cheltenham

scotlass said:
One of my favourite races of the Festival. Brilliant variety of fences .. and what a finish after nearly four miles
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As you!! Four miles, mature horses (just look at the line up), BUT, despite the distance, and they went at a pace, not one faller that I saw. Are there lessons to be learned from this race?

Alec.
 
I would LOVE to ride round the cross country course! The mistake by one near the start was purely the horse majorly over jumping which can't be oddsed!

I do like Bathalzar King but I was willing on Sizing Australia and I was cheering on Sizing Europe in the Champion Chase.
 
A great afternoon so far. I love the Champion Chase, I actually prefer it to the Gold Cup, but love that too.
Sire de Grugy is a great horse. Love that blaze and chestnut coat as well as his heart and speed. On the top of his game and ridden by one of the nicest blokes.
 
In the 2012 cross-country race two horses died, so unfortunately it's as much pot luck from year to the next with this race as it is with any.

ETA: Sorry, that was supposed to be in response to Alec but I didn't get the quote working properly.
 
Have been out A&L day and didn't get to see the race. Delighted to read that Sire de Grugy won :) I've seen JM talk about the horse before and it's clear what he thinks of him and what a great partnership they have. Well done SDG
 
Poor Bryan Cooper has broken his leg in 2 places and so misses out on the plum ride of Last Installment in the Gold Cup on Friday. The highs and lows of racing for jockeys!
 
EKW said:
Poor Bryan Cooper has broken his leg in 2 places and so misses out on the plum ride of Last Installment in the Gold Cup on Friday. The highs and lows of racing for jockeys!
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No news yet about his mount, Clarcam, who was being attended by the vets, but Akdam - who was brought down in the same race - sadly had to be PTS after breaking a leg. Condolences to the connections
 
Oh no, that was a horrible fall. I know AP McCoy got up eventually but is he OK?
Last Instalment has no right to even be in the Gold Cup, any trainer with illegal steroids in his first aid kit should be immediately stripped of his license. The whole thing is a farce.
I hear that Nick Schofield is riding TeaforThree in the GC, I thought AP was riding him?
 
Clodagh said:
Oh no, that was a horrible fall. I know AP McCoy got up eventually but is he OK?
Last Instalment has no right to even be in the Gold Cup, any trainer with illegal steroids in his first aid kit should be immediately stripped of his license. The whole thing is a farce.
I hear that Nick Schofield is riding TeaforThree in the GC, I thought AP was riding him?
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AP was given permission to be released from riding Teaforthree so that he could ride Triolo D'Alene for Nicky Henderson. Barry Geraghty is on Bobs Worth. Captain Chris out of the race with a ligament injury
 
Clodagh said:
Last Instalment has no right to even be in the Gold Cup, any trainer with illegal steroids in his first aid kit should be immediately stripped of his license. The whole thing is a farce.
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There has to be a due process and it hasn't completed yet, hence why LI has been allowed to run after posting negative results in BHA blood and hair drug tests.
 
BigBuck's said:
There has to be a due process and it hasn't completed yet, hence why LI has been allowed to run after posting negative results in BHA blood and hair drug tests.
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There is no excuse though, is there? It would be like having illegal porn on your computer and saying 'but I never looked at it'.
This is a bit off topic though. Sorry.
 
scotlass said:
AP was given permission to be released from riding Teaforthree so that he could ride Triolo D'Alene for Nicky Henderson. Barry Geraghty is on Bobs Worth. Captain Chris out of the race with a ligament injury
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Ah! Thank you for that. I like Triolo D'Alene and see why he would like to be on board.
 
scotlass said:
No news yet about his mount, Clarcam, who was being attended by the vets, but Akdam - who was brought down in the same race - sadly had to be PTS after breaking a leg. Condolences to the connections
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That was very sad. It looked like a hell of a pile up, from what you could see on RUK.
 
teapot said:
Did Goodwood Mirage get up ok as well? Followed him from his very first flat days...
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Goodwood Mirage definitely got up. Clarcam appears to be okay too, but unfortunately Stack the Deck was pulled up in the Bumper and dismounted. Found to have broken a knee and was PTS. The other injury of the second day was to Dunguib - one of the Philip Fenton horses that had to pass a drug test before being allowed to race - he pulled up lame.

Fingers crossed for an incident-free third day for all connected, as the accidents are starting to overshadow what has been some fantastic performances in the first two days in particular by Vautour, Quevega and Sire de Grugy
 
Every year it is the same. Media over hyping any horse deaths. With such good going and lighter framed horses, and the nature of the sport these things are unfortunately going to happen. However, whilst I appreciate that the connections of those will be devastated it is true that they are just horses....and they can be replaced....humans cannot.

I was extremely upset when I lost Monty couldn't go in the field etc. However, when I lost my mare I was upset but it was not the same. Why? Because I had just completed 6 months of chemotherapy. It puts life in perspective. However much you love your horse, which we all do, there is no comparison with human life.
 
Ditchjumper2 said:
Every year it is the same. Media over hyping any horse deaths. With such good going and lighter framed horses, and the nature of the sport these things are unfortunately going to happen. However, whilst I appreciate that the connections of those will be devastated it is true that they are just horses....and they can be replaced....humans cannot.
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Oh God! Taking that perspective, jockeys can be replaced! No individual horse or human can ever be replaced but a different (replacement) horse can run with a different jockey! The sport will go on...

I'm devastated for all involved!
 
Ditchjumper2 said:
Every year it is the same. Media over hyping any horse deaths. With such good going and lighter framed horses, and the nature of the sport these things are unfortunately going to happen. However, whilst I appreciate that the connections of those will be devastated it is true that they are just horses....and they can be replaced....humans cannot.

I was extremely upset when I lost Monty couldn't go in the field etc. However, when I lost my mare I was upset but it was not the same. Why? Because I had just completed 6 months of chemotherapy. It puts life in perspective. However much you love your horse, which we all do, there is no comparison with human life.
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I completely agree. I have read a lot of opinions this week that I don't agree with. I thought this article was particularly well written: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ho...peaks-bluntly-about-the-death-of-a-horse.html
 
I suppose as long as horses are considered only a tool and worth less in the so called jockey/horse 'team' (the irony!) then any safety changes will give less weight to the horse, so more horses will die and jockeys be at risk.

I only caught the end of the Newsnight interviews with H&H editor and Micheal Peace but found it very irritating!
 
Thanks for the link to that article RTE, agree, well written. I think where Ruby fell down was in failing to dress his comments up in sugar to make them more palatable. I think the vast majority of folk who have the countryside in their blood, horses in their lives etc will understand only too well what he meant. It doesnt make him callous or uncaring, just sensible and level headed. Of course it is sad when a horse loses its life racing, but better PTS at the scene than carted off to endure treatment that may not work and an uncertain future at best if it does. The loss of a horse impacts on many but nowhere near as many or as badly as the loss of a person. Sadly in this day and age too many people just do not want to understand the unpalatable realities in all walks of life and cant handle a bit of plain straight talking.
 
amandap said:
I suppose as long as horses are considered only a tool and worth less in the so called jockey/horse 'team'
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Says who? You? Talking from what perspective? Your armchair? Because you don't reflect the thoughts of any jockey, trainer, stable lass/lad or owner that I know.
 
Caledonia said:
Says who? You? Talking from what perspective? Your armchair? Because you don't reflect the thoughts of any jockey, trainer, stable lass/lad or owner that I know.
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From the perspective stated repeatedly above, one partner in the team being worth less, can be easily replaced, it's only a horse!
From my kitchen chair btw!
 
amandap said:
From the perspective stated repeatedly above, one partner in the team being worth less, can be easily replaced, it's only a horse!
From my kitchen chair btw!
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That's not what you said. You said horses are considered only as a tool which is nonsense. Clearly your kitchen chair perspective is tunnelled by your bias against racing.
 
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