altior & co.

​Apart from not seeing the electricity that Altior, we are told, exudes on the schooling grounds, it has to be said that Nicky Henderson was right, wasn’t he? It does not mean, of course, that those of us who believe the great horse would be equally effective over 4 or 8-furlongs further are wrong, though Nicky would do racing the greatest of favours, now Altior no longer has to defend a long unbeaten record over fences, if after Cheltenham he would go for the 3-mile chase, the Betfair Bowl, isn’t it, at Aintree, if only to put the matter to bed once and for all.
While Altior was ultimately mpressive in the Game Spirit, even if between the third and second last I was convinced he wouldn’t win, as did others, I suspect, he gave the connections of his closest rivals for Champion Chase glory hope that finally at the Festival he can be beaten. I would be astonished, given Altior’s two runs this season, if Philip Hobbs chose not to go for the 2-mile chase with Defi Du Seuil. On soft ground I see no reason why A Plus Tard should miss the race in favour of the Ryanair either. In fact, if all the leading fancies for the Champion Chase turn-up it will hark back to the good old days before the invention of the Ryanair when the race was invariably the most exciting race of the whole Festival. Of course, it might have happened back then when trainers were offered choice but today’s trainers and owners lack balls, putting Festival glory, even in a lesser race, before the true glory of proper prestige.
Although each-way betting is regarded by the purist as chicken-hearted, it might be the order of the meeting this year. I have already flagged up Petite Mouchoir as a lively outsider for the Champion Hurdle and after the Game Spirit I was very taken by the run of Dynamite Dollars. A gross horse, according to his trainer, that needs a lot of work to get fit, he can only come forward for his run on Saturday and, though I would not be certain of him beating Altior, I would put him up as a good each-way tip. Before he got injured last season, he was my banker of the meeting and after the way the Arkle ended-up, with a really quite moderate horse winning, Duc Des Genievres, in my estimation he would have been a good thing.
 
Tomorrow’s Racing Post will be dominated by two items – the weights for the Grand National but more importantly the weight allotted to Tiger Roll. Now, I admit, handicapping is a bit of a mystery to me. For instance, if Native River, Tiger Roll and Bristol De Mai (these short 1,000-word pieces would be written in half the time if I did not have to keep checking the spelling of these damned French-named horses – it’s maddening!) were entered in any other race, given that the former is a Gold Cup winner and the latter a twice winner of the Betfair, while after his exploits at Aintree, apart from his Triumph Hurdle success, the best Tiger Roll has achieved is two cross-country wins and a 4-mile amateur riders chase, I cannot for the life of me see why Tiger Roll should have to give weight to either of the two aforementioned horses as he is clearly third best on career statistics. The point of a handicap is to give every runner an equal chance of winning, yet all the experts are of one voice – Tiger Roll will be top weight. And I find that absurd. Native River is by far and away the best horse to grace the National entries since L’ Escargot. He should shoulder top weight, 11st-10Ib, with Tiger Roll, taking in the Aintree Factor, on 11st-7 or 8, with Bristol Des Mai on a similar mark.
If Native River were trained for the race, he would be my fancy, no matter what weight the handicapper gave him. In every way he looks made for the race. But whether he wins the Gold Cup or simply runs his usual honourable race, he is going to have a hard time of it and three weeks is not long enough to regain his strength and vitality. In fact, if he is spared the Gold Cup, the horse I like at the moment for the National is Elegant Escape and I am not too bothered what weight he gets. He stays, he jumps adequately, without being unnecessarily exuberant, and has a touch of real class.
I do, though, hope that his owners allow Tiger Roll is chance for eternal glory. It would be a scandal if they didn’t. Yes, there is no denying that in Red Rum’s day, and especially before him, that Tiger Roll would most likely not have got as far as the first ditch, given his jumping style, but then in Tiger Roll’s time, as it will be said in decades to come, it is doubtful if Red Rum would have had the speed to win three Grand Nationals. When they changed the fences and the distance, the Grand National became a different type of race to the days of Sergeant Murphy (1923) the last 13-year-old to win the race, Teal (1952), Ayala (1963) or Maori Venture (1987). But it is what it is: the greatest horse race in the world bar none.