if fit? surely a tilt at King George kempton Boxing Day must be a serious consideration

downallstar: that's an interesting suggestion!
Nobody seems to want to forgive Sizing Europe for not winning the Champion Hurdle in 2008, and he's constantly slagged-off. Me? I think the horse is a dependable, solid jumper, with a bit of pace at the business end, and a great cruising speed.
Current odds for the Gold Cup of 20/1 tho' are a joke. He should be treble that at least and so he just is not value at all.
All the same, a good suggestion.

Yes, 20/1 for Sizing Europe with the bookies would seem to offer little value at this stage, though currently around odds of 40 on here is a bit more like it. Hard to fault what he achieved last season. Jumped soundly (back problem reported after the CH run appears to have been overcome)and easy enough to form the impression he would get further than the minimum trip in good company (though there was a good discussion on here a couple of years ago about the horse's pedigree and whether or not the indications were good for him staying much further than two miles).

If all we knew about Sizing Europe was what we saw last season, you would think he was one of the most robust and hardy animals around. I am wary of forgetting though that his record from the previous two seasons is more that of a fragile horse, who has had absences and setbacks to overcome (and missed a number of engagements due to delay in recovery and various niggles). Trainer did so well with Sizing Europe last season in light of the horse's earlier physical problems, that counters to some extent concerns about soundness to compete at the top level in the stayers' division. Nevertheless, I would still need a bit more convincing that the horse is now more robust than his earlier record would suggest.

I agree that Kempes, as a very long shot, is interesting, though suspect he will always be one to catch right in staying races won by those just short of top class. Whether Pandorama proves more ground dependent that Joncol will be interesting to see. I like the look of Pandorama and I think he would handle genuine good to soft well enough in top company, as indicated by his victory over Weapon's Amnesty at Leopardstown last season. A bigger concern for me with Pandorama would be the type of track. A flatter track that suits the strong galloper, such as Newbury, might play most to the strengths of the horse. He strikes me as a strong stayer, strong battler, well capable of winning conceding weight to good horses if it comes to it. At a track like Cheltenham, unless it is pretty sticky underfoot, he might just be found out for a lack of tactical speed in a race like the Gold Cup and I would just need a bit more convincing about how well balanced he would prove to be under pressure on a steeply undulating track (he looks to be particularly well built at the front end and that conformation presumably is easier to keep balanced on a flatter track).

Looks like we'll soon start to get the pieces of the jigsaw - Pandorama and Sizing Europe could meet in the Irish "Akle" next Thursday.

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/punchestown-pandorama-could-clash-with-sizing-europe/775938/top/