Speaking exclusively to BOYLE Sports, seven-time Cheltenham Festival-winning jockey Noel Fehily has described Final Demand as "Unbelievable" and offers his insight into the modern day market for horses.
Elsewhere, Noel reflects on the Cheltenham November Meeting saying the weather didn't help track conditions but was bullish in his defence of L’Eau Du Sud saying "they all can't have unperformed".
The piece concludes with an insight into the strength of his Syndicate Horses, the return of the Tizzard Yard, the rebuilding task ahead of the Nicolls team and a reflection on Kopek Des Bordes performance at Navan.
Final Demand
“Unbelievable” Final Demand
Oh My God. Final Demand was phenomenal. As good a novice chaser as I've ever seen. He looked unbelievable there. Wingmen, the horse who finished second, is rated 139, and he beat him by 13 lengths! I don’t know what he would have cost, but it would have been plenty. He would have cost upwards of £500,000. As a three-year-old unbroken, he was £230,000!
They would have doubled their money. He’s owned by Bryan Drew, who had Bravemansgame, who won the King George, and Caroline Tisdall, who used to have horses with Martin Pipe.
The Horse Market
The good ones are very hard to buy. I'd imagine the top ones, the really good ones, they have, get well paid for. The middle market and downwards isn’t quite as strong. Dan Skelton is buying loads. He’s got big new owners, Lindy and Mark O’Hare, who sold their company to Goldman Sachs last year.
Paul Nicholls spent a few quid at Cheltenham the other night, which he hasn’t done for a while. Gordon Elliott is always buying and spending big. You don’t see Willie buying too many top lots at the sales. He does it quietly, under the radar and before they come to market. He also buys a lot in France, where everything is bought privately.
The really good ones are getting well paid for. They're so hard to find, the really good ones. But the middle market and downwards is probably not as strong as everyone wants.
Cheltenham November Meeting
Cheltenham November Meeting
I suppose the weather didn't help. Not the weather at the weekend, but the weather leading up to it. A lot of horses hadn't had their first runs, so the horses were having their first runs at the meeting, which probably took from the meeting a little bit.
In the Greatwood Hurdle, so many horses in the race were having their first runs of the season. The winner, Alexei, had two runs. You couldn't get them out. Two weeks ago, the ground was good to firm everywhere.
L’Eau Du Sud Schools Jonbon: “They Can’t All Have Underperformed”
I thought L’Eau du Sud was very good, beating Jonbon. He did really well. They have got a good one there. Dan Skelton thought the world of him last year, and then he admitted after the race the other day that maybe he trained him wrong last year. He destroyed the field. I know Jonbon didn't perform, but there were others in the race. They can't have all underperformed, surely, but he was in a different league. It'll be interesting to see how he goes in the Tingle Creek.
Sir Alex [Ferguson] is great for racing. They've built some serious firepower. A few trainers will miss him when he stops buying them! I don’t really know him, but I rode winners for him once or twice. I've spoken to him once or twice, but I wouldn't know him that well.
Our Syndicate Horses
The syndicates have been going well. We have 46 [horses] now, 41 over the jumps and five on the Flat. We had three winners the week before last, and we'd won last week. Helnwein ran a good second in the Greatwood, which was terrific. Our horses are in good shape. Elsewhere, you’d have to be impressed with Alexei. I thought he was very good. He looks like a horse on the up now. He was good at Ascot and better at Cheltenham at the weekend. He looks like a horse that's improving with racing.
Paul Nicholls’ No Drama This End looks a good thing too, winning the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham. Paul’s talking him up, comparing him with some big names. But that was a good performance, a Grade 2 first time out. He was a good bumper horse last year. He was probably the best novice hurdler we've seen this year so far in this country.
The Stables Shaping the Future
Tizzard Yard Welcome Return
Yes, it is. They had four winners. It is great for him. They were great about eight, ten years ago, then, like all things, it was cyclical. But didn’t they have some great horses, Thistlecrack, Native River and Cue Card? Joe has been trying to find the next good one. He had a very good weekend. That horse that won the Greatwood, you’d have to be very impressed with him.
You'd wonder where he could end up pitching him in. Would he climb the ladder enough to be a Champion Hurdler? He looked like a horse that's massively on the up. He still has a long way to go. But I'd imagine he's going to be rated 140 plus after that race at the weekend. He definitely looks like a big improver.
Paul Nicholls Rebuilding Task
It’s not straightforward. It is so hard. It is so competitive now. He is having to go again. But the signs are good. You need people reinvesting all the time. That is what Willie Mullins is very good at, and Dan Skelton is very good at it now as well. They're buying horses for a year's time; they're not buying them to run this season. They're buying horses for a year; they're buying a year in advance the whole time.
But you need owners to be investing to do that. And they're doing that every year, they're building another team for the following year, not this year, for the following year. It's having owners to invest and be patient. Paul Nicholls had all those great horses at one time. You think it will never stop. You need the next batch coming through, don't you? That's the hard bit, but Dan Skelton is very good at that now as well. He's capitalising on his success, which you have to do.
Kopek Des Bordes
Kopek Des Bordes Statement Performance At Navan
Very good. He jumped okay through the race, and when Paul [Townend, jockey] let him go, I just thought he was seriously impressive from the second last to the line. He just looked awesome.
People are talking about Henderson's Lulamba too, with a possible head-to-head in the Arkle. Lulamba won OK down at Exeter, but he didn't beat an awful lot. He'd have a way to go to catch up with Kopek.
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