TC- he has just as much right to be in the field as the others but as I said the one thing most (if not all) of those he will face will have experience over him at is the racing/jumping at Championship level.
We have seen a fair number of National type horses that are taken out of their comfort zone early on at that pace (which is relentless and requires slick enough jumping to hold your position) and we will probably know quite early on if HC is able to cope with it.
To win a Welsh National and Gold Cup in the same season is a very big ask, Burrough Hill Lad (off just 10-9 in the Welsh National!!!) and Master Oats are the only ones to do it in recent memory with Master Oats winning both on heavy ground (his Welsh National was run at Newbury).
The one thing that is good for me is just how open the big three Championship races are looking at this stage with the QMCC having the shortest priced favourite at 13/8.