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2026 Champion Hurdle

What are the chances of a division 2 being created at the last minute and another race thrown onto the card :D
 
EnvoiAlien said:
I expect so, if it'd been the usual 3 or 4k maiden race it'd have got 8 or 9 entries tops, maybe they should've considered that, or the race conditions.
Still be funny if he didn't get in, I expect the place is sold out by now as well.
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Be very funny.
And will serve Henderson right.

Absolutely no need for all of this whilst the NH season is in full flow and also whilst leaving him in the Champion hurdle and schooling him all at the same time.

It was a vanity crusade and mad idea at a time when Posh boy and slaver chops thought they already had the champion hurdler.

We talk about Ricci having no balls but the owner of Con Hill is like a fucking blancmange.

Zero substance.

To top it all - he'll likely be asked to run in the Champion hurdle without any hurdle prep that might have given him his confidence back. When he could have jogged around with those 2 handicappers yesterday at Wincanton.

Personally would not be able to cope if he wins the champion hurdle. I'd be chuffed for the horse and his fans, but not for the three clowns making the decisions on his behalf.

Seeing their faces would be nauseous.

Little rant for a Sunday morning lads. :ROFLMAO:

Hopefully they don't risk him.
 
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Love the horse, but I'm no fan of Buckley, ask for cash up front if he wants you to do a job for him....that's all.
 
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Quevega said:
Be very funny.
And will serve Henderson right.

Absolutely no need for all of this whilst the NH season is in full flow and also whilst leaving him in the Champion hurdle and schooling him all at the same time.

It was a vanity crusade and mad idea at a time when Posh boy and slaver chops thought they already had the champion hurdler.

We talk about Ricci having no balls but the owner of Con Hill is like a fucking blancmange.

Zero substance.

To top it all - he'll likely be asked to run in the Champion hurdle without any hurdle prep that might have given him his confidence back. When he could have jogged around with those 2 handicappers yesterday at Wincanton.

Personally would not be able to cope if he wins the champion hurdle. I'd be chuffed for the horse and his fans, but not for the three clowns making the decisions on his behalf.

Seeing their faces would be nauseous.

Little rant for a Sunday morning lads. :ROFLMAO:

Hopefully they don't risk him.
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I enjoyed that.

I also learnt how to spell 'blancmange' (y)
 
£40k prizemoney. Not surprising many trainers/owners are keen to target the race, on an otherwise uninteresting Friday night, plus there's a potential dodgy odds on favourite expected to rock up. Even if he does turn up and win, the place money on offer further negates the risk. I'd say there's a fair few mightily pissed off that the authorities are bending over backwards just to help Henderson out.
 
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Well SBK put up the money for this race which was due to be ran 4 days later at southwell, looks like they wanted the race moved to the friday evening to boost attendence & to help promote the friday night thing for ITV racing, so the race already existed by the looks of it, just SBK saw the opportunity for them & Southwell racecourse to benefit from CH running on the friday instead of a tuesday.
 
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Absolutely no chance he turns up in the CH imo.
 
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Lobos said:
Absolutely no chance he turns up in the CH imo.
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Although there's always a chance I have to say that I too would be absolutely amazed if he turns up in the Champion Hurdle. The risk to racing and to Hendo's reputation personally is far too great given what's gone before. If anything bad was to happen there would be a pile on of epic proportions questioning why he was running. The Southwell race does nothing to alleviate the risk which is due to his jumping not his ability. If he wins easily then I think they may keep him for a flat campaign. If he gets beat then retirement beckons.

I have seen a scenario posted on X (which would be the only one that I could see happening) that sees him running well at Southwell and then having a public schooling session before being "allowed" to run in the CH. In this age of increased spotlight on horse welfare I find it strange that the BHA can ban horses from running until they past a stalls test if they have shown previous problems but they don't ban a horse from jumping when it shows continued inexplicable jumping errors. I know Hendo would say that it has shown no problems at home but the optics of another fall for the BHA without any type of "intervention" are really not good.
 
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Well put Prestbury. Sad state of affairs but he'll not go near another hurdle.
 
Prestbury said:
In this age of increased spotlight on horse welfare I find it strange that the BHA can ban horses from running until they past a stalls test if they have shown previous problems but they don't ban a horse from jumping when it shows continued inexplicable jumping errors.
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I think they do that Prestbury. Didn't they throw out a horse in the Grand National last year that got in because of it? Might have been one of Sandy Thompson's, because the Bradstocks wanted Mr Vango in his place. I remember summat
 
Yosser said:
I think they do that Prestbury. Didn't they throw out a horse in the Grand National last year that got in because of it? Might have been one of Sandy Thompson's, because the Bradstocks wanted Mr Vango in his place. I remember summat
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You maybe right or it might just be for the National given its profile. This year Double Powerful has Unseated, Fallen and Unseated in 3 consecutive starts but been allowed to continue without any intervention that I am aware of.

But if ever a horse needed investigating its surely CH given i) his profile and ii) his mistakes appear random and catastrophic
 
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