Equinties - Hendo yard day

Gm Equinauts

Losing a loved one is something every single person in life goes through, even if you’re one of the few reading this lucky enough to have had to deal with it yet, you will do. It’s one of the cruelties you didn’t know you bargained for when receiving the gift of life.

Even though it inevitable and a firm part of the deal of life, the loss of a loved is hard. There is a feeling of an unjust wrongness when it happens; the clock keeps ticking, the TV continue to air the same daytime crap, the radio broadcasting scripted guff between chart hits from Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

The world around carries on and to those hurting, it feels unfair.

Horse racing no different - ‘the show must go on’ as they say, and that darkness hanging over the racing world following the news that young Michael O’Sullivan sadly lost his life might be as quick to dissipate as it did envelope it.

As racing continues, perhaps those closest to Michael O’Sullivan, his family and friends, will be feeling that strange and almost unreasonable unjustness. Time is a healer though, and the racing world that keeps on, the world Michael lived and breathed, might just be the support they need.

No doubt there will always be a blue, vacuous hole haunting their hearts. That’s grief and that’s normal. But the human body has evolved beautifully to allow for such pain to live alongside the other great emotions life brings; our hearts and minds almost like a natural, infinite cabinet of memories and feelings accessible at any time.

Not only will Mikey live forever in his family’s infinite cabinet of memories celebrating his life, there’s an ethereal warmth knowing he will also continue to live in others too. Mikey’s family are donating his organs to those who need it so that those unfortunate enough not to have met him, are bloody fortunate enough that he lived. There was a strange comfort from reading that.

RIP Mikey O’Sullivan.

Let’s dive in.

HEADINE ROUND UP

FIERY HENDERSON

It was the annual Nicky Henderson pre-Cheltenham Festival stable tour yesterday. The bad and boring of racing’s media (not us) ventured over to Seven Barrows, and there were plenty of updates regarding CONSTITUTION HILL, LULAMBA, JONBON, and more.

Did we learn anything new about CONSTITUTION HILL or JONBON? No, not really.
Henderson was bullish that CONNY HILL would survive an electric Champion Hurdle pace if there was one, and JONBON is just cool, isn’t he?

But, the LULAMBA chat was interesting. After his success at Ascot earlier this season, Henderson was pretty sure that he would head straight to the Cheltenham Festival while his stablemate, PALLADIUM, would run in the Adonis this weekend.

Well, that could now switch.

He said: “LULAMBA is terribly well and he would have to have a racecourse gallop [anyway]. LULAMBA has only had two runs in his life, so it just occurred. PALLADIUM, with the way he’s been working and schooling, does he really need to [have a run]?”

By the sounds of it, LULAMBA is too fresh so another run would just take that buzz out of him so he can arrive on the start line in March calm and ready to race. Seeing him run this weekend would make Saturday!

About other horses, Hendo was very bullish about LUCKY PLACE for the Stayers’ Hurdle. We’ve been telling you he’s a nice horse all season, even when we backed SALVER against him. He’s been Seven Barrows’ dark horse to follow all season and they’ve probably kept him over hurdles, despite his size and scope suited to a fence, because the Stayers’ division is a shambles.

There seems to be an accepted judgment this season that TEAHUPOO just wins the Stayers’. But does he? He isn’t arriving on the back of a win (like last season) and it will take some effort to get him bang on with just homework.

Looking at LUCKY PLACE, he likes the track, is in fine and progressive form, has race-fitness and brilliant form from this campaign.

One would have to say that Henderson thinks LUCKY PLACE is a certainty to place, and he may well be underestimated in the market to win.

Of the girls, JOYEUSE is going to the Morebattle Hurdle. She could, theoretically, do the Morebattle Cheltenham Festival bonus if she was supplemented for something like the Mares’ Hurdle, but we think this would be unlikely.

SIR GINO

While on the topic of Nicky Henderson, we got an update about SIR GINO yesterday.
There’s not much for us to say, so we’ll just say it how it is. Things look positive, which is good to hear.

He’s till in the equine clinic, but he is stable and the vets around him are hopeful he can remain this way for the next week.

Henderson said: "There's still a way to go yet. He’s still in the clinic and he’ll be there for another week, but the vets are hoping that if he stays the same he might be coming out of the woods.

"It’s positive because he’s stable and he is where he is. He’s happy and isn't in any pain, but they’ve just got to get this bug under control. It’s a superbug that gets into them, but how they get in I don’t know. It’s very rare and it can be dangerous."
Fingers crossed for you, SIR GINO.

BULLISH OUTSIDERS

Speaking of Cheltenham Festival chat, the Racing Post have been flying through their stable tours for a few weeks now. It’s always fun to read the stable tours away from the main trainers like Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls, Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott etc because, invariably, you probably get a few more interesting answers.

Take yesterday, as an example. Ben Pauling and Nigel Twiston-Davies shared a stable tour, makes sense given they’re yard neighbours and there are a few nuggets to digest.

Let’s start wit Ben Pauling.

At the start of the season, he probably thought THE JUKEBOX MAN and DIVA LUNA would be his two big Cheltenham guns. However, fast forward the bulk of this campaign and one of injured and the other is “a lively outsider” if Pauling can “get her right for the day”.

So, who are the hopefuls at this stage? Weirdly, PERSONAL AMBITION in the Plate is, and we suppose we we can see why.

He said: “He’s had his four runs, which will qualify him to run in the Plate. He’ll have an entry in the novice handicap chase [Jack Richards] as well, but I think he’d be good enough for the Plate and I think the Old course will suit him better than the New course.

He’s improving all the time and would be an exciting one to watch.”

Pauling knows what it takes to win the Plate having taken home the spoils last year with SHAKEM UP’ARRY, and this lad is rated just 137. He has JANGO BAIE and KALIF DU BERLAIS form, and he could be a graded chaser in time.

He also likes NO QUESTIONS ASKED if he can get another run into him in order to run in the Martin Pipe. He is declared for Ludlow tomorrow.

He got 14lbs for finishing second to CALIFET EN VOL, and it says enough that they were happy to run him in the Sidney Banks off 124 rather than going for a lowly handicap. Keep an eye on him.

Finally, Pauling said JIG’S FORGE “wouldn’t have a dissimilar profile or level of ability to The Jukebox Man”, though he is a big price at 66/1 for the Bartlett. Interesting.

What about Nige? Well, fair play to the Twisters, they are still f***ing bullish about POTTERS CHARM.

He may have dented his reputation on Trials Day, and FINAL DEMAND may have arrived on the scene, but they wouldn’t swap their horse.

He said: “The last race was a bit of an afterthought and he just wasn't 100 per cent – Sam said even going down to the start he didn't feel like the same horse he'd sat on the rest of the season. A Grade 1 at the festival is always going to be hard to win, but we're quite bullish.”

Are they trying to sell themselves, the owners, or the public?
Look, his last performance wouldn’t see him get around in the Turners. It was bad. But, they have been so, so bullish all season, surely they can’t be that wrong. Maybe, just maybe, he’s the fly in the ointment?

Of the rest, BROADWAY BOY was mentioned, but again, he falls into the ‘Twister loves this horse’ category, so the maroon and beige-tinted glasses might be on.

He said: “It's all systems go for the Ultima, and he worked brilliantly last Tuesday. He's had a quiet time since his disappointing run on New Year's Day and he's had his knees medicated since. He could be a forgotten horse in that race.”
On his Coral Gold Cup effort, he has a chance.

RISK ON

We will play the bumper selection plus:

13.50 LUNDI NOIR

By far the best bred in this race and the money has come for it. A big pedigree NAP at 7/4.

14.35 BLACKSAMSENORITA

Another pedigree pick. The odds-on Kittow fave, who is so so badly bred, has been smashed off the boards from what we think are flattered rpr’s. Joe Tizzards girl is the best bred in the race and we think the step down in trip will suit. A strong ew at 7/2 if you’re that way inclined or just small win bet.

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