Cheltenham Gold Cup and Aintree Grand National 2008

Three weeks today the Cheltenham Festival begins and every National Hunt enthusiast will be eagerly awaiting the Cheltenham Gold Cup which will be run on Friday 14th March. There will be a packed winners circle for every race and no gaps as there were on Trials Day in January. Kauto Star will be opposed by his stable companion Denman for the first time. I must admit to being a Denman fan. I use to be a Mill House fan in the days of Arkle but there was nothing that could stop Arkle, apart from the terrible injury he sustained in the 1966 King George VI Chase at Kempton. Kauto Star is a super horse, but if the Gold Cup is run at a good pace, and if the going is soft we might well see a new champion in Denman. Last year Kauto Star’s stable companion Neptune Collonges set a steady pace and when the field came into the straight for the second time there were at least ten horses in with a shout. It was the change of gear that Kauto Star showed that won him the race. A good gallop on soft ground makes the three and a quarter miles seem like three and a half miles. If it comes to a slog up the Cheltenham hill I think it will suit Denman better than Kauto Star. Racing is all about opinions which is what makes it so interesting. It would not surprise me if we had seen both the Gold Cup winner and the Grand National winner in last years Royal and Sun Alliance at Cheltenham. Here at level weights Denman beat Snowy Morning by ten lengths. We all saw Denman run a smashing race in winning the Hennessy Cognac Cup at Newbury on the 1st December 2007. Here Snowy Morning was receiving 18lbs from Denman and strongly fancied to beat him. Unfortunately he fell at the 7th fence. Denman went across to Ireland for the Lexus Chase at Leoparstown where at level weights he beat The Listener by four lengths. Then in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown at level weights The Listener beat Snowy Morning by six lengths. It was interesting that Ruby Walsh chose to ride Snowy Morning here in preference to Hedgehunter. Snowy Morning has been alloted 10-12 in the Grand National. He looks to be on a very handy mark.

Going back to the Gold Cup and as mentioned in previous blogs there is usually something that sneaks into a place at long odds. Halcon Genelardis was paid a further compliment by Miko De Beauchene at Haydock last Saturday. Miko De Beauchene carried top weight to victory over the three and half miles in the Red Square Vodka Gold Cup Handicap Chase. In the Welsh National at Chepstow Miko De Beauchene beat Halcon Genelardis a head when in receipt of twenty one pounds. Now if it comes up soft or really heavy on Gold Cup day not many are going to truly stay the distance. Keep an eye on the weather, Halcon Genelardis could well be the each way value.