The End Of The Master Minded Years? - PLOG(Punter's Blog) from Roy Waterhouse Steeplechasing

IT TOOK place a month ago, just about, to the day that I'm writing this, but is it too late to write something about the Punchestown Festival?

For the time of year that it's run at - plus the fact that it is now a five-day meeting and the good stuff is interspersed with mid-grade handicaps - the Grade 1-races at Punchestown usually hold up very well.

A good example was the Kerrygold Champion Chase over 2m, the track's version of the Queen Mother at Cheltenham. It's very possible that the Kerrygold will prove pertinent where the 2010 renewal of the two-mile steeplechasing championship is concerned, because it confirmed suspicions first aroused after Master Minded's workmanlike - rather than impressive - second win round Prestbury Park that, if he ever was a wonder-horse, he's not now.

For the first mile and three quarters he was the Master Minded that we've become familiar with, sailing over his fences and travelling like a dream. Then he turned for home, Ruby Walsh had to get serious, Queen Mother-faller Big Zeb made up ground on him and was shaping up to take his measure at the last. Colm Murphy's new stable star, on the retirement of Brave Inca, then picked that moment to make the mistake that, ultimately, cost connections a big pot.

So whatever the ante-post markets may say over the Summer - and I haven't looked - the hattrick of Queen Mother Champion Chase wins for Master Minded isn't the certainty that his second victory looked at this time in 2008. However, as far as I'm concerned, unless Big Zeb's jumping improved, he isn't the one to take the crown.

Instead, as a potential two-mile chasing star of the future I'm looking at Barker, impressive winner of the Swordlestown Cup Novices' Chase. After his all-out Arkle win, Forpadydeplasterer - a serial idler otherwise - reverted to type, finishing a distant second, but I fancy that even if he'd run to his Cheltenham form, he'd have lacked the pace to trouble Barker, a Pierse Hurdle winner as recently as 2008. Barker jumped soundly and I'm looking forward to seeing him in 2009/10.

The one that Forpadydeplasterer beat narrowly at Cheltenham, Kalahari King, was off the bridle from a long way out before going one better at Aintree and proved even less genuine when chasing up Twist Magic in the Celebration Chase at Sandown, so for me Kalahari King will start the new season as one to oppose every start.

Punjabi has a stronger constitution than I thought, and is a stronger stayer than I first reckoned too, and the Champion Hurdler came back after the hardest race of his life - one that would knock out many a horse for the remainder of their careers (it may have done just that for Champion runner-up Celestial Halo after his poor effort in the Aintree Hurdle) - to push the up-and-coming hurdling star Solwhit all the way in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle. The winner there was following up what had been a career-best at Aintree, and is one for the 2010 Champion Hurdle shortlist, but needs to jump better at Cheltenham.

The horse Solwhit beat in the Aintree Hurdle, Fiveforthree, got something out of a season that started late for him - the 2008 Ballymore Properties Hurdle winner only reappeared on March 17th - when proving himself over 3m in winning the ladbrokes.com World Series Hurdle. I couldn't be sure how strong the form is, with the exposed Pettifour (top candidate for staying novice chases in 2009/10) the one to chase him home, but Fiveforthree is as much a contender as any for the World Hurdle at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival.

'What about Big Buck's', I hear you cry - well, with that one's run style usually to come off the bridle earlier than most, I have a feeling that he's just the type to start a run of poor efforts when he's next seen, and he could be going back over fences anyway. World Hurdle runner-up Punchestowns might take the chasing route too, so there's a potential window of opportunity in the staying hurdling division.

One who'd be interesting in the 2011 World Hurdle ran in the Land Rover Champion Novice Hurdle over 2m4f. Not Mikael D'Haguenet, who did what was expected, but the third home, the four-year-old Bouggler, who, in a steadily-run race that didn't suit him, couldn't have run better, though he lost his unbeaten record.

Bouggler was clearly the best horse on show at the totally pointless Kempton meeting on the first Saturday in March and followed up in the Mersey Novices' Hurdle at Aintree, getting the better of Copper Bleu and earning Champion Hurdle quotes, a subject which John Parrott and Gary Wiltshire discussed on the BBC in the immediate aftermath of the Aintree race, the World Hurdle not getting a mention (if there's one combo that just doesn't work when it comes to racing TV coverage, it's Parrott and Wiltshire - I'd like to see Wiltshire on his tod though).

The reason why I'm saying 2011 not 2010 for Bouggler is that, historically, it's been difficult for a five-year-old to win the World Hurdle. I'm not saying that he can't do well in it in 2010, but that'll be his five-year-old season and he might be better still in a year and a half.

Last but not least before moving on from Punchestown, the track is of course the home of cross-country steeplechasing and Garde Champetre showed himself the one to beat in that discipline at Punchestown as well as at Cheltenham when winning the La Touche Cup under Miss Nina Carberry. As form in this type of race goes it looks strong, as the one to chase Nina and Spot Thedifference's replacement home was Silver Birch, the 2007 Grand National winner who, when last seen, was looking very strong when falling at second Becher's in the 2009 Aintree showpiece (what might have been...)

Still in non-racing work
My regular reader may remember that in my post-Aintree PLOG, I said that my Presentations Operator-job was under threat.

There is an update to report, which is good news, for I still have my job. To be honest we didn't lose that many people, and boom follows bust, so eventually, the folk we've lost, we might see some back. Give it a couple of years.

What do I do next?
There'll probably be another PLOG in the offing. Away from the website, there'll be more research in to past results and I'll be feeding all sorts of combinations into Raceform Interactive - about the first thing I did when I knew my job was safe was to buy that for the first time - so that my head is full of ideas when September comes round.

Then, when it's Autumn, I'll be up after my morning's sleep - half an eye on the form and the TV, the other eye shut (at least to start with) - and I hope to bring you more PDF Previews, more Reviews (hopefully I'll be at more meetings) and more jump-race analysis.

An emailer once described this website as an 'excellent resource', and 'resource' is the most accurate description of what I'm trying to do, and what I'll continue to do.

Contribute to the PLOG
The PLOG-idea is a 'work in progress'. Ultimately I don't want it to end up with just me writing something every so often, I'd like to include some content from site visitors as well. Send me your opinion on this PLOG - or anything to do with jump racing, your mails don't necessarily have to be about PLOG content. Either way, email roy@rwsteeplechasing.co.uk.

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