TIME FOR RUPERT and BIG BUCKS jumping the last in The Ladbrokes World Hurdle.
This photograph sums it all up perfectly. Despite everybody's faultless endevours and the most perfectly run race by 'RUPERT' and William, we still finish effing second!!
We are so proud of 'RUPERT' but equally frustrated that the only one of the four 'bankers of the festival' to come up trumps, has to be in his race.
The bIG stage at Cheltenham is such an important marketing tool for us and we need to grab those BIG headlines in order to attract the owners that will give us an even better chance to compete. 'RUPERT' was a 40k purchase and here he is battling away with one of the many horses that cost hundreds of thousands of euros from the big stables. Do NOT read this as a bunch of sour grapes, i'm merely pointing out how difficult it is to 'steal the spotlight', on the biggest stage.
My father always told me that the most important part of being a trainer, was to get yourself into the position to buy the best horses. This is precisely what Messrs. Henderson, Hobbs and Nicholls have done so professionally. We have no doubt that we too can identify those horses and that all of us at Cropredy Lawn can nurture, train and produce them for the big day. We will get there.
We've just got to work out a way to..... "Corral more of the fastest Mustangs! "
"OUR STABLE NEEDS YOU."
Sorry to come at this from a punter's point of view rather than that of a wealthy potential owner...I've been 'offline' jumps-wise for a couple of years and only decided two weeks ago to look for a potential best bet at Cheltenham. I saw Luke Harvey's ATR Video feature and immediatley fell for Time for Rupert. I watched reruns of his races and was convinced he'd be capable of upsetting the champion. I reran the video of Rupert's Aintree win alongside Big Buck's victory a day earlier in the Liverpool hurdle and was astonished to see him 70yards ahead at one stage, and he finished the race 5 seconds in front. Big Buck's is a worthy champion but if he'd had one of his customary flat spots, or been just 1% off his game, we'd (I'd) now be celebrating big time. First rate tactics and a superb ride. A magnificent effort by all concerned. Time For Rupert will win the 2012 Gold Cup. Good luck.
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