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Agree, DB – looks a huge ask off top weight first time up, especially if we believe the horse is short of peak fitness. Could bottom him out if they arent careful…
Abragante and Bible Lord off low weights for me…
With Hard Act To Follow not taking his chance, I’ve had a few quid each-way on Strong Flow.
New Alco and Character Building for me. Guaranteed stamina, low weight, and effectiveness in conditions very much in favour of the latter.
Awesome performance from Denman. He is the one to beat in the Gold Cup now.
Fully agree. Sit him anywhere among the first 4 in the GC, watch him take it up going out on the final circuit, gradually wind things up and they won’t get past him.
Awesome performance from Denman. He is the one to beat in the Gold Cup now.
Fully agree. Sit him anywhere among the first 4 in the GC, watch him take it up going out on the final circuit, gradually wind things up and they won’t get past him.
Possibly a little bit hasty chaps?
Without taking anything away from Denman, who was simply superb today, on good ground at Cheltenham (and is it ever anything else by the time the Friday rolls round?) I can see Kauto getting a lovely tow from Denman, and beating him with a turn of foot.
This was a mighty weight-carrying performance, and Denman is very obviously right in the mix, but I don’t think he is necessarily the one to beat, on the back of it. Kauto Star still has better form in the book, though I concede possibly has less scope for further improvement, and is not so authoritative a jumper.
Feck….maybe Denman is the one they have to beat!
FWIW, I have Denman on 174+ for today.
It’s got to be high 170’s on the bare form imo, value for plenty extra on top to boot. Without crabbing Kauto Star, it’s stronger handicap form in all likelihood than either of his efforts at Aintree. And with the promise of more to come.
I know which one Sam Thomas will want to ride.
They’ll have to put up the "House Full" signs if he comes to Leopardstown.
Can’t wait!You cant get too caught up by the "exact" distances as he won with so much in hand. It was a 180 plus performance imo
It’s got to be high 170’s on the bare form imo, value for plenty extra on top to boot. Without crabbing Kauto Star, it’s stronger handicap form in all likelihood than either of his efforts at Aintree. And with the promise of more to come.
See edit above, DJ – I’ve got it low-to-mid-170’s with the promise of more to come, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say "plenty extra" myself. I think it’s probably a shade better than Kauto’s mark from Aintree…..possibly 3 or 4lbs better, imo……..but Kauto’s Aintree form isn’t his best by a good half-stone at least.
Each to their own interpretation TDK……..I can’t have the performance as high as that myself.
Has Kauto’s form reached a plateau now though, Grasshopper?
KS will also always be a "heart in mouth" chaser with regard to his jumping, whereas Denman is much more in the Best Mate mould in terms of raw jumping ability. The Gold Cup could be a very exciting clash ~ let’s hope they both just get there in form and in one piece
Well, that’s the 64-million-fazool question, TDK, isn’t it?
Have we seen any evidence that Kauto Star’s form has levelled-out? Dunno, but if it has, it’s levelled-out somewhere in the 180’s, I’d suggest. As breath-taking as Denman’s performance was, I can’t have it that he has ran to that high a mark today. Hindsight may prove me wrong – we’ll see – but I still think Denman has a few lbs to find, before I’d agree that he’s the one to beat in a Gold Cup.
I guess the question I ask myself is whether I think Kauto Star would be capable of giving 19lbs to Dream Alliance, and beat him head-in-chest. The answer is an emphatic yes, imo.
I take nothing away from Denman’s performance today, which as I’ve already said, was superb. But I don’t think it was a 180 performance, and I don’t particularly think it makes him the one to beat in a (likely) small-field Gold Cup, run on likely quick(ish) ground.
On today’s form alone, I’d put him right between Exotic Dancer and Kauto Star. What I’d be worried about if I were Clive Smith or Robert Ogden would be PFN’s insistence that the horse is very hard to get right and that he’ll come on for the run. If that’s still the case then we could be looking at a very special animal!
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