On the one hand, it was thrilling to see Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File – the ‘right’ horses – locked in such a battle from the home turn to the line.
On the other hand, to what extent was it a competitive race? Yes, the journey was on the short side for some, but still, if the race had been held in Britain, would Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin’s connections have been prepared to have him beaten by the best part of 53 lengths?
As I said recently, it seems to be an accepted practice among the Irish novice hurdles to let the two or three favored horses steal a few lengths at the start and more often than not have the finish to themselves… “triers in front, the rest of you in the back”… to quote the supposed instructions of the starters in the days of yore.
Now I don’t believe this applies to Graded racing, but the fact is that on Sunday there were only two horses in contention from far away, with several top performers failing to get a look. Obviously I accept that the trip was not up to their standards, but you wouldn’t see a British-trained Gold Cup winner handling or racing in such a manner on his return to action.
Looking more closely at the situation, I would like to know what proportion of Willie Mullins’ novice hurdlers are sent into the lead or a prominent position by a flag drop. This is despite the possibility that after a few more runs they may prove more suited to being held up.
I’m reminded of the days when Martin Pipe dominated the scene, especially when Peter Scudamore was his stable jockey. He kicked the vast majority of his runners, even debutants, into a clear lead, knowing that they had a fitness edge and would continue to gallop to the line.
The Mullins-trained horses are probably the most talented in the race anyway, but I don’t remember Ruby Walsh riding them as assertively as Paul Townend from the flag drop.
An ex-jockey who went to work at Closutton told me he had never gone so fast in his life.
This is such a stark contrast to the, shall we say, calm and deliberate manner in which JP McManus’ horses are brought, but then most of them are of modest ability and must be used and placed accordingly.
As for Sunday’s race, I have read a few observations from whistleblowers and number crunchers who have expressed varying degrees of surprise that Gaelic Warrior could deliver such quick fractions and then have the reserves and tenacity to dig deep again to see off the favorite after the last.
He has not been an easy horse to ‘read’ over the years, and I worry that it may take some time for him to recover from what looked like a heartbreaking race. I certainly wouldn’t rush to accept the top offer of 7/4 for the King George, especially considering it’s with Ladbrokes. Back when Mike Dillon was their guy, you would never want to back one they wanted to lay.
Speaking of the old days, it’s the ‘Hennessy’… sorry, Coral Gold Cup, no disrespect… this weekend with what promises to be an exciting Fighting Fifth in Newcastle (if they all turn up!)
I’ll be back next week with more thoughts.
Goodbye for now
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