Tom
Member
*Of Royal Blood*
Posts: 15,419
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Post by Tom on Apr 8, 2017 20:53:34 GMT 1
Didn't see the race but saw the results earlier Also 5th for Gas Line Boy I wasn't even sure that would finish, it seemed a complete no-hoper!
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Post by Panda on Apr 8, 2017 21:11:41 GMT 1
Didn't see the race but saw the results earlier Also 5th for Gas Line Boy I wasn't even sure that would finish, it seemed a complete no-hoper! There's no such thing as a no-hoper in the National anymore. The quality has improved a great deal in the last 20 years and the days of horses going off 250/1 and 500/1 are long gone. By the time the race started today the longest price was 80/1 and those that are longer prices tend to be due to a lack of speed rather than jumping ability. Since the fences were rebuilt in 2013 with plastic cores there have been no fatalities in the National and the effects of that were shown today when Saphir De Rheu went crashing through a fence but was able to get straight up and gallop off. Such an incident with the old fences could well have ended in disaster. Also, we came very close to having a record number of finishers. With one fence to jump, 26 horses were still running (the record is 23 in 1984) but five were pulled up before the last fence and two were pulled up after jumping the last. On a cooler day where the heat would have less effect on the horses, the record may have been broken and I wouldn't be surprised to see the record broken in the next few years.
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Tom
Member
*Of Royal Blood*
Posts: 15,419
|
Post by Tom on Apr 8, 2017 21:22:40 GMT 1
Didn't see the race but saw the results earlier Also 5th for Gas Line Boy I wasn't even sure that would finish, it seemed a complete no-hoper! There's no such thing as a no-hoper in the National anymore. The quality has improved a great deal in the last 20 years and the days of horses going off 250/1 and 500/1 are long gone. By the time the race started today the longest price was 80/1 and those that are longer prices tend to be due to a lack of speed rather than jumping ability. Since the fences were rebuilt in 2013 with plastic cores there have been no fatalities in the National and the effects of that were shown today when Saphir De Rheu went crashing through a fence but was able to get straight up and gallop off. Such an incident with the old fences could well have ended in disaster. Also, we came very close to having a record number of finishers. With one fence to jump, 26 horses were still running (the record is 23 in 1984) but five were pulled up before the last fence and two were pulled up after jumping the last. On a cooler day where the heat would have less effect on the horses, the record may have been broken and I wouldn't be surprised to see the record broken in the next few years. Thanks for that, I admit this is the first year I've taken interest in the Grand National for a long time. Maybe no-hoper was a bit strong but from what I read about Gas Line Boy it had crashed before and even if it didn't it was likely to be outclassed. I didn't expect it to come anywhere near 5th!
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