I just popped on the forum when i heard the release of SO6 was imminent, and it would appear some are quite exited about this to say the very least (it reminds me of a south park episode where eric cartman literally can't wait for the release of the nintendo wii), but in fairness it looks great from the promo and i will buy.

But for those of you who have exhausted SO5 at this point here's a little challenge that i guess will be unique to this game and might just stretch it out a bit more.

Rules

1. UK jumps schedule only, on easier mode
2. AI owner mode
3. Must train horses (not simple training model)
4. Must win ANY race at the cheltenham festival, but only with one of the original stable horses you started the game with on day one.
5. No changing of any of the above rules

And that's it... i've been giving it a lash myself for the last few evenings and it's not easy, best i've done at this point is 5th in the JLT (the horse went on to win the 3m hcp chase at aintree btw)

As im sure most of you would agree the AI owner mode is flawed, it was never meant to be perfect in this version and was in my opinion a great idea thrown in to see what people thought about it and how it could be improved upon, based on my experience and the feedback on the forum im more than optimistic this will be tweaked so the owners in the game don't end up making you feeling a little bit cheated and worthless, its not so much that after two impressive wins and a close 2nd in a decent race he decides to take your good horse away and place it with someone he's very pissed off with (at this point im always like "ok mate, fine, lets see how it goes for you and the guy you hate") no, for me the worst thing is that this good horse you hoped would put you on the map and attract other owners with...sits in the other guy's stable... and never races again....ever, and every time im just left spying on the other stable and thinking "oh god.. just prove you were wrong and run it ffs, the other guy was never as good as me and never will be, i hope the recession was not kind to you at all and i hope you go bankrupt!!!"

So with this in mind the real challenge of the ...em.. challenge is to be wise enough or lucky enough to keep your horse at your stable for enough time to meet your festival target, then all you have to do is win. Its ok to exit, delete and restart if you dont like the stats but once you go day 2 thats it, and you can take as many seasons as you wish to complete.

2 screenshots required, one on day 1 and one to prove festival glory. For any of you who dont know how to take screenshots of the game, im one of you, but i'll take the time to find out how i do it.

Hope some of you give it a go, id be interested to see how you got on.

Taking screenshots - While your in game press and hold the 'Fn' button (bottom left on keyboard) then press 'Prt Sc' (top right) at the same time, your screenshot will have been taken even thought you wont know it has. Then go into paint or photoshop and press the paste tab, your screenshot will appear, crop it and resize if you have to, save it and upload it to the site or an image hosting site.

Here is my best effort so far with all her races - http://postimg.org/image/x9dadjxm9/ http://postimg.org/image/t9a6f6h8l/

Im gonna go with this one today, got the highest rating i've seen for a horse in owner mode so could be guaranteed a run over fences at least at the festival in the novice handicap chase? To start i'll have to use some of the others as sacrificial lambs in the the hope 'the go partnership' feel they're being harsh and leave me the good one to train for a bit.

http://postimg.org/image/p44mz2p0j/
http://postimg.org/image/qxfqomlrr/

Going to plan so far, they have culled 2 from the stable and left me with the good one after running 2nd in a 2m2f novice chase on debut on ground he didn't like. He's entered in the novice handicap chase on day 1, he'll be carrying top weight but its my only hope of getting decent ground, there's a bit of improvement in him as the extra trip will suit and he wasn't 100% fit for his first run, so im still hopeful.

http://postimg.org/image/80gu5gxc1/
http://postimg.org/image/wje05l2et/

Very Tough Challenge mate you are on target

The day of the big race and im in pretty good shape, the ground is against me and all the other horses are in the handicap but we no longer have top weight and the bookies have us down as favourites and that'll do for me as they're the best judges.

http://postimg.org/image/4wn65inmd/
http://postimg.org/image/j7sxaoyl5/

Could only manage 3rd in the end, still a good effort considering his weight and he didn't like the ground. I'll put him away till next year now in the hope the ground and his jumping gets better.

http://postimg.org/image/6ctegl6gl/
http://postimg.org/image/5pgkhj7c5/

Well i may just have messed up his chances at the festival, i wanted to get 2 runs into him beforehand so he was entered in a 2m4f hurdle race at the start of january, 3 days before the race he got ruled out due to a bout of diarrhea (seriously) which initially i was annoyed about but got a little laugh when i remembered his name, anyway that put him out for 2 weeks which effectively made it a rush to get him ready for a prep race before cheltenham. I needed him to go up in the handicap a little to qualify him for the byrne group plate otherwise the ryanair and possibly the martin pipe hurdle were the only race open to him, if 2 horses in that race got entered above me i was out so the only suitable option in the schedule was a 2m5f conditions race. Like i said it was a bit of a rush getting him ready for that race and as a result he ended up a bit fitter than i had hoped, the plan was for him to be maybe 3rd and go up in the handicap 6-10lbs and get him in nicely under 11st in the byrne group plate, anyway because he was so fit and possibly i didn't give the jockey orders he ended up winning the race and going up 21lb... as a result it looks like he'll be carrying 11st8lb. I know that winning conditions races sometimes flatter to decieve but considering that he'll still improve from that prep run is he worth a try in the ryanair now that he's rated high enough? Or see if he'll still get into the martin pipe hurdle even though he's never seen a hurdle? or just stick to the plan?

http://postimg.org/image/bpla0b1bv/
http://postimg.org/image/gzfygrei1/
http://postimg.org/image/g7gopxs7p/
http://postimg.org/image/y516jyt49/
http://postimg.org/image/s00u5i6g3/
http://postimg.org/image/6uc3811yb/

Come on lads and lassies the fate of Fire Balls lies in your hands, please cast your vote and i promise i'll honour the poll. I'll leave it open for a little while...

Long range ante post weather forecast

Thurs 17th Mar - Byrne Group Plate, Ryanair Chase : Showers

Fri 18th Mar - Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle : Slight Risk Of Showers

Gets in at the bottom of the weights in the martin pipe, all things considered its the best bet and the poll confirms. Hopefully next season he will have a crack at some good chases.

http://postimg.org/image/ab4dd5p7n/

Day before the race and he's been backed in the ante post market, now 13/2jf. The ground has come in his favour, set to be good to firm.

http://postimg.org/image/83tp5zysj/


The big day and he's cut again, 11/2jf.

http://postimg.org/image/g4ob4m47t/

Well done Davylad!

Nope... only 3rd in the end and in reality no chance with the winner who won on the bridle. The setback in january really didn't help and probably he's a much better chaser so will try in good races and hope to come back better prepped next year.

http://postimg.org/image/52jwtbv7f/
http://postimg.org/image/53bvzl5dh/

Well done again Davylad... what happened your horse in th national trial? and did 'S Mason' give you much bother? Bit nervous about my lad at the moment, in fact im pretty sure 'the go partnership' are preparing the horsebox as i write this.

It was pulled up which may have helped its handicap mark, but to be honest this wasn't the horse I was hoping to win with, I just entered all the horses in whatever race they were eligible for and got lucky with this one.
The owner seemed happy enough but still took away one of his horses after only one run, and he looked like this