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 Buveur D'air 
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Post Buveur D'air
This will be controversial and i suspect not to everyones liking but i have long suspected even before Kempton that Buveur D'air was being lifted to a status that he wasn't deserving of, Now this may sound strange to say this of a Dual Champion hurdler but take that out of the mix and lets break down what he actually has beaten over hurdles, The Strongest horse he has beaten so far is Samcro and we know that fences and 3 miles will be Samcro's game in the future and my impression of Newcastle's race was one of a sprinter vs a long distance runner, At the finish of that race Samcro was going backards whilst Buvair D'air was moving forwards exaggerating the performance visually

Buveur D'air has come back hurdling from an aborted chase career which was only aborted due to the fact that the 2 mile division over hurdles was woeful at the time therefor a half decent horse could be chucked into the Champion Hurdle and win it with ease which sounds alarm bells already

The horses he has beaten since Febuary the 4th 2017 include

Rayvin Black (Not a good horse at all)

My Tent Or Yours (A horse who couldn't win for well over 2 years dispite being odds on in Multiple races and spoonfed easy tasks but still failed)

Irving (A horse who would only perform in the part of the early season and then fall to pieces like an Italian Sportscar)

The New One (Who won over a million pounds in prize money but earned that money taking on complete crap in graded races which had the cheek to be called graded races)

John Constable (Thrown out of Aiden O'Brien's yard because he only won once in 11 starts and only improved that tally by 3 in his hurdles career, Best of which was the Swinton Hurdle which is a handicap)

Melon (Who has been a disappointment to Mullins compared to what was expected of him as a novice), The Fact tis horse managed to get so close to Buveur D'air in last seasons Champion Hurdle should be sounding air raid shelter sirens.

Verdana Blue, A solid flat performer but no superstar and nearly a stone below Buveur D'air on ratings.

The conclusion is very clear, Buveur D'air has been spoonfed obvious oppotunities and because racing needs champions the press and the handicapper have over bigged him up, Some might argue that he might not have been at his best a couple of times but i simply cannot have that!!!!

I suspect once a horse comes along who has the profile of Faugheen or Hurricane Fly or Annie Power or any horse with a super high standard again then Buveur D'air will be history

For me Laurina could be just that horse, Already getting 7lbs before they jump off and i would bank my last penny that Laurina is much better than Verdana Blue!!!!


Fri Dec 28, 2018 6:18 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Interesting post,

I agree with most of it, hes certainly not imo deserving of ledgendary status (the top 1%) i would say hes in the class just below maybe the top 2/3%? and because the pool of Champion hurdler contenders has been so weak for a couple of years now, hes been getting away with it.

I think most would agree hes not the Hurdling equivalent of Altior.

I wish Apples Jade would have challanged him before now, because until they race really decent horses (like each other) i can never place them on terms with horses like Altior.


Sun Dec 30, 2018 12:39 am
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
InValid wrote:
Interesting post,

I agree with most of it, hes certainly not imo deserving of ledgendary status (the top 1%) i would say hes in the class just below maybe the top 2/3%? and because the pool of Champion hurdler contenders has been so weak for a couple of years now, hes been getting away with it.

I think most would agree hes not the Hurdling equivalent of Altior.

I wish Apples Jade would have challanged him before now, because until they race really decent horses (like each other) i can never place them on terms with horses like Altior.


Do you think Altior is beating a great batch over Fences? Im not so sure, although the style of his victories show him well clear of them


Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:31 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Think your being massively unfair about Buveur D'Air you've listed all these horses he's beat. Yes MTOY's rarely won but he was an above average horse who didn't give himself a chance for most his career. The New One is a multiply grade 1 winner so you can't says he not a good horse. He can only beats what's put infront on him. He beat the next big thing in samcro easily.

As for the Altior argument I'm not even getting started.


Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:54 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
PeterS94 wrote:
Think your being massively unfair about Buveur D'Air you've listed all these horses he's beat. Yes MTOY's rarely won but he was an above average horse who didn't give himself a chance for most his career. The New One is a multiply grade 1 winner so you can't says he not a good horse. He can only beats what's put infront on him. He beat the next big thing in samcro easily.

As for the Altior argument I'm not even getting started.



I wasnt having an argument about Altior, I was trying to say that he hasnt been beating superstars but is clearly clear of them and a top horse (similar to Buveur D'Air) as u say you can only beat whats in front of you


Sun Dec 30, 2018 7:24 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
The problem with the phrase "you can only beat what is in front of you" is that it tends to be an excuse for the lack of quality and also an excuse for when a better horse comes along and smashes a horse such as Buveur D'air to pieces, The standard what ever way you look at it in the championship division of the 2 mile hurdling ranks is still very weak indeed and only Laurina can change that trend( Apple's Jade will for time immortal continue going down the mares hurdle route as the O'leary foghorn seems to soundoff that they go for the races that are winnable, I think Benie De Dieux her but that's just me), I do not dislike Buveur D'air at all but some of the accolades that were being put upon him were getting ridiculous, I was hearing "the equal of Istabraq" "best horse to win a champion hurdle in the last decade", Very cringe worthy stuff when he has faced next to nothing


The problem is if you state an opinion opposing these substandard suprstars especially on social media then the abuse regardless that all opinions are equal is vile which is a shame because this sport is based upon opinions


Altior i suspect is a victim of his own success and the yawning shadow the Sprinter Sacre has cast over him doesn't help his cause, Whatever Altior does he is going to have a real job shifting that shadow because Sprinter is considered by most including me as the best 2 mile chaser ever in his prime

Can Altior do that?, Only time will tell as the real test will only come about when the younger horses face him and it may be the case that he gets away with beating a below average bunch for the rest of his career and it tells us very little about him other than what is already known


Sun Dec 30, 2018 10:02 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
You might have took the istabraq comment the wrong way. Were they not referring to it being that they both would have won 3 champion hurdles. Thats how i took it. He's still to win a 3rd though.

As for altior is Un De Sceaux / Douvan not superstars. He also probably won one if the best supreme novices in a long time.


Mon Dec 31, 2018 11:05 am
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Istabraq would have certainly won 4 Champion Hurdles were it not for foot and mouth

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Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:55 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Altior to my knowlege has yet to beat Douvan through misfortune of course, You can only really count a defeat if both finish the race or else a no man's land of if's and but's will manifest, Un De Sceaux is a legend in his own right on sheer numbers, He will end up before retirement with 20 plus wins which for a national hunt horse this is a pretty rare feat, Lob in two festival wins and it's pretty hard to find anyone who would say anything bad about him, Personally he has been one of my favourite horses.

I Cannot see Buveur D'air winning in March, I think Laurina at 5/1 is a totally crazy price, If you look at her festival win last year she could be called the winner just after the third last, She will be getting 7lbs before they jump off and a 152 rating is an insult to her, Maria's Benefit had the same rating before being smashed 20 lengths by Laurina when Laurina was barely breaking sweat, Laurina to me has to be at least 163 and when the 7lbs is added that would make her 170


Istabraq was badly robbed of four Champion Hurdle's but fate is a funny thing, I certainly think no less of him, He left a legacy which few racehorses ever manage to do, Ask any average man on the street about Istabraq and the name will spark a positive response!!!


Mon Dec 31, 2018 5:35 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
I'm excited about Laurina, but i wouldnt go as far to say 5-1 is a steal to win the Champion Hurdle, this is a horse that is yet to run this season, The horse will still need to improve from last season to be in contention for the Champion Hurdle, which as we've already seen with Samcro is not allways the case for all top Novices.

I wouldnt put anyone off the bet, but its not personally enough to tempt me at this point.


Tue Jan 01, 2019 8:47 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Jumpings the name of the game, aint altiors fault douvan fell so for me he's beat him. As for Laurina, yeah theres no doubt she was impressive last year and could be anything but if were picking faults in form. Whats she really beat? And is it not worrying she hasn't raced yet..


Wed Jan 02, 2019 10:38 am
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
If that is the way you work then fair enough but i don't see it in that manner, Both horses have to finish the race for me before i can start saying anybody beat anybody, As for Laurina she beat a 152 rated horse by 20 lengths, Verdana Blue has a rating of yes you guessed it 152, I am not worried at all that she hasn't run yet infact a big amount of Willie Mullins horses haven't been out yet, Both Benie Des Dieux and Laurina are entered up on Saturday at Sandown

Annie Power run less than a month before the Champion Hurdle and Penhill won't run until the Stayers Hurdle itself, I have no fears when Willie Mullins is in charge!!!


Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:55 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
Ain't Altior's fault Douvan fell, suppose mt point is, he has beaten top class horses. Just now nothing want's to take him on. He even beat Un De Sceaux easily on his favoured conditions.

As for Maria's Benefit rating, she ain't a 152 horse. I'd say Verdana Blue is a much better horse than Maria's Benefit. The cheltenham run was a joke really. Willie sent the other horse just to mess Maria's Benefit about and she'd ran her race half way round. She'd obviously went to fast. So the margin of the defeat is irrelevant to me.

If not saying Laurina isnt a good horse because she is, but for people to be so certain about her after just a novice campaign after what's happened with samcro is silly. As for the absence she's been entered up in other races but hasn't made them that is what would worry me.


Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:14 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
You must think Hurricane Fly is overrated then? TNO had him back in 4th after he was almost brought to standstill in the 2014 Champion Hurdle by the fall of the unfortunate Our Conor? TNO would have won that Champion Hurdle if he wasn't so badly hampered. During his career he won multiple G1's and over a 1M in prize money and you call him overrated and crap?

You've been wrong on here many times before and you're wrong again on this.


Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:08 pm
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Post Re: Buveur D'air
As for Laurina....she was given a RPR of 160 for beating a middle of the road handicapper at Sandown. The RP rating guys have fallen into the hype trap! Last season she beat a horse who was last seen being pulled up in an 8K chase over Christmas. Oh, and she beat another handicapper at the Festival in Cap Soleil.

Buveur D'air on the other hand is a 2 time Champion Hurdle winner and put the latest "wonder horse" from Ireland firmly in his place.


Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:19 pm
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