How's the form from the 2016 festival?

[jono]

Right then, 2015 form...

Includes a comparison from 2016 in terms of winners that came out each race. Obviously that won't always be the best gauge to base a race on, mainly because horses will have had another year

Tuesday:

Supreme

1st - Douvan
2nd - Shaneshill
3rd - Sizing John

7 winners (/12 runners) (Douvan, Shaneshil, Sizing John, L'ami Serge, Tell us More, Some Plan, Velvet Maker)

on par with 2016

Arkle

1st - Un de Sceaux
2nd - Gods Own
3rd - Jossess Hill

9 winners/11 runners (UDS, God's Own, Josses Hill, Vibrato Valtat, Court Minstrel, Sgt Reckless, Smashing, Clarcam, Dunraven Storm)

+ 7 winners from 2016 with almost all horses winning a race since

Ultima Handicap Chase

1st - The Druids Nephew
2nd - Grand Jesture
3rd - Gallant Oscar

13 winners/24 runners (Grand Jesture, Gallant Oscar, Pendra, Lost legend, Tenor Nivernais, Theatre Guide, Gevrey Chambertain, Annacotty, Mendip Express, No Planning, Dursey Sound, Lamb or Cod, Azure Fly)

+7 winners from 2016

Champion Hurdle

1st - Faugheen
2nd - Arctic Fire
3rd - Hurricane Fly

5 winners/8 (Faugheen, Arctic Fire, Jezki, The New one, Vaniteux)

- 1 from 2016

National Hunt Chase

1st - Cause of Causes
2nd - Broadway Buffalo
3rd - The Job is Right

8 winners (The Job is Right, Sego Success, Cogry, Ballyculla, Perfect Canididate, Royal Palladium, Thunder & Roses, Vivaldi Collonges)

- 1 from 2016

Novice Chase

1st - Irish Cavalier
2nd - Thomas Crapper
3rd - Generous Ransom

11 winners/20 runners (irish cavalier, T crapper, knock house, little jon, cocktails at dawn, steller notion, killala quay, cold march, bold henry, monkey kingdom, keltus)

+5 from 2016

 

[jono]

2015 - Day 2

Neptune

1st - Windsor Park
2nd - Parlour Games
3rd - Nichols Canyon

7 winners/10 (Windsor Park, Nichols Canyon, Vyta du Roc, Snow Falcon, Outlander, Warrantor, Anteros)

on par with 2016

RSA

1st - Don Poli
2nd - Southfield Theatre
3rd - Wounded Warrior

3 winners/8 (Don Poli, If in Doubt, The Young Master)

+1 winner from 2016. Very little to have come out from the last 2 years in the RSA

Coral Cup

1st - APS
2nd - Zabana
3rd - Activial

13 winners/25

+1 from 2016

Champion Chase

1st - Dodging Bullets
2nd - Somersby
3rd - Special Tiara

5 winners/9 (Special Tiara, Sprinter, Sire de Grugy, Simply Ned, Savello)

+1 from 2016

Cross Country

1st - Rivage D'Or
2nd - Any Currency
3rd - Uncle Junior

4 winners/16

-1 from 2016

Fred Winter

1st - Qualando
2nd - Bouvreiul
3rd - The Saint James

4 winners

on par with 2016

Champion Bumper

1st - Moon Racer
2nd - Modus
3rd - Wait for Me

20 winners/23 (all bar ghost river, davy doubt and bordini)

+13 from 2016

 

[jono]

Day 3

JLT

1st - Vautour
2nd - Apacha Stronghold
3rd - Valseur Lido

6 winners/8 (vautour, valseur lido, ptit zig, tango de juilley, splash of ginge, colour squadron)

+3 from 2016

Pertemps

1st - Call the cops
2nd - unique de cotte
3rd - the tourad man

10 winners /23

+4 from 2016

Ryanair

1st - Uxizandre
2nd - Ma Filleule
3rd - Don Cossack

8 winners (ma filleule, don cossack, hidden cyclone, taquin de seuil, third intention, double ross, foxrock, ballycasey)

+3 from 2016

World Hurdle

1st - Cole Harden
2nd - Saphir Du Rheu
3rd - Zarkandar

9 winners/16 (saphir de rheu, whisper, un temps por tout, seeyouatmidnight, l colonel, reve de sivola, tiger roll, monksland, aubusson)

+4 from 2016

Plate

1st - Darna
2nd - Monetaire
3rd - Rawnaq

10 winners

+6 from 2016

Kim Muir

1st - The Package
2nd - Bless the Wings
3rd - Buddy Bolero

7 winners/24

+5 from 2016

 

[jono]

Day 4 2015

Triumph

1st - Peace and co
2nd - Top notch
3rd - hargam

10 winners/16 (top notch, hargam, devilment, petite parisienne, beltor, dicosimo, old guard, matorico, pain au chocolat, prairie town)

+2 from 2016

County

1st - Wicklow brave
2nd - sort it out
3rd - quick jack

14 winners/24

+9 from 2016

Albert Bartlett

1st - martello tower
2nd - milsean
3rd - no more heroes

15 winners/19 (all bar Carcci Apache, Shanroe Santos, Arbre de Vie, Milsean)

+11 from 2016

***IMO this is the race to take out of 2015. When you look through the runners that day:***

Martello tower - now chasing and second fav for the 4 miler in 2017
No More Heroes - 3/3 novice chasing before lining up as fav in RSA, unfortunately suffered a fatal injury
Black Hercules - won the JLT in 2016
Measureofmydreams - placed (3rd) in 4 miler 2016
Native River - won the hennessy, Welsh National, grade 1 at Aintree, 2nd in 4 miler 2016, now 2nd fav for Gold Cup 2017
Avant Tout - fav for 2016 henessy before fatal injury
Blaklion - won the RSA in 2016
Definitly Red - won 4 handicap chases since
Kylemore Lough - 5/8 chasing including winning Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in March (beating the Lexus winner Outlander)
Tea for Two - won the 2015 Feltham chase at Kempton

Gold Cup

1st - Coneygree
2nd - Djakadam
3rd - Road to riches

10 winners/16 (Coneygree, Djakadam, on his own,many clouds, silv conti, smad place, carlingford lough, boston bob, houblon des obeaux, bobs worth)

+7 from 2016

Foxhunter

1st - On The Fringe
2nd - Following dreams
3rd - Paint the Clouds

-

Martin Pipe

1st - Killultagh Vic
2nd - Noble Endeavour
3rd - Roi des francs

14 winners/21

+5 from 2016

Grand Annual

1st - Next sensation
2nd - Eastlake
3rd - Croco bay

13 winners/20

 

[Deleted member 4957]

Great work Jono.
Amazing that World Hurdle, the first 3 have done nothing since but just about everything behind them has gone onto big things....

 

[Kevloaf]

Fagan, Champers on Ice certainly on the radar

 

[JackieMoon33]

Fagan, Champers on Ice certainly on the radar

Fagan started his season late due to a minor setback and Gordon said he'd need the run first time out so don't let that out you off. He jumped well in the main and they rate the horse highly. I'd be thinking the 4 miler for him as he stays all day and there is a good chance he'd have one of the better jockeys booked due to their connections with the yard.

 

[Morning Glory]

Reading Lydia's Road to Cheltenham this week both Fagan and Cole Harden get a mention.

Commented that 2015 World Hurdle might have been over rated and that Fagan stopped very quickly.

That Albert Bartlett from 2015 looks like one of the best races to follow ever !

 

[Kevloaf]

Wonder if Sizing John can give Douvan's form a boost tomorrow... :highly_amused:

 

[Old Vic]

A lot of winners and placed horses from 2016 still in line for this years festival. Having no championship race winner even defend their crown is very odd though.

 

[jono]

Yeah it's a huge shame that Annie, Sprinter and Don Cossack aren't/can't lining up to defend their titles this year.

 

[Kevloaf]

Makes what thistlecrack is attempting even more astonishing doesn't it!

 

[Morning Glory]

Altior, Douvan and Thistlecrack the A listers who can save the Festival ....

 

[Kevloaf]

Unowhatimeanharry could probably make a pretty big statement too ... everyone loves a Cheltenham banker year after year?

 

[Mytentoryours1]

Unowhatimeanharry could probably make a pretty big statement too ... everyone loves a Cheltenham banker year after year?

Anyone worried about Unowhatimeanharry on fast ground? Find it difficult to knock a horse winning all the key trials but took an age to get there in the Albert last season whereas all his runs on soft were achieved effortlessly.

 

[Old Vic]

In a word MTOY1 - yes. Most vulnerable banker imo.

 

[Faugheen_Machine]

Agreed. I think he's beatable on a quicker surface.

 

[Kevloaf]

UNWIMH still got the job done on good in the AB and is a much better horse than he was in March last year. Any horse is beatable but harsh to use a good ground C&D win to beat him over the head with! Looks more like you want it beat than have a reason for it on that evidence

Thistlecrack is more vulnerable imo ... if only because fences are less forgiving.

 

[Faugheen_Machine]

He'll be running against better horses than Fagan and COI etc when running in the world hurdle. Yes, he won on good ground at Cheltenham last season but that doesn't mean he isn't a better horse in soft. Good ground would play to the strengths of Jezki and Shaneshill more than it would UKWIMH and that would be enough for me to take him on at the prices.

I'd still like to have some of the 25/1 vouchers that you have Kev

 

[Kevloaf]

He'll be running against better horses than Fagan and COI etc when running in the world hurdle. Yes, he won on good ground at Cheltenham last season but that doesn't mean he isn't a better horse in soft. Good ground would play to the strengths of Jezki and Shaneshill more than it would UKWIMH and that would be enough for me to take him on at the prices.

I'd still like to have some of the 25/1 vouchers that you have Kev

:highly_amused: Which in fairness are probably why I am more inclined to leap to his defence rather than looking at the current prices.

I would say though, if he raced against Fagan or COI again now I would expect him to beat them out of sight.