zebs
At the Start
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- Dec 17, 2007
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Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Denman claimed Horse Of The Year honours at the Anglo-Irish Jump Racing Awards at the Cafe Royal in central London.
Paul Nicholls' powerhouse picked up the accolade for his exploits in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, Lexus Chase, Aon Chase and the totesport-sponsored blue riband, where he thumped the previous year's winner Kauto Star.
Those towering performances earned him a rating of 182, but that wasn't the highest figure given out by the awards panel as that went to another Nicholls inmate in the shape of runaway Champion Chase winner Master Minded, who finished the season on a figure of 186.
The awards were decided upon by a panel of seven, headed by British Horseracing Authority head of handicapping Phil Smith and senior National Hunt handicapper of the Irish Turf Club, Noel O'Brien.
"The Horse Of The Year title goes to the horse who has made the greatest contribution to horse racing on both sides of the Irish Sea," explained Smith.
Denman also tops the champion three-mile chaser category having retained his unbeaten status over fences in his second year over larger obstacles.
O'Brien explained: "Denman has only been beaten once in his life and was highly progressive throughout the season. He won the Hennessy off top weight and then provided us with one of the most mouth-watering Gold Cups for years with the champion taking on the champion-in-waiting.
"Kauto Star wasn't at his best during the Gold Cup but Denman jumped brilliantly, forced the pace and was a worthy Gold Cup winner."
Smith added: "When we started doing this I thought it would be hard for a Gold Cup horse to achieve over 180, so for Denman to produce that performance was great."
I think Denman is a fine Chaser & hopefully we will see more of the same when the NH seasons starts ...
Paul Nicholls' powerhouse picked up the accolade for his exploits in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, Lexus Chase, Aon Chase and the totesport-sponsored blue riband, where he thumped the previous year's winner Kauto Star.
Those towering performances earned him a rating of 182, but that wasn't the highest figure given out by the awards panel as that went to another Nicholls inmate in the shape of runaway Champion Chase winner Master Minded, who finished the season on a figure of 186.
The awards were decided upon by a panel of seven, headed by British Horseracing Authority head of handicapping Phil Smith and senior National Hunt handicapper of the Irish Turf Club, Noel O'Brien.
"The Horse Of The Year title goes to the horse who has made the greatest contribution to horse racing on both sides of the Irish Sea," explained Smith.
Denman also tops the champion three-mile chaser category having retained his unbeaten status over fences in his second year over larger obstacles.
O'Brien explained: "Denman has only been beaten once in his life and was highly progressive throughout the season. He won the Hennessy off top weight and then provided us with one of the most mouth-watering Gold Cups for years with the champion taking on the champion-in-waiting.
"Kauto Star wasn't at his best during the Gold Cup but Denman jumped brilliantly, forced the pace and was a worthy Gold Cup winner."
Smith added: "When we started doing this I thought it would be hard for a Gold Cup horse to achieve over 180, so for Denman to produce that performance was great."
I think Denman is a fine Chaser & hopefully we will see more of the same when the NH seasons starts ...