CHAMPION QUESTIONS AFTER THOSE CHELTENHAM BLUNDERS: Is the Haydock opener Presented to Tony McCoy? Why is he such a big price on a son of Oscar? Has he chosen wrongly in getting off a horse he’s won on twice before? A P has a 75% record for one of the stables he rides for today but is he the real McCoy of old?
Has Tony McCoy chosen the wrong one again? The champion lost out badly at Cheltenham – he jocked himself off two winners! – and that Mr Infallibility halo about his head slipped for the first time in his career.
Granted that old head took a battering mentally at the festival – his son had to have a major operation – and was so bashed about physically that he could hardly speak for the war wounds after Goodwood Mirage was tripped up in the Fred Winter.
The Boss, J P McManus, had the winners of the Champion Hurdle and the World Hurdle with Jezki and More Of That while McCoy looked on from behind.
Today’s class-3 fare at Haydock is hardly comparable but punters will be worried that the great man has lost his touch if Smart Ruler (3.40 Haydock) beats his choice, Discovery Bay.
Smart Ruler (form under McCoy in novice company 112) has the good ground he needs today but has failed so far to make an impression in handicap company.
Discovery Bay (one run, one defeat with McCoy) has also won a novice on good going but more recently ran a decent second in a class-2 handicap.
Incidentally, did you notice that, in the aftermath of the festival, some of the losers – Big Buck’s in particular – got more space in the Press than did the winners.
That’s another effect of hype. It’s almost like the Press boys are saying: ‘How dare you beat the horses we put in the headlines! We don’t have enough copy about the winners.’
In particular, they don’t much know what to say about More Of That. And they’ve virtually ignored Gold Cup winner, Lord Windermere, and opted for making his trainer Jim Culloty the hero of the hour. Well deserved but, as the old jockeys’ adage has it: ‘You can’t come without the horse.’
Only McCoy fans would dispute that, and point to many occasions among his 4,000-plus winners when the 18 times champion has somehow injected his strength and enthusiasm into the horse and won where others would have failed.
But, with just the one win at Cheltenham (Taquin Du Seuil) his only success in 12 racing days, punters’ expectations are seemingly diminished at Haydock, according to the morning BETDAQ market.
Not so long ago, they would have backed the McCoy connection blind this afternoon. But, in his own words, he has sometimes struggled for rides outside the McManus string.
Today looks good on the figures: he has two mounts, including one in the bumper, for Don McCain (together they have a 75% strike rate, three from four, this season) and two for Brian Ellison (33% with 4-12)
2.10 Haydock James Reveley is one of the jocks seen by John Francome as comparable to McCoy. “I was in France when James won on Reve De Sivola for Nick Williams – it was his first Grade 1 win – and if AP has ridden it – they would have been going on about it for years.’
Reveley was on Ellison’s last winner but is riding father Keith’s Dancing Art in this one. He’s won a class higher and is racing off a similar mark but his success has come only at Newcastle and only over shorter distances.
Bennys Well, on the other hand, is dropping back in trip, and found his punishment for winning at Sedgefield (3m 3f) just too much for a CD repeat last time out.
I think the form presents it to McCoy’s mount, Presented. He is also up in the weights but has won a better class contest at Fakenham and might have been involved in the finish of the Eider Chase but for hitting the fifth last mighty hard. He’s 4.3 on BETDAQ as I write.
3.10 Haydock McCoy and Oscatara have to give weight all round here. Though yet to win a chase, this keen-going sort was a stone better hurdler than these. They meet another front-runner in Bincombe.
Bincombe, heavily-penalized Clondaw Knight and Rocking Blue all have experience of handicap chases, with Bincombe looking well in at first glance, getting almost a stone from Oscatara, but raised 9lb for winning a three-horse chase and without winning partner, Richard Johnson, who is at Warwick.
On today’s sound surface, weight counts for less than it has in the monsoon season we’ve just had and, in fact, on hurdles form, the result by revised ratings (all horses raised to 12st) would be: Oscatara 131, Rocking Blues 130, Bincombe and Clondaw Knight 119. The 5.8 Oscatara looks worth a pound.
3.40 Haydock Here’s that Discovery Bay v Smart Ruler race. Neither has scored outside novice class, and so, again, require their riders to ‘lift’ them.
In fact, the pair have already met twice. In November Smart Ruler was going well in a class 2 at Musselburgh when he stumbled three out; Discovery Bay was second.
Smart Ruler came out on top, returning to Musselburgh in January, when McCoy and Discovery Bay (said by the trainer to have a ‘breathing problem’) were more than 10 lengths behind him, albeit giving 11lb.
We can only assume they’ve done something for that breathing problem for Discovery Bay to be 5.5 on BETFDAQ this morning, with Smart Ruler 9.0. I think we should be told.
We are also without adequate information on why Karazhan has had just one run in the last 14 months. What we do know, on the stats, is that Nicky Henderson can get them ready first time and it didn’t happen witb Karazhan. What he’s done to the beast since then, we are not told.
Robbie would have eaten these for breakfast at one time, and several others have chances on their best behavior. Smart Ruler is the wrong price on what we know.
But I am also going to assume that Kudu Country will set off like a scalded cat as usual, so I took the 11.5 on BETDAQ this morning, expecting to trade off that position during the race, though I may let some of it run as I thought he might have finished in the three at Newcastle last month had the ground not been a bog.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 6pts win (nap) PRESENTED (2.10 Haydock)
BET 4pts win OSCATARA and 1.5pts win (stakes saver) BINCOMBE (3.10 Haydock)
BET 2.5pts win SMART RULER and 2pts win and place (Outsider Of The Day) KUDU COUNTRY (3.40 Haydock)
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