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- Classic Winner
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14 Oct 2009, 17:50
by Fist on 14 Oct 2009, 17:50
Imperial Call wrote:Fist wrote:Imperial Call wrote:
Binocular - Classy animal who looks awesome around Aintree and Ascot but does he get up the hill at Cheltenham?
Let the debate begin!
I'm confused what do you mean does he get up the hill?
I take it you haven't managed to see the 2009 race yet
Put it this way then, the horse he slaughters at both Ascot and Aintree (Celestial Halo) is the same horse he's in behind at Cheltenham. Does the track play to Binocular's undoubted strengths? I'm not so sure.
We would have to assume Celestial Halo (Ascot)wasn't off a yard, went there short of a gallop, needed the run or whatever one would want to call it. Add that to the pace they went the fact Binocular was ridden a bit differently and you get the result we got.
Looking at two particualr points during the Champion Hurdle when Binocular was going better than Celestial Halo I think he could have beaten him and Punjabi. Tony took a pull before the second last of course we know the reason why. However had he kicked two out like he did at Ascot I think the race would have been over there and hen which brings me to the second point. If you watch Binocular at the last he doesn't exactly jump it running and it isn't until they hit the steepest part of the hill does he start to make any ground......then he makes up the deficit and in another 50 yards would have won.
So the very thing Nicky and Tony were afraid of was his undoing in the end but not the way they expected.
If Binocular proved anything that day he proved he stays every yard of the course, has stamina and is not all about speed. In fact I think it's exagerated about how much toe he has and he's definitely no Nijinsky. He jumps superbly and has such a high cruising speed he travels past horses rather than sprints away from them.
I think that makes it a difficult decision on how they should ride him next year. They'll surely have realised if they ride him the same way he could find himself in exactly the same position but Hurricane Fly who although untested at Cheltenham or in that class, appears to have more acceleration than he does..if both were still going well and it became a sprint from the last you'd have to think off the bridle he's lose out
altrnatively they could increase the pace while in cruise control and try and poach a lead coming down the hill to dispose of the likes of Celestial Halo before the last, not after. If he can do that he might just be able to take the sting out of Hurricane Fly's tail and outstay him up the hill.
However all that may not matter as Nicky has taken great care not to overdo it with Binocular. He had only 2 serious races last season and a hack round and I think we’ll see the benefits of that this time round.
I’m banking on Nicky’s judgment and skill as a trainer and think he’ll be a much stronger horse than he was last season.
If he is I doubt if anything will get him off the bridle this season let alone beat him and that includes Hurricane fly and/or the Cheltenham Hill.
"When you come to a conclusion it means you have stopped thinking"
