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Champion Chase 2018

Faugheen_Machine said:
Yeah. It's going to be a tough ask but I'd also take the 4/1nrnb and trust WPM to get him there fit enough to do himself justice.
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I haven't taken 4/1 just yet... I see 10bet are 5/1 NRNB although not sure how much they'd take and if I trust them to be able to pay out - I rememebr not too long ago the bookies that Harry Redknapp was all-over the face of, went bump and didn't poay out after the festival (fortunately happened to my friend, not me)

9/1 with the poker company :highly_amused:

I might wait until tomorrow and see how impressive the winner of the Ascot Chase is.... I can't see any situation where Douvan shortens and perhaps may drift with one of the major firms if something looks special?

I do agree with somebody above though too, that UDS, Yorkhill and Douvan turning up in this race is the least likely combination I can imagine!

The more I think about it, the less likely I think it is that Douvan runs..... but I will be taking 4/1 or bigger tomorrow NRNB (although I do have my 4 pts at 11/4 any race that would be resurrected from my "non-runner" pile that I've already counted!
 
Kevloaf said:
I haven't taken 4/1 just yet... I see 10bet are 5/1 NRNB although not sure how much they'd take and if I trust them to be able to pay out - I rememebr not too long ago the bookies that Harry Redknapp was all-over the face of, went bump and didn't poay out after the festival (fortunately happened to my friend, not me)

9/1 with the poker company :highly_amused:

I might wait until tomorrow and see how impressive the winner of the Ascot Chase is.... I can't see any situation where Douvan shortens and perhaps may drift with one of the major firms if something looks special?

I do agree with somebody above though too, that UDS, Yorkhill and Douvan turning up in this race is the least likely combination I can imagine!

The more I think about it, the less likely I think it is that Douvan runs..... but I will be taking 4/1 or bigger tomorrow NRNB (although I do have my 4 pts at 11/4 any race that would be resurrected from my "non-runner" pile that I've already counted!
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10bet are fine. I use their slots a bit, and never had any problems.
 
Kevloaf said:
The fact Willie had mentioned the Ryanair to me there means it's a lot more likely than any other point this season.

I personally don't expect he'll run ... HOWEVER
If he does ill expect to see him in the Ryanair with the statement ...'Min deserves another crack at Altior and Douvan had always settled so well in his races. It's a tough ask to win ba CC on first run on the season ' ... or they'll say he is fit but not sparking, before putting in a Vautour-like display.

Douvan NRNB for the Ryanair is a must IMO.

Isn't it strange how we read comments!

I have to add that I hope Douvan runs so much, whichever race. Absolute star of the game, regardless of how the betting is affected.
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I’d take Willie at face value. All this nonsense about deliberately deceiving punters seems to me to be just that. He says it how he sees it at the time, without thinking too deeply about how all his other horses slot in. Nothing will be decided til the 48 hour decs and will be dependent on how the horses are working in the lead up. As punters we just have to cover most options, why to me min 12/1 nrnb champion hurdle is a no brainer. I hope Douvan, Yorkhill etc all run, will make the festival a far better spectacle
 
Willie Mullins would have no qualms about Douvan and Min taking each other on in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Speaking at Gowran Park, the champion trainer said he had no regrets about not running Douvan in the Red Mills Chase won by Our Duke and he will now head straight to the Cheltenham Festival.

Min has been in terrific form this season, winning at the Dublin Racing Festival having lost a Grade One in the stewards' room over Christmas.

"I've no regrets about not running, although when I worked him on the gallop this morning myself and Ruby (Walsh) looked at each other and said 'should we be in Gowran' but we just said no, we were happy we'd made the right decision," Mullins told At The Races.

"If that (Red Mills) was anywhere else this weekend I wouldn't have entered him, it was just on the doorstep. A lot of people were wondering if it was because it was two and a half miles, but it hadn't even dawned on me it was two and a half miles, it wasn't three miles.

"I'd have no problem running Douvan over two and a half miles, it would be no bother to him.

"We (Rich Ricci, owner) spoke about the possibility of running him and Min in the Queen Mother and we said it would be a nice problem to have if it comes around.

"To me, the two of them are two-milers. Douvan is nicely on course for the race but Min is unbeaten this season so he has to go there.

"I can't see us putting Douvan in the Ryanair, so it's not ideal and an owner would like to divide his horses, but sometimes it's no harm having a reserve.

"That's their trip and to me that's what they should go for."
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Still wouldn't trust Mullins 100% but I totally agree that both should be in the race, more so Min as he has nothing to prove..
 
Sirbetalot said:
Still wouldn't trust Mullins 100% but I totally agree that both should be in the race, more so Min as he has nothing to prove..
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Agreed. For a whole year they were sending Vautour to the Gold Cup and then on Tuesday morning on live tele Rich Ricci told everyone they had switched to the Ryanair.

I can see one of them heading to the Ryanair if Waiting Patiently isn’t declared.
 
I read the paragraph underneath the bolded one as Min to the Ryanair
 
All my eggs in one basket, but you have to back Douvan as a saver just in case. Love the race, but never a great betting race for me. Common Altior, would like to see something impressive.
 
Al Ferof said:
Agreed. For a whole year they were sending Vautour to the Gold Cup and then on Tuesday morning on live tele Rich Ricci told everyone they had switched to the Ryanair.

I can see one of them heading to the Ryanair if Waiting Patiently isn’t declared.
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A bookmaker rep told some of the lads I was with there'd be a bombshell on the Tuesday morning, when we shared a lift after last orders on the Monday night. The next morning Ricci announced the switch.
 
Race of the week if Altior Douvan and Min turned up.

Ruby would ride Douvan 100%.
 
Well that article told us nothing. Full of contradictions...

We (Rich Ricci, owner) spoke about the possibility of running him and Min in the Queen Mother and we said it would be a nice problem to have if it comes around.
vs
I'd have no problem running Douvan over two and a half miles, it would be no bother to him

To me, the two of them are two-milers. Douvan is nicely on course for the race
vs
Min is unbeaten this season so he has to go there

I can't see us putting Douvan in the Ryanair...but sometimes it's no harm having a reserve...That's their trip and to me that's what they should go for
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It's not ideal and an owner would like to divide his horses

Like Kev said it would be the race of the festival by far and i'll happily be proved wrong but i'd be staggered if both horses line up here.

Also agree that Douvan would be Ruby's chosen horse without doubt. I think between the four horses Mullins could have for this and the Ryanair, i'd put them in this order of preference for Ruby...

Douvan
Yorkhill
Un de Sceaux
Min

So if it looks like they have got Yorkhill back on track and UDS is still in good form then maybe I could see it happening...
 
The trouble with Ricci is he has a huge need for attention, he puts himself in the firing line too often and because of the number of interviews/preview evenings he does he is always likely to contradict earlier statements, it's almost inevitable.
I have genuinely ignored everything he's said for a few years now, probably since the Vatour debacle....
 
If Douvan had a clear run this year I think he would have ended up in the Gold Cup.

UDS is rock solid in Ryanair. Both he and WP have had clear seasons - I think if I was an owner I’d be ducking that race and taking my chance in CC or GC.
 
Does anyone give Ordinary world a sniff at big prices in this? He was going very well until blunder at last at Leopardstown. Race is worth a watch back. When half the field come out the price could look good for place money at least. Probably a decent price in betting w/o market too
 
BrensTrickyReds said:
Does anyone give Ordinary world a sniff at big prices in this? He was going very well until blunder at last at Leopardstown. Race is worth a watch back. When half the field come out the price could look good for place money at least. Probably a decent price in betting w/o market too
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The only reason I'd say no .... is you're almost only fighting for 1 place.

We can say quite fairly that Min holds Ordinary World, and Altior is of a similar level (diplomatic!:highly_amused:) ... therefore Ordinary World only realistically has one slot to get in to compared to what would normally be considered a decent each way chance against one short priced fav.

I see he is 50/1, which is big enough to not need to find many holes in...

Hang on, who is actually going to run in this race?!

1. Altior
2. Min (or Douvan, can't see both regardless of what has been said
3. Politilogue
4. Special Tiara
5. Charbel
6. Ordinary World
7. Doctor Pheonix
8. The Game Changer

As far as I know, they are all confirmed targets

Fox Norton - Ryanair?
Un De Sceaux - Ryanair
Great Field - won't run?
Yorkhill - No way?
Top Notch - Ryanair
Forest Bihan - Couldn't say?
Ar Mad - Ryanair
American Tom - won't run
Gods Own - Where is little Gods Own!
BAll Darc?
Top Gamble?
Tell Us More
 
yeah it's more a hit and hope rather than anything, Would be lucky to have the 8 runners on the day too. I might have a small bet on it ' 'just in case' something crazy happens. We all know Special Tiara will go off like a bat out of hell and it's whether it takes anything out of Min or Altior.
 
I’d definitely be interested at around 20/1 in a W/O Altior market if there was one. I made a case for him in the Grand Annual thread before he went and blew his mark against Min. I was not surprised to see that performance though and the better ground will only be in his favour. I don’t think he can realistically challenge for the win (unless something dramatic happens) but is more than capable of picking up the pieces.
 
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