Don Cossack just had a real tough rough race against Unixandre who carried 6lbs more than Vautour and clocked a faster time than him.
A mistake at a crucial time that would have put most horses out of the race was ignored as he fought his way back into only to be the meat in the sandwich and stopped in his tracks.
Someone said his fall at Kempton was that of a tired horse but if you watch himin the Ryanair he looked as if he has gone and will be lucky to jump the last.
He puts in a great leap clearing the fence by a mile and storms up the hill to finish 3rd.
Only a very good horse can do that and I'll be damned if he didn't have a tougher race that day than Djackadam.
If Djackadam was suffering from a hard race when he ran at Punchestown he made a good job of hiding it.
WPM wouldn't have sent him if he wasn't up for it, he's gone of a short priced favourite and he's beaten Road to Riches 4 lengths further than he did in the Gold Cup.
You could argue that the ground changed on the Friday at Cheltenham and it was tougher for the horses but that's a fallacy.
For one it depends if a horse goes in softer ground or not and Djackadam's best form is in soft ground which will be a huge minus for him if it's good fast ground this year.
I do think he's a plodder and talk of him having the speed for a Ryanir based on beating Valseur Lido over 2m4f doesn't do it for me.
Gilgamboa is slow and he finished right behind Valseur Lido that day so it would appear like Valseur Lido basically needed it.
Thew biggest negative card was played by Noel Meade/Eddie O'Leary when he/they decided Road to Riches who finished just behind Djackadam in the Gold Cup would miss the race this time round..
I doubt if O'Leary and Meade did it because they are scared of Djackadam. They know better than anyone this is a much better Gold Cup and his horse has no chance off winning so he's heading for the easier option despite the fact he's still in the Gold Cup betting.
It's not a bad train of thought 6 year old finishhes 2nd in Gold Cup matures wins it next year but this is the best Gold Cup since Kauto Star kicked Denman and co into touch 
