Ive a couple of previews from different nights held around Ireland in the last week
Panel – Alan King, Richard Johnson, Andrew Mac, Christian Williams, Eric Mac & Davey Duggan
Supreme novices –
Richard Johnson & Christian Williams went for red moloney – needs good ground
Alan king & Andrew mac – torpecian, rest of panel Cousin vinny
Arkle
Christian Williams said Nicholls is very confident about tatenen
Davey duggan napped Kalahari King
Richard Johnson said planet of sound will go well
Andrew mac thinks trip will be too short forpaddyplasterer
Champ hurdle
All said if ground is good couldn’t oppose binocular
Richard Johnson said snap tie has great e/w chance
Andrew mac schooled osana last week said he’s in good form
Cross Country
Garde Champetre enda bolgers choice
Weds
Ballymore
King said he expects Karabak to run huge race
Eric mac said mouse morris had good word for china rock at 25/1
Sun alliance
Andrew mac said ruby fancies cooldine big time as track will suit
Queen mother
Couldn’t oppose master minded.
Johnson & Andrew mac said briarus the e/w bet at 20/1
Thursday
World Hurdle
Most went for Kasbah bliss
Johnson said fair along loves chelt & great chance of making first 3
Ryanair
King gave voy por as his best bet of the meeting,said he’s in great form.
Friday
Triumph
King thinks walkon has a great chance as improving
Eric mac said lethal weapon the best of the irish
Gold up
King gave exotic dancer e/w as he has great record at chelt
Johnson gave albertas run e/w as long as ground was good
Williams said he’ll be making it a serious test on Neptune collonges
Rest of panel were split between kauto & Neptune, no one selected denman!!
2nd preview
Preview Night from Exeter.
The panel was made up of: Panel: Phillip Hobbs, David Pipe, Paul
Nicholls, Harry Findlay, Andrew King and hosted by Zoey Bird.
Champion trainer PAUL NICHOLLS stated that he was, as always, very much
looking forward to the festival and the prospects ahead. The Arkle was
the first port of call and he said that Tatenen would prefer the ground
to be soft and the faster the pace the better and if this is the case
then he has a real chance. Paul was impressed with Celestial Halo at
Sandown and went on to say that his guy has improved a lot to give him a
real chance in the Champion Hurdle.
In the RSA Chase he stated that Sam Thomas would take the ride on What A
Friend which he is more than happy about, he said he goes well fresh. As
expected in the Champion Chase, Master Minded was high on the agenda and
his trainer went on to say he is stronger than last year and will be
very hard to beat. In the Ryanair, he said that Gwanako will have an
impossible task to beat Voy Por Ustedes. In regards to Big Buck's in the
World Hurdle he said that when he has ran three or more miles he has
only been beaten once and is still improving.
The Gold Cup was a very hot topic and he said that Kauto Star is looking
very fit and fresh. He also went on to say that Denman has improved from
the run at Kempton however it is hard to tell with him until he is on
the race track as he is not a great worker. Neptune Collonges is
improving and will need to post a career best if he is to win. Paul's
value bet of the Festival was The Nightingale in the Ballymore.
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HARRY FINDLEY, still looking forward to the festival, said that there
was a lot less pressure due to Denman. He said that he believes Mad Max
will go close in the Supreme Novices'. In the Arkle he stated he was
very biased towards Tatenen however Calgary Bay is better than people
think and also that Kalahari King has a chance. In the Champion Hurdle
Harry said that he was "getting stuck in" as he believes Binocular is in
a different league. He was also very certain about Diamond Harry in the
Ballymore with him seeing no reason to oppose him.
He believes Carruthers is made for the RSA and should definitely run. As
Paul Nicholls stated he thinks Master Minded is too strong and cannot be
beaten, he should be 1/6 rather than 1/3. In the Ryanair he is not very
keen on Voy Por Ustedes at the short price. Kasbah Bliss is also another
that Harry is very confident on, he says he will not get beat and he is
against Punchestowns. In the Triumph he likes the look of Master Of Arts
and Starluck. In the Gold Cup he says that last year's run left its mark
on Denman and he does not believe he will be the same again, he was also
never going to run in the Grand National. Harry's value bet was Aachen
in the County Hurdle.
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DAVID PIPE is very much looking forward to the Festival as the yard has
hit form at just the right time. In the Supreme Novices' he believes
Torphichen is rock solid and has a very good chance. He said Osana has a
good chance in the Champion hurdle and he will come on for his Sandown
run. In the Champion Chase he believes that Master Minded is better than
putting money in the bank while Well Chief is the only horse that could
possibly give Master Minded a race. He says that Our Vic's run in the
King George can be forgiven and he goes well fresh while Voy Por Ustedes
is the one to beat.
In regards to the Gold Cup he said that Madison Du Berlais but he
deserves to take his chance. David's value bet of the festival was
Consigliere in the Grand Annual on soft or Jewson / Festival Plate
otherwise.
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PHILLIP HOBBS although not having a squad as strong as the other
trainers has a few decent each-way shouts and would settle for a winner.
He believes that Copper Bleu has a good each-way chance in the Supreme
Novices'. He says that he wants good ground for Planet Of Sound in the
Arkle however he may run in the Grand Annual on the Friday. In regards
to the RSA Chase he is not sure he will run Massini's Maguire, he doubts
he would get three miles on soft ground. He thinks that Fair Along is a
credit to himself and has decent each-way claims in the World Hurdle and
good ground would help. His value bet of the Festival was Snap Tie in
the Champion Hurdle.
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Also at the evening was ANDREW KING, he believes Cousin Vinny will take
all the beating in the Supreme Novices'. When asked about the Arkle he
said the Tatenen has done nothing wrong because of Ireland didn't work
out for him. In the Champion Hurdle he does not believe Binocular should
be so short and he has a doubt about him coming up the hill, he has
backed Ashkazar.
He agrees with Harry Findley about Diamond Harry and he is a fan. In
the RSA he said the Gone To Lunch is a real grinder and he will not
finish outside the top three. Just like the rest of the panel he said
that Master Minded is a certainty. He said that his bet of the festival
is Voy Por Ustedes in the Ryanair. In the World Hurdle he states that
Kasbah Bliss is all class and he says that he would be more worried
about the form of the Nicky Henderson yard than Puchestowns. In the Gold
Cup he says that Kauto Star is obvious and Madison Du Berlais should be
bigger as the Kempton form means nothing and if the ground is decent
Albertas Run has good each-way claims. His value bet of the festival was
Bensalem in the Albert Bartlett.
