A memorable Paul Nicholls trained 1-2-3 in the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup saw Denman partnered by Sam Thomas leave stablemate, last year’s champion and 10/11 favourite Kauto Star ridden by Ruby Walsh, a full 7 lengths behind to take the title and the quarter of a million pound winner’s prize at Prestbury Park on Friday 18th March.
Going, Good to Soft
A field of 12 runners stood waiting for the off and with the going reported as ‘Good to Soft’, this heavyweight clash between stablemates and the most fancied horses in the betting for this years Gold Cup was an eagerly awaited spectacle.
First Meeting
As both horses had never raced against each other, despite having arrived in adjoining horse boxes, debate about the eventual winner was merely conjecture. Some felt that the ‘nimbleness’ and guile of Kauto Star would prevail, whilst others that the sheer brutish power of Denman would leave his rival behind.
Both were fancied and the 65,000 packed into the grandstand were certainly in the mood for a great race.
Early Running
The third horse from the Paul Nicholls stable, Neptune Collonges, ridden by Mick Fitzgerald set the pace during the early part of the race, and would go on to make real fist of overtaking Kauto Star for the runners up spot, only missing out by a short head to Ruby Walsh’s mount.
It was 9-4 2nd favourite Denman however, that strode away in the latter stages and his trainer was full of praise for him after the race:
“Denman was awesome. He jumped and galloped and put Kauto on the back foot really. The moment I first saw the horse with Paul Barber (joint-owner) we said ‘wow’”
He had 3 reasons to celebrate after this race, talking proudly about the 2 runners up, also from the Paul Nicholls stable. He continued:
“Neptune Collonges has been improving all the time and Kauto ran a good race too, but they were beaten on the day by a better horse. It was a great performance, good for the whole team. Just brilliant.”
This hotly anticipated race had been an exciting contest throughout, with the shear strength and smooth jumping of Denman winning out. The 80th running of this most prestigious race had witnessed another classic and it marked the end of another great festival meeting.
The feeling around the racecourse was jubilant and a number of punters interviewed after the last race simply said “roll on next year”.
We couldn’t agree more.
