Cheltenham Betting Tips, Cheltenham Festival Tips 2012 » Big Buck’s

Big Buck’s flies to fourth World Hurdle victory at Cheltenham Festival

Greg Wood — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:08:03 +0000

• Paul Nicholls’s hurdler wins 16th straight hurdle race
• Ruby Walsh’s mount stays on to beat Voler La Vedette

There was emotion in Paul Nicholls’s voice as he discussed Big Buck’s historic success in the World Hurdle, and it was the sound of relief as much as it was jubilation. Until that moment, the horses that Nicholls had sent to the Festival from his main yard in Ditcheat had performed poorly, but Big Buck’s is the horse that has forgotten how to lose and his win brought the confidence flooding back ahead of Kauto’s Star’s run in the Gold Cup on Friday.

Thursday’s victory was the 16th in a row for Big Buck’s, equalling the all-time record for wins over hurdles, as well as record-breaking fourth successive World Hurdle, and had the nine-year-old been harbouring an infection then the climb to the line would have brought it out.

Oscar Whisky had been expected to provide his most difficult test yet in the World Hurdle, and concern over the wellbeing of the Nicholls string saw him backed down to 4-1 as Big Buck’s set off at 5-6. Yet the challenger stopped to nothing as his stamina gave out at the bottom of the hill, and it was Voler La Vedette, a 20-1 chance, who emerged as the most significant opponent.

Andrew Lynch, Voler La Vedette’s jockey, looked to be travelling easily as the two horses ran towards the last, and switched her around the favourite to get to the stands’ rail. Her finishing effort was still not enough to get past Big Buck’s, however, and he stayed on with immense determination to maintain his run.

“This was the one race of the whole week that I wanted to win more than anything,” Nicholls said. “Of course I want to win the Gold Cup [with Kauto Star] but if I’m being realistic, just having him here [for the Gold Cup] is a privilege. But I really wanted to win this race for Big Buck’s, for Andy [Stewart, the gelding's owner] and for racing really.

“We’ve been struggling this week and we had a cough which started about five weeks ago, which is the last thing you want in the run-up to Cheltenham. The older horses have seemed to be all right and Big Buck’s was fine, but apart from Rock On Ruby [in the Champion Hurdle] it’s the slowest start to a Festival we’ve ever had.”

The tactics for Thursday’s race had been carefully planned, and Walsh took closer order with a mile left to run and then committed Big Buck’s in the straight.

“We knew that we had to ride him differently and be really aggressive,” Nicholls said, “which doesn’t really suit him as he could do with something taking him along a bit longer.

“He’s an awesome horse and the tactics were executed to perfection. It was a great ride [by Ruby Walsh] and when he pricked his ears going to the last, I knew that we were in business, because he just keeps galloping. There was no point letting it turn into a sprint.

“Ruby needed that, I needed that, the whole team needed that.”

Walsh, who started the week as the hot favourite to be the leading rider but has seen Barry Geraghty record five victories already, was winning his second race of the meeting. Like Nicholls, he will hope to complete a double in the final two feature races at the Festival when Kauto Star lines up for the Gold Cup.

“He’s never flat-out and he always has a bit left,” Walsh said. “I was confident enough that he would out-stay the others, and if I ever squeeze a bit more, he gives more, but I don’t know how much is there because I’ve never got to the bottom of him.

“I’m not dissing Black Caviar [who has won 19 consecutive races on the Flat in Australia] for one minute, but winning over six and seven furlongs on the Flat is some difference from going three miles over hurdles. Jump horses do so much more mileage, they are so much harder to get fit than Flat horses and they do so much more, so it’s an incredible performance by Paul Nicholls just to get him back here so many times.”

Having equalled the mark set by Sir Ken between 1951 and 1953 for successive wins by a hurdler, Big Buck’s will now attempt to claim the record outright in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree next month, a race he has also won for the past three years. He is also the clear favourite to win the World Hurdle for the fifth year in a row, in March 2013.

Big Buck’s has won a total of nine Grade One races, the same number as Florida Pearl and Hurricane Fly, and he will join Beef Or Salmon and Brave Inca in the all-time list if he can take the Liverpool Hurdle. He still has some way to go, however, before matching Kauto Star, who has 16 Grade One wins.

Big Buck’s drifted from 4-5 to 10-11 in the pre-race betting before he settled at 5-6, the biggest price he has been since taking the World Hurdle at 10-11 last season.

“I’d say the betting public have taken him to their hearts as well, and I think he ended up at a reasonable price,” Walsh said. “Big Buck’s is better than the banks.”

Greg Wood

Cheltenham Festival News from Racing Diary

Big Buck’s wins fourth World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival

Will Hayler — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:00:45 +0000

• Outstanding stayer equals all-time hurdling record
• Winner records his 16th straight victory

Big Buck’s once again defied all the doubters to make racing history as the first four-times winner of the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Sent to the front earlier than usual by Ruby Walsh, he fought off every challenger to equal the record for the most consecutive jumps races won, making it 16 from 16 over the past four seasons.

The Irish mare Voler La Vedette gave Big Buck’s a bigger scare than most have done when looming up in his slipstream on the run to the final flight, but Walsh’s mount met it on a perfect stride and galloped all the way to the line to win by a length and three-quarters.

In the final minutes before the race, Big Buck’s had drifted out to 5-6, having been far shorter in the betting earlier in the day, a series of poor performances from Paul Nicholls-trained runners seemingly leaving punters lacking in confidence.

Relief was evident as Nicholls celebrated the victory. “Apart from the Champion Hurdle it’s been a bit of a disaster this week,” the trainer said. “It wasn’t easy to get him here, to bring him back four years winning. We have had a problem with a cough as everyone knows and some have been running a bit below-par. I was worried, of course I was. Thank God for this horse. He pricks his old ears, keeps galloping and keeps winning. It means a lot to us that everyone is so fond of him and God willing, we’ll be back next year to try and win it again.”

Nicholls added that Big Buck’s will now aim to make it 17 and beat Sir Ken’s record when heading to the Aintree Grand National meeting next month.

Walsh also paid tribute to his mount, saying: “They were starting to doubt us, but boy, this lad is good. It’s not been a great week, but this is a horse you can always rely upon.

“I’m not dissing [unbeaten Australian mare] Black Caviar for one minute, but she’s running in five-furlong, six-furlong races – it’s easy to keep your horse fit for the Flat than to run him over jumps where it’s so much harder to keep bringing him back. I was up against speed horses so I knew I wanted to ride him handy, but the only one who really stayed was this lad.

“He drifted out in the betting today but anything near even money was good. He doesn’t lose. He’s better than the banks.”

It was not the only thrilling finish to the afternoon’s racing. Still riding the crest of the wave after securing a treble for Nicky Henderson on Wednesday, Barry Geraghty produced another brilliant performance in the saddle to take the Ryanair Chase aboard 7-2 favourite Riverside Theatre.

With the errant Captain Chris colliding into him in mid-air at most of the early fences, Riverside Theatre was losing ground at virtually every obstacle and Geraghty was niggling away at his mount from an early stage.

But Riverside Theatre, owned by a syndicate headed by the actor James Nesbitt, kept finding more and dug deep in a thrilling finish to draw alongside the reigning champion, Albertas Run, 100 yards from the winning post before edging ahead to score by half a length with Medermit the same distance back in third.

“Nothing would have ever prepared me for that,” Nesbitt said. “The courage of the horse and the skill and the perseverance of the jockey – it’s the thrill of a lifetime. There was bound to be the notion that he might not handle the track and the bounce factor but he looked beautiful in the paddock and Nicky has done a great job. He wasn’t travelling well right from the start, but what a ride. What a ride.”

In victory, Henderson passed Paul Nicholls in the trainers’ championship and could be on course for his first title for 25 years. “In fairness that was some great ride,” Henderson said. “I don’t think either of us was enjoying that a lot and I don’t think Barry was either as it didn’t look very likely all the way.

“They were always travelling a gear higher than he wanted to be in and it was some ride to get him home. You’d have to say he wants a step up in trip now.”

Willie Mullins continues to fly the flag alone for Irish-trained runners at the Festival and his third winner of the meeting came when Sir Des Champs maintained his unbeaten record in the opening Jewson Chase.

Also successful at the meeting 12 months ago, the 3-1 chance faced his stiffest task to date but relished the challenge and caught the enterprisingly-ridden Champion Court on the run to the final fence before pulling away to score by four and a half lengths under Davy Russell.

Mullins was left looking forward to next year’s Gold Cup and understandably so, for until he is beaten we still just don’t know how good Sir Des Champs could be.

“He was very good and I’m really looking forward to next year over longer trips,” the trainer said. “He was foot perfect. Davy asked him plenty of questions and he came up every time. A good pace and plenty of jumping will suit him best.”

The favourite, Peddlers Cross, failed to fire and will be sent back over hurdles next season, according to his trainer, Donald McCain.

Cape Tribulation (14-1) took the Pertemps Final under Denis O’Regan, beating Catch Me (14-1) by three-quarters of a length. “Days like these are why you get up in the morning,” said the Yorkshire trainer Malcolm Jefferson.

Will Hayler