PAT KEANE: Stars’ deplorable display a concern for Fly supporters
Both meetings, especially Navan, were run on the worst type of surface, the proverbial glue-pot.
On occasions, remember the Punchestown festival last April, it can look disconcerting to see water splashing up under horses' hooves, but that is far preferable to what was on offer this week.
Weeks of rain were followed by a number of dry days and, when that happens, then red lights should begin to flash for each and every punter.
The ground at Navan and Punchestown was described as heavy and it looked reasonably okay to the naked eye.
But there is a massive difference between heavy ground that is loose and the deep, clinging surface that repeatedly dragged down all sorts of horses over the two days.
For punters, who went to war on numerous short-priced favourites, it was largely carnage and recovery may well take a long time.
Navan saw favourites at 1-2, 8-15, and 4-6 (twice) bite the dust, while Punchestown supplied costly failures at 2-5 and 1-2.
Add in winners at Punchestown at 33-1, two at 20-1 and 10-1 and it certainly represented a bonanza for the layers.
One of the more disturbing performances at Navan was that of Thousand Stars, who performed deplorably in the Boyne Hurdle, trailing in a distant sixth of six behind On His Own.
It was particularly disturbing for anyone holding an ante-post voucher on Hurricane Fly for the Champion Hurdle.
I know of one or two - and they're Irish as well - who intend to lay Hurricane Fly for a fair few quid at Cheltenham.
The reasoning is that, while the horse has been very impressive in his three wins this season, he has, essentially, beaten nothing.
Well his latest victim was the aforementioned Thousand Stars and to watch the grey struggling so badly, ground or no ground, at Navan, was hardly what Hurricane Fly's supporters wanted to see.
But the off-course bookmakers remained unmoved and there was no effort whatsoever to lengthen his Champion Hurdle odds.
Quotes of 6-4, and a little 7-4, really do look rather skimpy right now and, you'd imagine, might well be bigger come March 12.
, most of which we simply ignore.
But one from Ladbrokes this week, with regard to the forthcoming Aintree Grand National, more than caught the eye of this observer.
The following is an offer available from the firm. They bet: 4-6 an Irish trained winner, 7-1 Paul Nicholls supplies the answer, 7-2 Willie Mullins, 8-1 Jonjo O'Neill, 10-1 Gordon Elliott, 5-1 he/she is owned by J P McManus, 4-1 Graham Wylie and 20-1 Trevor Hemming.
Grand, get it, but what about an English trained winner not in the care of Nicholls or O'Neill, or owned by McManus, Wylie or Hemming?
The point I'm making is that Ladbrokes have come up with eight separate outcomes, but the ninth surely is more than a runner also.
I mean if what I'm putting forward was to actually happen then they would win on all eight of their own prices and keep everything that was bet on this market.
I would never claim to be the brightest light in the sky and maybe I'm missing something here. But is there actually an element of the three-card trick involved, or did they simply not think through all of the possibilities?
produces his ex-flat horse Ibsen over flights he will surely try and avoid running into another of Willie Mullins'.
Ibsen made a fine start to his new discipline when second to Gordon Elliott's Flaxen Flare at Leopardstown at Christmas.
The fact he had no fewer than 15 behind him then didn't half augur well for his future prospects.
Then he went to Leopardstown in January, ran his heart out, but was hammered to the tune of eight lengths by Mullins' Fatcatinthehat.
That day, he beat Brendan Duke's third placed Welsh Nayber by a short head. Fast forward to Gowran Park last Saturday, as Ibsen and Welsh Nayber met again on exactly the same terms.
By the time they got to the post Ibsen was six lengths clear of Welsh Nayber and Murphy was entitled to feel had brought his charge on more than nicely from his previous outing.
But, of course, Ibsen was only finishing second, with Welsh Nayber third, while way up ahead, 14 lengths clear to be precise, was another Mullins inmate, Djakadam. Seriously frustrating or what!
