We are now just a few weeks away from the biggest event of the National Hunt season and excitement is reaching a fever pitch among punters.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup has long been the most prestigious race in the calendar and it always serves up an exhilarating spectacle. It is run over 3 miles 2½ furlongs at Cheltenham Racecourse, taking in 22 fences, and represents a real endurance test. The Gold Cup carries a prize purse of £625,000, and marks the high point of the most important festival of the season, so it always attracts a superstar field. They bid to join the likes of Arkle, Best Mate and Golden Miller in the history books by achieving legendary status. Here are the leading contenders for glory this year:
Might Bite
If you check out the horse racing spread betting at Sporting Index you will see that Might Bite is the frontrunner. He romped to victory in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, which is the crown jewel in the winter jumps events. It is an important race to win in its own right, but the King George also serves as an excellent barometer for Gold Cup success.
Best Mate, Kauto Star and Long Run all won the King George and then went on to claim the Gold Cup in recent years. Boxing Day was the last time we saw Might Bite and the victory extended his winning run to five races. He likes Cheltenham, as he won the RSA Chase in dramatic fashion here last week, so his favourite tag is understandable. Trainer Nicky Henderson won this Blue Riband event in 2013 with Bobs Worth and he knows he has another superstar on his hands here. “He has been three miles round Cheltenham and he has got up the hill,” said Henderson. “I see no reason why he won’t get it. It’s not much further and he is another year stronger.”
Native River
Colin Tizzard’s eight-year-old chestnut gelding won the Grade 2 Denman Chase at Newbury in comfortable fashion on February 10 and instantly became the second favourite for the Gold Cup. He finished second in the Gold Cup last year, and this month’s victory is his only race since then. He has won four of his last five races and beaten some impressive chasers, and Tizzard believes he has got his big race preparation “dead right” ahead of next month’s showpiece. He will be extremely fresh and well-rested for the big race and could really threaten as they charge up the final hill.
Sizing John
Last year’s champion returns to defend his crown and he is currently third in the betting. Sizing John relished a step up in trip last season and went on to win a treble of Gold Cups at Leopardstown, Punchestown and Cheltenham. His performance at Cheltenham last year was sensational as he surged clear of Native River and won it by 2 3/4 lengths under Robbie Power.
Heading into the current season, Jessica Harrington’s Sizing John was seen as the one to beat, and he returned to action with a fantastic win in the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown. However, he flopped in the Christmas Chase at Leopardstown on December 28, where he finished seventh, well behind the winner, Road To Respect. The vet described him as “clinically abnormal” after the race and he has not been since. If he recaptures the magic of last season he will have a great chance of winning another Gold Cup, but that is a big if right now.
Our Duke
Sizing John’s stablemate Our Duke is next in the betting and jockey Robbie Power said choosing which one to ride in the Gold Cup was extremely difficult. He likened it to Ruby Walsh having to choose between defending champion Kauto Star and the legendary Denman ahead of the 2008 Gold Cup. Walsh went for Kauto Star, and Denman defeated him. Power opted to remain on board Sizing John, but conceded that Our Duke could well dethrone him. The jockey has been on Our Duke during all 10 of his runs, and he has delivered some superb performances, including victory in the Grade 2 Red Mills Chase this month. He is attracting a lot of ante post action and is likely to be in the mix at the end of this race.
The Rest
The field is studded with superstar talent and there are plenty of longer shots to look out for. Definitely Red, a 16/1 shot, has won two Grade 2 contests in a row ahead of the Gold Cup and has the legs to threaten here. Road To Respect conquered Sizing John in December and looks an interesting option, while Total Recall and Killultagh Vic are both strong runners. Further down the field, last year’s beaten favourite Djakadam stands out at 40/1, while the legendary Cue Card is another intriguing shout at 33/1.
