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I have a feeling we won’t be seeing him coming over for the King George next season – likely to go the old GDC route of John Durkan, Savills, Irish Gold Cup and then Cheltenham.
Not so sure about that, LD – he isn’t at his best at Leopardstown and connections may feel they have unfinished business from this season’s King George.
Fact to File likely to go Lexus all being fit and well you’d think
I put Kitzbuhl up for the KG in the big races, maybe a year early?
Gaelic Warrior could do either or neitherGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Hmmm I think Final Demand might be better than Kitzbuhel
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
He might be around Cheltenham or in Ireland but Kempton looks tailormade for Kitzbuhel
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
If there is no GDC and given how well GW ran in the Irish Gold Cup (despite pulling far too hard), I would say they might think there is unfinished business at Leopardstown too – he has also grown up plenty since those poor runs at the track.
I do agree that Kitzbuhel looks tailor made for the King George (after his Kauto Star Novices Chase win) and the fact that he simply outstayed Final Demand in the Brown Advisory (no real excuses to me) makes me think he could also be a live contender for the Gold Cup itself down the line.
I do wonder whether Mullins would consider sending one of them over for races lke the Charlie Hall and/or the Betfair Chase at Haydock (where he will almost certainly get the soft ground he is looking for
)The John Durkan could be a real interesting starting point next season as you could see all of the above (and likely some others) turning up for it given Mullins does tend to go mob handed in the race (he had 6 of the 10 runners this season).
Who says the John Durkan should be the starting point? For a two-horse race it was a hell of a test this season. With Willie’s horses needing softer ground more than ever it might be Savill’s, DRF and Cheltenham. Or maybe the John Durkan after all with Kempton and Cheltenham without the unfinished Leopardstown business. I’m sure Willie is going to leave that as late as possible. After all he’ll talk to JP first.
Nathan, Gaelic Warrior is my nomination in the ‘NH Horse Of The Year’ category.
I also nominate this thread for a number of categories such as ‘Thread of the Year’, ‘Thread of the Decade’, ‘Thread of the Century’ and you as ‘Poster of the Year’.
Make Ricci ‘Owner of the Year’ unless someone finds Ian Gosden more exciting and JP the ‘Runaway villain of the Year’.
Thanks….Should be an easy five-timer in those categories.The John Durkan is nearly always the starting point for the vast majority of his top chasers and a lot of his Gold Cup type horses given that it is 2m4f which is the right distance for a first run of the season i.e. not a 3m slog in deep ground.
This year’s race was also run of soft/heavy ground so invariably its the right ground conditions for his horses too. This year it contained the Gold Cup first and third and the Ryanair winner so it is likely that all three of those horses will start there at least.
“Hmmm I think Final Demand might be better than Kitzbuhel”
Final Demand is a big fat boat who is a year older than Kitz and not as good
Final Demand is a big fat boat who is a year older than Kitz and not as good.
Isn’t that what Prof. Tisdall loves to buy? The old fashioned chasing type….
We,ll see Green , he’s the more likely GC horse
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Too heavy to carry his own weight up the hill over 3m2f. Same as Fact To File. Age is against him too- he’s there failing to win a BANC at the same age as Al Boum and Galopin were winning their first gold cups. We’ll see at Punchestown, I suppose , if they dump enough water on for him not to wreck his big legs.
Ultimately, Final Demand got outstayed by Kitzbuhel and even though Kitzbuhel’s pedigree suggests that 3m would be beyond him, horses often outrun their pedigree (see Gaelic Warrior who has a middle distance flat pedigree) and had the Brown Advisory been an extra furlong Kitzbuhel would have likely put more distance into Final Demand by the line.
Final Demand reminds me a little bit of Allaho, in that 3m might just be the upper limit of his stamina, if you watch the way he travelled through the Brown Advisory he obviously has a very high cruising speed and taking advantage of that weapon and just blasting off in front over 2½m of say the Ryanair (like Allaho did) maybe the better way to go rather than trying to hold onto him to get the trip in a Gold Cup.
Timeform have left Gaelic Warrior on 174, saying that his Cheltenham run was on a par with his defeat of Fact To File in the John Durkan.
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