Sir Des not going the right way
Prior to last Sunday’s John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown, I suspected that Sir Des Champs might be best suited to travelling left-handed.
But, rather stupidly, I pushed it to the back of my mind, dismissed it as being of limited importance and took Sir Des Champs to beat Flemenstar.
Having watched the race again, and looking back at the horse in action at Punchestown in April and at Limerick at Christmas, I am now totally convinced that is very much the case. At Limerick, he was struggling to get to grips with Knockfierna, when she ran out going to the second last, and that really was a hopeless effort by a potential Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.
And at the Punchestown festival he won in a canter alright, but constantly jumped away to his left.
Truth to tell, Sir Des Champs jumped pretty straight last Sunday, but at the same time never gave the impression he was very happy.
I thought he was inclined to lug away to his left and at no stage of the contest did you actually ever feel he was going to get to grips with Flemenstar.
On what we saw on Sunday, and accepting this was his first run of the season, Sir Des Champs has no chance of winning the Gold Cup.
But until we see him returning to a left-handed track, say Leopardstown, then it would be prudent to sit on the fence a while longer.
There is no getting away from the fact that Flemenstar destroyed him and wasn’t overly flattered by a winning margin of five lengths.
A literal reading of the form book will tell us there is no good reason why the placings should ever be reversed. And over two and a half miles, going right-handed, I’d imagine there never will be. But as far as Flemenstar’s connections are concerned it is now all about the Gold Cup.
We are no wiser as to whether he will stay three miles or not. We know how good he is from two miles to two and a half and is a very hard horse to beat at those trips.
But Flemenstar has yet to come out of his comfort zone and if he runs in the Lexus at Leopardstown at Christmas then that will reveal more than anything that has gone before. The bottom line is no one can be sure he will truly stay three miles, until he goes and proves it.
Were you, like me, one of those who fell for Balnaslow in a novice hurdle at Punchestown last Sunday?
When he trailed in a very disappointing fourth of five behind Too Scoops, it gave one an insight into how an idiot who plays with the three-card trick man must feel when his dosh has disappeared.
Balnaslow was previously the winner of a bumper and a maiden hurdle, but they were bad contests and his form was essentially worthless.
But a handful of the shrewdest punters in the business knew he was able to match strides with some smart horses on Willie Mullins’ gallops and wanted to be with him.
But those of us who have played a bit of sport in our time are well aware of the guy capable of putting the ball into your eye on the training pitch, but who wouldn’t be found with binoculars when the need was greatest.
Maybe he will redeem himself later on, show that his Punchestown running was all wrong and the one going into the contest is actually the real Balnaslow.
Grand, but while we’re waiting, will those of us who live and die by the form book ever learn?
I love flat racing and like Dundalk. But the stuff that has been on offer there this winter has been shocking.
Most of what has been foisted on an unsuspecting public really has been wall-to-wall dross.
Take last Wednesday for instance. Dundalk hosted an eight-race programme and six of the contests were largely impossible to solve handicaps.
It was more of the same the previous Friday night, with another six handicaps on the card.
And last night, of course, there were six more handicaps, making a grand total of 18 in three days.
We know these races offer opportunities for owners, trainers and jockeys, not to mention being cannon fodder for the betting offices.
But any self-respecting punter who has any truck with the track right now clearly has a lot more money than sense.
