Big Fella Thanks Profile 

Ferdy Murphy is one of the most experienced and productive trainers currently active on the National Hunt circuit. Ferdy Murphy trains some of the best horses currently racing in jump contests.

Big Fella Thanks is a nine-year-old Bay Gelding and one of the highest profile horses currently under the control of Ferdy Murphy. Ferdy Murphy has only had the horse for four races and acquired the animal from colleague Paul Nicholls.

Big Fella Thanks

Big Fella Thanks is a brute of a horse and a racer that likes to sit in behind the leaders of a contest or be held up towards the rear. The first race in the career of Big Fella Thanks came on January 5 2008 over 24 furlongs at Chepstow.

The execution of the hold up style of Big Fella Thanks was perfect and the horse held off competition to win by ten lengths. This first win was quickly followed up by a second as Big Fella Thanks enjoyed a successful career start. 

Ruby Walsh led Big Fella Thanks to a nine length win on January 29 2008 over 24 furlongs at Taunton. Walsh sat the horse in behind the leaders and stayed on at the end when the rest of the field tired.

Strength of Big Fella Thanks

The main strength of Big Fella Thanks is the ability of this horse to stay on when under pressure. When Big Fella Thanks just gets the sight of a rival in the corner of its eye, this seems to give the horse a little extra gas and pushes the Bay Gelding forwards.

Another strength of Big Fella Thanks is the stamina. Big Fella Thanks looks comfortable racing over huge distances because the style of the horse means it is never doing more than it has to until the later stages of a race.

Negative of Big Fella Thanks

A negative of Big Fella Thanks is the inability of the horse to recover after making a mistake. Big Fella Thanks does not have the best jumping style out of all horses in National Hunt racing which means bumps at fences are more likely to slow down the horse.

Another main negative of Big Fella Thanks is the way the horse likes to run. The style of the horse is hold up but this is dangerous because in long races, the leaders can often get quite far ahead. This leaves Big Fella Thanks with a lot of ground to make up and sometimes too much.

Form of Big Fella Thanks in 2011

The form of Big Fella Thanks in 2011 has not been poor but it could have been much better. The horse has raced over 20 furlongs and 21 furlongs in mid-February and the start of March.

These performances at Ascot and Newbury have both produced fourth place finishes which suggests that Murphy may be trying something a little different with Big Fella Thanks. The form of Big Fella Thanks in 2011 should only go in one direction.