Road to the 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup

That kind of a year.
Nick Morden, remember him ?, is big onto Lord Windemere at a huge price.
4 for 6 on undulating tracks according to NM.
Did his last piece of work on the old Vincent O Brien grass gallop at Clashgannive, as per last year, and all systems go !
 
edgt said:
That kind of a year.
Nick Morden, remember him ?, is big onto Lord Windemere at a huge price.
4 for 6 on undulating tracks according to NM.
Did his last piece of work on the old Vincent O Brien grass gallop at Clashgannive, as per last year, and all systems go !
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I still hold hope anyway
 
You've made my day, edgt!
I'd written off a chunky early AP and a couple or so, to borrow a phrase, life changing, multiples with LW, Champagne Fever and Jetson as the core as I did last year.. I topped up on Betfair before his last run and did not expect him to run in the Gold Cup after that performance.
It sounds as though I'll at least get a run
 
Something said on ATR earlier during the Sunday Forum about BobsWorth staying on past horses that were ridden prominently in last years Gold Cup got me thinking.
So I've had another look at the race and it's changed my mind completely about the likely outcome of the race.
Sir Des Champs and Long Run also The Giant Bolster were ridden aggressively and seemed to be under pressure from an easy travelling Silviniaco Conti before his departure a couple of fences from the finish. He was nailed on to finish ahead of that group of that there's no doubt.
After SC fall the race had been set up for the staying on BW -past spent horses. If SDC had been ridden with more restraint during the race he wouldn't have been beaten so far , maybe by only 2L and not 7L. I think that BobsWorth has been over-rated.
His latest win where he ran on at the finish to grab victory can only be rated 170 by me in defeating First Lieutenant.
I have Siviniaco Conti on 173 and a revised mark of 171 for BobsWorth. However my top -rated is Captain Chris on 175 if only he could jump straight! Can't they change tack on him so he pulls to the left?
 
Whether your stats man or not, This one looks interesting

14 of the last 16 gold cup winners finished in the first 2 in the Lexus or King George
Which this season leaves with First Lieutenant more than likely going for the Ryanair
Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti
Interstingly the 2 exceptions were Imperial Commander and Bobs Worth
 
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fonz said:
Which this season leaves with First Lieutenant more than likely going for the Ryanair
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I reckon FL will line up in this as it looks to me like the drying ground will rule out Last Instalment


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Captain Chris to win the Gold Cup. I'm on @40/1 , 33/1 and 14/1 multis with others that have been backed. No after timing Slim- suspicious mind.
 
So that's why Triolo's price has come in. And there was me thinking it was my ew bet on Friday that had got the bookies running scared.
 
viking said:
I reckon FL will line up in this as it looks to me like the drying ground will rule out Last Instalment


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Agreed looking at ATR the owner more or less said that LI wont run unless the going 'soft'.
 
I just watched last years GC, and 4 anyone 2 say bobs worth(i backed it) was a 'gimme' this year, well i think they they' r takin from they're arse. I'ts quite clear that SC was goin better than anything 3 out and if he had of stood up who knows what would've happened. Let's face it B's W isn't in the same league at cheltenham as Best Mate, who had a passenger instead of a jockey. So 2 retain a GC, i don't think it'll be a 6/4 shot.
 
Secretariat said:
Let's face it B's W isn't in the same league at cheltenham as Best Mate
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Bobs Worth achieved more in winning the race last year, his first attempt at the race, than Best Mate achieved in any of his three wins.

There have been plenty of renewals in which Best Mate's best wouldn't have seen him in the first three.
 
Secretariat said:
I just watched last years GC, and 4 anyone 2 say bobs worth(i backed it) was a 'gimme' this year, well i think they they' r takin from they're arse. I'ts quite clear that SC was goin better than anything 3 out and if he had of stood up who knows what would've happened. Let's face it B's W isn't in the same league at cheltenham as Best Mate, who had a passenger instead of a jockey. So 2 retain a GC, i don't think it'll be a 6/4 shot.
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9.30 on a Sunday is very early to be that Pissed!!!

Best Mate wouldn't have been placed in last year's race
 
There has always been a strange hostility to Best Mate on the forum. I don't get it. No one can be certain from one year to the next but one things for certain, none of the mentioned horses would have jumped the fences so perfectly and so beautifully.

I certainly believe hes a better horse than BW and LR. For all that BM's gold cups were supposedly ordinary, i certainly do not think last seasons field was up to much once the possibly best horse fell
 
tiggers1972 said:
9.30 on a Sunday is very early to be that Pissed!!!

Best Mate wouldn't have been placed in last year's race
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What a pile of trash . Best Mate remains the most underrated Gold Cup winner of all time - he won 3 ffs. Something no other horse but Arkle has managed in the modern era .

He was disparaged - despite in 2002 beating a field full of Grade 1 winners simply because Commanche Court ran the race of his life to be second , in 2003 he destroyed all the fancied contenders and because Truckers Tavern ran on past exhausted horses he was disparaged for that and in 2004 it was soft and Culloty said he was not as fit as he should have been also Hen's other horses were badly out of form yet he still won . Carberry was clear that the soft ground was the only thing that enabled Harbour Pilot to get close.

I have no doubt Best Mate would have been good enough to win all the Gold Cups of the last decade - he would surely have outstayed Kicking King on his preferred good ground in 2005 for example except 2007-2009 and I suspect his brilliant jumping and ability to travel would have meant he would have served it up to both Kauto and Denman . Ratings mean **** all at that level. He would have beaten Long Run with his back legs tied together ! Now there is an overrated horse.
 
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clivex said:
There has always been a strange hostility to Best Mate on the forum. I don't get it. No one can be certain from one year to the next but one things for certain, none of the mentioned horses would have jumped the fences so perfectly and so beautifully.

I certainly believe hes a better horse than BW and LR. For all that BM's gold cups were supposedly ordinary, i certainly do not think last seasons field was up to much once the possibly best horse fell
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1 Some , particularly Irish contributors were antipathetic to the Hen and Terry show

2 He mashed Beef or Salmon on a regular basis except in a bog when he had suffered a bad cut on the way over and was suffering from the virus that eventually appeared to damage his heart and take his life.

3 Ratings obsessives couldn't believe the evidence of their eyes so preferred their numbers.
 
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