Tataniano skips Arkle

Whyno

Tataniano was a surprise withdrawal from the Irish Independent Arkle Trophy at the confirmation stage.

The six-year-old, trained by Paul Nicholls, bypasses Tuesday's two-mile novice championship at Cheltenham in favour of the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase on Friday.

"He's absolutely fine, but we just didn't think he was good enough for the Arkle and he's going to go for the Grand Annual instead," said owner Andy Stewart.

"It was obviously disappointing when he was beaten by a horse of Emma Lavelle's (Suntini) at Newbury last time and while he could be placed in an Arkle, he probably wouldn't be good enough to win it.

"Novices have a reasonably good record in the Grand Annual and he should have a good chance of winning that, so hopefully it works out. We obviously lined Poquelin up for the Grand Annual last year but that didn't work out, so hopefully Tataniano can do the business. I may still have a runner in the Arkle as I own Nomecheki."

Irish adversaries Captain Cee Bee and Sizing Europe are set for a deciding showdown after 17 horses stood their ground for the Arkle. When they clashed at Leopardstown on Boxing Day there was little between them at the final fence until Captain Cee Bee came down, leaving Sizing Europe to land the spoils.

Connections of both horses report their charges to be on song for the big day and trainer Henry de Bromhead said: "Everything is good with Sizing Europe and it is just a case of keeping him in one piece now. He's done plenty of work and we'll just keep him ticking over now until he heads over to Cheltenham on Saturday.

"We obviously had the trouble with transit fever last year but we have a few ideas of how to do things differently and try to prevent it happening again, so hopefully it was a one-off."

The Eddie Harty-trained Captain Cee Bee, successful in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in 2008, returned to winning ways at Naas last month.

"Touch-wood, he's on course for the Arkle. He's in great form and fingers crossed he'll get there in one piece," said owner JP McManus's racing manager Frank Berry. "He goes there in good order and we hope for the best."



Was unexpected imo.....Alot of antepost bets gone by the wayside on that one i reckon

prettyboy81

Me thinks they bottled this one....if they think the horse is good enough to be placed, then who knows what could happen in the race on the day, with fallers, horses not running to form, being pulled up, etc.....

premierstone

prettyboy81 wrote: »

Me thinks they bottled this one....if they think the horse is good enough to be placed, then who knows what could happen in the race on the day, with fallers, horses not running to form, being pulled up, etc.....

Yeah with question marks over the top three in the market I thought they would give it a go, while I didnt think the horse was good enough to win an Arkle he wasnt that far off and it looks far from a vintage Arkle IMO

Morgans

I would think that Ruby would have a fair idea of the standard of the Irish and English novices, and where Tataniano sat in the pecking order.

I do think that its an open race and there are a few outsiders that I like.

I'm Delillah shouldnt be double the price of Woolcombe Folly and Mad Max. 66/1 does not reflect her chance. While she might not win, I could see her running a big race.

Also, I think Nicanor could run his best race over fences, strong pace and better ground. Never will be the horse that he could have been, but he is a strong traveller. The fact that Carberry is jocked up on Mad Max suggests that there isnt a whole pile of confidence behind him.

All that being said, I do think Somersby is the most likely winner.

RichieLawlor

I really like Somersby aswell, and nothing will jump better, its a feature of most of Hen Knights horses ( Best Mate was the best jumper ive ever seen )

The time of the Henry VIII was unreal in that it was quicker than the Tingle Creek over the same course and distance an hour later ( And TM went a real good gallop ) but without a doubt his jumping won him that race.

Saying that IF Captain Cee Bee puts in a clear round i think he will win. He beat Zaarito after over a year off which time has proven was a cracking run, Zaarito is far from a mug over fences.
Then at Leaopardstown over christmas he kicked half a dozen fences out of the ground and still came there absolutely trapping along down to the last. Thers no doubt he would have won had he stood up. The engine is still as good as ever.
He was much better at Naas apart from the last fence blunder but he probably lost concentration as he was hacking around that day.
Add in his course form and he is a deserving Fav imo.

Saying all that Somersby is by far the safer bet at a bigger price and a place banker but With a clear round the Fav goes in, imo

Colonel Sanders

Must admit I'm struggling to find a bet in this race. Captain Cee Bee comes here with more than smart form over fences and obviously a festival victory in a hot renewal of the Supreme

Somersby jumps extremely well but might need a bit further

Sizing Europe looks to have put his troubles behind him and is another good jumper

The only bet that sticks out at me is to oppose Riverside Theatre. His form over fences is nothing special and he couldn't hold a candle to the likes of CCB & Sizing over hurdles. I'm not much of a layer these days but a place lay could be on the cards if less than 7/4 on the day

Nulty

Somersby has got the confidence behind him now, his price is collapsing. McCoy might be the only one keeping Cee Bee at the top. Somersby has got the pace and the jumping. Ought to be fav IMO. Even Henrietta Knight has been quoted as calling him 'special' and 'exciting'. Will take all the beating if he's ready to go.

Cracking bet (7/1 NRNB) when Cee Bee and Sizing were all the rage, into 4/1 @ PP now.

Somersby jumped at Sandown like Forpady did at Cheltenham last year. Spot on.

P.S. OP - leave out the essays in bold. very hard to read