Great Dualists, Geldings, Tudhope Wins Appeal & Yesterday at Punchestown.

There never was a clash between Arkle and Flyingbolt, arguably the two greatest steeplechasers in the history of the sport. There was for Himself a short-lived rivalry with Mill House which was settled in pretty quick order. Flyingbolt, though, was the only true rival for Arkle's crown. With Arkle, of course, there is no debate; he remains the greatest chaser, perhaps racehorse, of all time. In his era the Gold Cup class horses had to run in handicaps, as the King George at Kempton was the only other non-handicap he could run in. If only there were not a King George, Himself, as he was known in Ireland, might have won 5 or 6 Gold Cups and run in a Grand National, a race Pat Taaffe longed to ride him in. But no, as with Flyingbolt, his career was cut short by an injury to his pedal bone. Flyingbolt contracted brucellosis, a bacteria infection that can spread from cattle to horses to humans.

In more recent times we had Kauto Star versus Denman, the latter achieving immortality by winning two Hennessey Gold Cups under the burden of top-weight. Not quite the 12sr 7Ibsor more associated with the weights Arkle had to carry but for modern times a great achievement. To my mind, Sprinter Sacre apart, Denman was the best steeplechaser since Arkle, though when it comes to overall records, Kauto Star has the greatest claim for being the best since Arkle.

It is a sad indictment that the careers of Arkle, Flyingbolt and Denman were shortened by injury or disease and along with Kauto Star, they also were not blessed by a long life in retirement.

I have no doubt that neither Gaelic Warrior or Fact To File are in the same bracket of excellence as the aforementioned 4, though their rivalry is beginning to match similar levels of intrigue. As with Arkle/Flyingbolt and Kauto Star/Denman, Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File are stable-mates, though unlike the first two pairings, Willie Mullins has no fear of pitting his star duelists against each other. It happens again today at Punchestown.

If either of the two are to go on and join the pantheon of true greats, perhaps following in the footsteps of Galopin des Champs, I believe it will be Gaelic Warrior. Both, of course, have their quirks, though Gaelic Warrior, as he matures, does seem to be closer to the perfect chaser than Fact To File, a horse whose owner and trainer are indisposed to think of as a Gold Cup horse.

I am happy in selecting Gaelic Warrior to come out on top on this latest duel between the pair, though I am wary of Inothewayurthinkin returning to the form of his Gold Cup success.

Stuff comes to me without me even thinking about it. Yesterday, as I walked down to the river, my brain asked me why there are no races for geldings on the flat? It is a perfectly reasonable question, isn't it. Whenever it is debated why geldings are not allowed to run in the Arc or the classics, defenders of the status quo suggest that geldings would have an advantage over colts and fillies. Whether this is because it is considered that being gelded allows for a more amiable temperament, I am not quite sure, especially when so many geldings in National Hunt ruin their chances by misbehaving, getting over-excited, sweating profusely or bolting to the start. There is no reason why some handicaps cannot be restricted to geldings or allowing them to take part in listed or group races, perhaps with a 3Ib penalty for suffering the lose of their manhood, as if that can be advantageous to either man or beast.

I was pleased to read that Danny Tudhope has won his appeal against a 8-day ban imposed by the Newmarket stewards for failing to pull-up at the appropriate moment when his mount has lost all chance of winning. Tudhope argued that My Mate Alfie only became obviously lame at the furlong marker and that he pulled-up and jumped-off immediately he recognised the problem. The stewards at Newmarket were of the opinion that My Mate Alfie had gone lame two-furlongs before.

My initial thoughts on the matter when I learned of Tudhope's suspension were two-fold. Firstly I found it hard to believe that a jockey as experienced as Tudhope would not pull-up a horse as soon as he recognised the problem, and secondly, if guilty, the suspension was far too lenient.

As usual for Punchestown in April, the results were all over the place yesterday, though at the end of play, Willie was on top again. Apparently, reading between the lines, Paul Townend, unusually, got a ticking-off from his boss for his ride on Kitzbuhel, followed by great praise for his ride on Il Etait Temps. If I was wrong about everything else, I was right about Blake. He may not have won but again he gave encouragement to believe there is a big race waiting for him to win in the near future.