be around 5/1, though I have no interest in him personally.

That Punchestown win was set up for him by both Kopek & Salvator taking each other on, which was ridiculous. He failed in the Supreme, albeit was coming into that race off the back of lay off. He's going to be 8 by the time the Champion Hurdle comes around yet has only had 5 lifetime starts over hurdles, on age comparison he's more fragile than Anzadam!

Enough for me not to entertain the 20/1 let alone anything shorter.
 
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FredFlintstone said:
I'm not a conspiracy theorist but i'm pretty sure the stable or owner got a nice bonus for Irancy winning his maiden hurdle at punchestown and following up in a grade 1 at the festival. And the front two did set up the race for him..
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You are correct, funny that (y)

From the Punchestown website "Focusing on the maiden hurdle and bumper ranks, there will be 11 qualifying races throughout the season and the first horse that has won a qualifying race and goes on to win a 2025 Punchestown Festival Grade 1 will scoop the €50,000 BetVictor bonus."
 
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FredFlintstone said:
I'm not a conspiracy theorist but i'm pretty sure the stable or owner got a nice bonus for Irancy winning his maiden hurdle at punchestown and following up in a grade 1 at the festival. And the front two did set up the race for him..
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Love it. Cheeky barstewards.
 
Quevega said:
Kempton is without doubt a quicker more turning track and suits nippier horses, and so you often get horses run well there that would be tailed off in a Champion hurdle, as they lack the stamina and class/engine that a Champion hurdle requires.
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Thinking about this, Punchestown is a fairly nippy track (not quite as nippy as Kempton), definitely more emphasis on speed than say Leopardstown or Cheltenham.

Irancy 2 from 2 over C&D (impressive both times, even if connections did set one race up for him), Lossiemouth 2 from 2 at the track, once over C&D, however that was in her juvenile days against Zarak The Brave & Gala Marceau :LOL: a lot of water under the bridge since then.

Just thinking about tomorrow. Obviously the acid test for her. I'd back every single day at Cheltenham over 2m vs Irancy, but Punchestown?

With only 4 horses turning up it will be interesting tactically too. She might just have to make the running. If it turns into a sprint surely that suits both Ndaawi & Irancy. Different in the Hattons Grace where she could outpace Teahupoo, who is a 3 miler.
 
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ComplyOrDie said:
Thinking about this, Punchestown is a fairly nippy track (not quite as nippy as Kempton), definitely more emphasis on speed than say Leopardstown or Cheltenham.

Irancy 2 from 2 over C&D (impressive both times, even if connections did set one race up for him), Lossiemouth 2 from 2 at the track, once over C&D, however that was in her juvenile days against Zarak The Brave & Gala Marceau :LOL: a lot of water under the bridge since then.

Just thinking about tomorrow. Obviously the acid test for her. I'd back every single day at Cheltenham over 2m vs Irancy, but Punchestown?

With only 4 horses turning up it will be interesting tactically too. She might just have to make the running. If it turns into a sprint surely that suits both Ndaawi & Irancy. Different in the Hattons Grace where she could outpace Teahupoo, who is a 3 miler.
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Yep, I agree, it will be a tricky little race to negotiate from a tactics and pace perspective. And Punchestown is a quicker track, the thing with Kempton though is the ground is usually decent also (rarely soft/heavy)

I'd be prepared to back Irancy because of the doubts tactically but his winning form is dubious enough.
And at the minute I'm not tempted by 4-1 in a four runner race with no ew option.
Ndaawi is not out of it either.
However, if it's heavy ground tomorrow or soft/heavy then she should be absolutely fine.
 
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She’ll have a harder piece of work in the yard. Learned hee haw there for all she did it very professionally.
 
Paul Townend was very cagey when asked abut Lossiemouth sticking to 2 miles. His answer was we"ll learn a lot next weekend. Obviously referring to FF and Anzadam. If Anzadam is the real deal over 2 miles I think he goes Champion Hurdle and Lossie goes Mares Hurdle. Gut feel.
 
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