The Paddy Power Aftermath & Rhythm?!

1) Not being "at the races" is a problem.

Expectation can work both ways. I expected several things all of them wrongly because I was at work and not near a TV on Saturday: the ground was bordering on heavy with work done for g/s; Grand Crus lined up - inconceivably - at the back of an 18 runner field on deep ground when I had expected him to sit third or at least no deeper than sixth; and, given it was Pipe and the horse's first run of the season, that any physical problem would have been picked up long before this race. The latter you would have expected to have been sorted after the RSA but is a part of racing in any case. The first two combined to leave any analysis of Grand Crus, positive or negative, to be irrelevant: name the last horse to set off stone last on deep ground in a big-field top-level handicap and win? Those errors are mine: don't expect something especially when you're not around to check on it. Lest we forget there was no win single bet on Grand Crus - the race held little appeal overall - I used innate genius to double him with Darlan, a non-runner! Expect to lose, then.

2) Substantial problem(s) identified about a key horse should not be transferred onto their opponents.

Re-forming opinions is essential. Many stick doggedly during a season or over many seasons to an assumption, a belief, or a hope. That can pay off once but what of all the other times? The above expectation (largely shaped from the Feltham win over Silviniaco Conti and Bobs Worth and that devastating mid-race move which probably bottomed/hurt him) coincided with a total lack of credible unexposed opposition. Nothing with an OR between 146-149 is inconceivable. To identify strong weakness in a key horse (or favourite) is enough, there is no need to search and question the opposition for their strengths, just let the problem horse fade. Instead, largely dissatisfied with the quality of the race as a whole,  the tables get flipped. Makes no sense now, of course. On heavy ground any hint of weakness or physical problem pulls a horse out of shape, it hurts them. Focus on the weaknesses of the assessed horse, not the weaknesses identified in a more generic abstract sense about the race, I'd say.

I wonder if it was "Pipe's insanity" to set the horse off last, or whether they knew in any case of some underlying problem. Regardless, he remains of little to no interest in any backing sense; I wonder how much the front two will progress this season.