Captain Chris - Gold Cup

shockster - the top two can only be  beat if they fall

Lets not go over old ground.

oh yeh i 4got wasnt 2 weeks ago quel esprit was a 175 horse say no more

Start of season we had last years RSA horses,hobbs 2 from the Arkle and Jewson,DHarry,and uncle Tom Cobbly and all!!
One by one they have fallen by the wayside and we are now left with last years field minus Denman and IC.
Absolutely nothing has come through as a realistic threat to challenge Long Run and Kauto Star,and we are fast running out of time,in fact it aint going to happen imo.I was hoping the Irish race at the weekend would give us a good candidate,but Quel Esprit showed that nothing over there is up to it,although hes a chance in the without favs market,and thats probably the market with the value now.

I honestly think its time for us to realise that this is a 2 horse race barring accidents.

bud i remember the 2 horse race a few years back kauto v denman crowd wearing denman and kauto scarves  thommo saying to the crowd who wins kauto or denman .............something spoiled the party ......dangerous to say its a 2 horse race despite that on paper it looks that way .

That was the media mate,their were a fair few on here knew differently.

Foyles,up to you if you want to try and find one or two to trouble the favs,and i wish you luck,but im sticking on that now.

Imperial Commander had won the Rynair the year before,had an outstanding course record, got within a nose of Kauto star at Haydock that season and was a 17/2 3rd favourite. There's nothing like that in the race this year.

yeah fair do s stront and buddi just think this horse has potential and to me he looks a bit of value ! but one mans poison is another mans wine, good luck and we will all be discussing where we went wrong or right after the gold cup.lets hope they all get back safely win or lose !

Foyles - absolutely! good luck with your bet.

just a thought and go easy on me here ,  what if dicky put capt chris right on the inside ,would that help the horse and stop him jumping markedley to his right or would he cause mayhem with the other runners.

Both?

denman85 - why would I want to be taking on the top 2?  Because I have been playing this game for over 3 decades and doing rather well at it, and that is how I do it.  I believe LR is overrated.  Simple as that.  And, here is an admission, I have never backed Kauto Star in any race he has run in, ever.  I am not going to start now he is 12yo and at least 10lbs below his peak.  You may think it is folly never to have backed KS but I have got him beat a couple of times and have most certainly made a profit overall opposing him, including  by far and away the biggest win of my life!

Strontium, nothing in the race like IC that is obvious yet.   Don't forget he was 20/1 after the King George, 16/1 in January and still 12/1 well after that.

TLU- I think he was fairly short by now because he was Pricewised, but you're right from the price point of view. Midnight Chase maybe has a similar course profile, Captain Chris was a Festival G1 winner last season, only Weird Al has got anywhere near the big 2 so far this season. There's nothing this year with the overall package Imperial Commander had (though of course I am retro-fitting the data to Imperial Commander after the event).

Stront - Can't remember precise details but IC was still double figures a few days before the race, price went down last couple of days

He was 3rd favourite though iirc? Quite a few are going to shorten as running plans become clear even if nothing happens on Friday to blow the market apart. If What a Friend stuffs Long Run we've all got some thinking to do

Or a progressive lightly raced chaser stuffs Long Run...

Anything like that Thieves. That's why we watch it, bet on it, love it

stront what if medermit stuffs the lot of em ,long run  included on friday ,king would surely be tempted to go gold cup route .and then capt chrises form with medermit would not look too bad .backed medemit e.way  gold cup big prices to small stakes just in case .

That's all absolutely fair Foyles.

I don't think the exeter form looks great so far because Cornas was so close, but Friday could tell us a lot. Medermit could improve for the step up in trip and there's some evidence the form of his recent race at Cheltenham is strong. I've actually backed Medermit for the GC myself to tiny stakes at a big price, hoping to lay off if he runs well on Friday.

Any shock result on friday could put a very different spin on the form (as long as Long Run runs his race).

Some reliable looking person on AP forum said that chocolate thornperson said that medermit is missing newbury for ascot

So the progressive young chaser has to be the the even more progressive, even younger The Giant Bolster?

Damn snow. Can't see it myself Thieves - I've posted detailed thoughts on one of the many threads hereabouts - but each to their own

yes i saw that thieves but if the progresive young hurdler medemit were to route the field going away impressivly with long run running his race  then a rethink by king and connections then the gold cup would be hard to resist ,what would they have to be afraid of ! pure conjecture of course but not impossible .

sorry misread the thieves post medemit going to ascot ! bang goes the e.way gold cup bet on him.

Some good discussion on here lads,i fear theres some straw clutching going on,but interesting reading still.
WAF coming out and beating Long Run i just cannot for the life of me see,wheres he getting all that improvement from?
Medermit is young and is an improver this season but nothing like 3m2f in his form,1/2 a mile further than his best forms at,cannot see that either,and it looks like they are seeing sense and going to Ascot anyway.
Like yer style lads,and you may come up with something,hope yer do for the race needs it,but i will stick to the 2 horse race,and betting without the favs.

can anyone put up the hobbs piece  about captain chris and menorah all systems go briesner ect,as i missed it, thanks in advance .

Backed Captain Chris at 33s e/w before King George has no chance off turning form round,given his last debacle would be surprised if he showed in Gold Cup imo hope he does just to maybe get a run as spring horse on goodish ground.
But jumping is major issue!

yeah stevo but they have had yogi briesner round and he may have done the trick ,just seems to me as tho they must be happy with him or they would not contemplate running him in the gold cup imo .or maybee i am just reading it wrong and clutching at straws .
but if you belive that his last run is as good as he is then he has no chance ! i dont by the way .

Foyles forgotten last run, King George wasnt too bad but jumping at home and on course are completely different.
How many times has Long Run been to Yogi many times, and still cant jump very well imo.
Maybe Friday may see some improvement as no Kauto, should win cant wait as going Newbury looking a decent card.
Shame Cue Card not runnibg against Sacre though. looking forward most to the novice hurdle if all show.

Budd - I expect you're right but it's fun to shoot the breeze

of course Stront,and maybe some horse will challenge the front 2,and if it does its sure to be a good price - just never know in this game.

Stevo, problem is it's not Long Run that needs to go to Yogi, it's his pilot!

What do ppl think about Burton Port's chances? Seems to have gone under the radar a little & cld put in a decent run?

theveslikus- he done alrite when he won on him in last yrs gold cup, i lumped on him last yr and on decent this yr, the jockey isnt a worry for me, and its funyy u shud mention that about the jockey, the horse has never fell or finished out of the top 3, the more i read from u, i become to realise u r a a bit clueless to be fair, but hey! u ve made tons of cash for 3 decades! who am i 2 question u?? and the fact that u tell people how good u r add to my clueless point

It was a joke you pill-ock.  Is 85 your IQ by the way?

85 is a bit ambitious

thieves

We've disagreed on Long Run's merit but even on your figures I think we are agreed that whatever beats him has to run to 175. Outside of a rejuvenated Kauto what do you see as being able to do this amongst the rest?

I rate LR a normal gold cup winner EO, no more no less.  If he repeats his run he has a chance of winning but I am not as convinced as others than stamina is as strong a point as it seems at first look.  The ground was unbelievably fast in last year's gold cup and I think rather than staying on stoutly he simply ran faster than a field of horses that were feeling their ages and/or the ground.

Although he is rejuvenated and running to 175, I don't believe KS will be able to reproduce 175 at Cheltenham.  He is better at Kempton/Haydock and is unlikely to reproduce that level this year.

The chasers that have ratings that put them within reach of 175 all have big question marks and it remains to be seen if any of them can do it, but I'm working on the theory that if I can find the right progressive profiles there is a 175 horse in there somewhere.

Medermit is already mid 160s and might be better over further but looks like he goes for the Ryanair. 

The Giant Bolster put up a 165 performance when winning at Cheltenham.  If he stays further he is seriously going to push 170 at least.  If he doesn't stay then high 160s is probably his limit, time will tell us.

Burton Point got an RPR of 170 in last season's Hennessy.  I don't rate that race so highly but I might be wrong, it appeared Denman was below his best based on the clock and Diamond Harry might be better than I think or even just better on a flat track!  If he is truly over the injury, BP could push on.

Quel Esprit, I was writing off after Sunday but I've been told his sectional times were very good and he turned the race into a real test of stamina.  I thought the proximity of Treacle was a big negative, but he is a stout stayer and was running on through horses that QE had burned off so it might be wrong to write the race off so quickly.  QE has never been beaten when completing.  Problem I have now is, either the run was nothing special and he isn't good enough OR it was an outstanding performance and will be difficult to reproduce so quickly at Cheltenham. 

Midnight Chase might be another Cool Ground but I just don't see it, don't think he is good enough and he is very exposed.  Weird Al is a decent horse but surely not good enough.  I have him at 165 and he is the benchmark for KS's 175s this season.  I think that is as good as he is going to get.

thieves- u do tlk trash long run is a class act, average gold cup winner runs between 175+, so what was best mate? wudnt of stood a chance with kauto/ long run, denman  the current crop of gold cup horse are special, the 3 ive just named are top class, no average about any 3 of them

Thieves, I know you think on figures LR and Kauto are 175ish horses now. Do you think the OR's of some of the others (Midnight, Weird Al etc) are about right or are they also inflated? It stikes me that what's important is not the absolute value of the various ratings but the gap between the top 2 and the others.

I dont doubt for a second that Capt Chris has loads of ability but it seems to me the horse has lost his confidence. Maybe he wasnt fully fit for the King George but that dosen't account for his poor jumping and I think The Argento confirmed that his confidence was gone. If Yogi has managed to sort him out,an equine
equilivalant of walking on water imo,I can understand connections taking there chance for the ultimate prize.
As stated by others I dont think we have seen his full potential and maybe Spring will bring out the best in him, but for me, its too much of a big ask after what we have seen this season
Maybe some headgear would help!

Denman, KS WAS in the 180s, so was Denman 2 between 4 and 2 seasons ago, so was IC 2 years ago. It is my belief that the official handicapper and RPRs are wrong for the Gold Cup last year and as a result for the King George this year.  LR isn't as good as those 3 and if you actually used your eyes instead of blindly following the hype you would perhaps see that.  The alternate theory that LR has regressed this season I don't buy.  My theory that he just isn't that good and has taken advantage of regression in the top chasers simply makes more sense and I will stick to it until evidence proves differently.

Stront, it isn't the same argument.  I agree there has been ratings inflation overall but I believe there have been 2 specific mistakes made by the main handicappers, one in overrating Denman at age 11 overrating LR's Gold Cup, and the second, as a consequence of that now giving an inflated rating to Kauto Star by rating him through Long Run's incorrect rating.  My ratings fit better with the beaten horses in the Gold Cup and make sense in this season's KG too as the beaten horses didn't stay and/or were out of form.  I certainly don't believe Captain Chris ran to his best, he ran horribly and a rating of 157 makes total sense given the clear problems we have witnessed with the horse since.  So, to conclude, there is only a knock on to those horses that are overrated form the races effected (the betfair Chase too, to a lesser extent) - in particular What A Friend, Weird Al

Thieves you make some very good points and are obviously an avid form reader...

I agree to an extent but because these Kauto Denman have been dominating I have found it hard to handicap the top chasers for a while myself...Denman has helped me just because of his handicaps but like you say this year has been difficult...I don't follow the top notchers as much as I should as everyone eeks every last bit of value out of the races and thus doesn't give me much punting edge...

Thing I will say is the kempton run is hardest to evaluate because somersby never stayed and captain chris was just awful the whole way so can see your angle... The race I find hardest to evaluate is the haydock run as I wished diamond harry had run his normal good race fresh and had his ground but ran free and is having problems this season?? Weird al was just looked after and a line through time for rupert gives me something but not a lot as have not rated time for rupert since his problems pre RSA... Weird Al is hard to evaluate as his best form is fresh and at wetherby and you just don't know how well he ran last time as he has always gone fresh....

The problem I have in this gold cup is there are no stand outs to oppose the top 2...no progressive RSA winner or improvers through top handicap company...I have to say I had a small dabble on China Rock on sunday and he disappointed, still quite like him all wasn't well....so let me know when you find the key...I do read it similarly in regards to trying to get kauto (have been for years also) have backed it only once at exeter when he was running off of 153 and got beat, he then won the tingle creek by 8 (its a filthy game) and I'm also against long run...hard work but if you find the angle let me know will keep an eye on your posts...

TLU, totally agree that last years gold cup can not be trusted for ratings (if thats what you meant) and that long run is being too highly rated on a race that fell into his hands. I'm not sure about denman being overrated on that performance though - the ground was totally out of his comfort zone and I think he was flat out most of the way. Im no good at rating races but given a true run race on good to soft, i have denman emerging from the last gc as highest rated with long run and then kauto (but as i have said before, i think long run is only a 175s horse if you set him up and a 165s if you don't)

Thanks Thieves - I appreciate the analysis and you taking the time to post the explanation.

theives- i actually think long run is the most underatted out of the horses menitioned, afterall hes won 6 gr1 and 2nd in 2, denman in his entire career only won 4, so LR not doing bad considering hes only 7yo, i see him a great bet for this yrs' gold cup, and whose to say he cant but on a good show in a few  more gold cups?

He could certainly,to do that at aged 6 is pretty impressive winning KG and GC.
I do think his future success hinges massively on his jumping though,it could well be that he would have won his last 2 races had he jumped well.
If that can get sorted its possible for sure that he could be a multiple winner of the top staying Grade 1.s.
Jumping is the name of the game though.

ye ur rite jumping is name of the game, but with long runs engine, he only has to jump half decent, i think its shows how good he acutually is as he was out jumped all the way around when he won the gold cup and still won a street, kG as different he jumped awful and got going to late, 3m on flat track is totally different to wha he'll get at chelt, any 1 in the rite mind cant say that kauto wud of won kg if they had another 2f uphill, neways i cashed in last yr and i think ill be cashing in again! we'll c

I agree with theives that LR is possibly over-rated on last years Gold Cup, as the two 11 year olds didn't have things to suit (KS not right all year and ground too hard for the now retired Denman) and ran into places.
Nonetheless, he is one of only two horses in the race that we know can run a 170+ and to my eye is the most likely winner. That said, 170 is not a stratospheric mark and it's reasonable to assume that something out there is capable of it, over this distance. Given the odds of those outside the front two in the betting, finding that one will be profitable. I've said elsewhere, admittedly before the Argento, that Captain Chris is the one that I consider most likely and backed accordingly, festival winner, spring horse (?), first run in the race etc etc. The faith is being sorely tested tho.....

This is the first I've really talked of the Gold Cup on here.  Might sound stupid to a lot of people, but its a race that I've never really been that bothered about.  I much prefer 2m hurdlers and chasers jumping at pace, but anyways.

I took a punt on Long Run in the GC last year, because I couldn't have an emphatic King George winner being around 6/1.

However this year, he has been beaten by Kauto twice, and although he may have had excuses, he has still been beaten on both occasions.  Therefore I think taking around 2/1 is on the very skinny side if you ask me.  Long Run is a good horse, but wouldn't have lived with Denman when he won the Gold Cup and wouldn't have lived with Kauto on his second.

For this years, this is one of the trickiest races to bet in imo.  Its a big risk taking a short price assuming Long Run will need the extra 2 furlongs and will improve his jumping, and its risky taking a fairly short price on Kauto from a stats point of view.  You can dutch the two, but again, that'll be even shorter.

I also think it will be tricky backing in the w/out the 2 market.  Some will ride for the win, some (imo) will ride to try and get placed, and we don't know which ones will do which.  Gold Cups have a tendency for an unfancied one to go past beaten horses by the final fence, and imo its a lottery for who gets third.

Watching brief for me only, whilst screaming Kauto on.

Would have preferred another run in him maybe Hobbs can get him fully fit at home. Long Run didnt tear up any trees had him last year this year he looks vulnerable.

Richard Johnson hit the deck with another Hobbs star today .. Colour Squadron.

dicky  been on the deck more times than admiral nelson !

With the news on Kauto and the questionable jumping of Long Run this Gold Cup is up for grabs.

An improving King George third will never get a better chance than this now. They nearly ducked the Arkle, lets hope they see the opportunity here this Gold Cup is up for grabs and on a going day Captain Chris has the engine and stays imo.

whats your opinion of him staying based on Eric?

agreed eric although must admit pocket talking as on th captain at decent odds each way  big time, i said  that this gold cup was not cut and dried even before the kauto news and with the doubts about the fav and possible bounce factor regarding burton port its still there for the taking . the doors have been thrown  opened wide imo .

The reports from the festival preview with Hobbs the other day didn't sound too promising;

CMIYC "Philip Hobbs was asked about Captain Chris, he said he has always jumped right, so that was not an issue as such, however he was not at his best IF HE RAN it would be Ryanair or Gold Cup, however then said he wouldn’t really want more than 3 miles, so I give him next to no chance of running in the Gold Cup, and I got the impression he was by no means certain to run at the Festival"

that would be cos he has shown them he dont stay

The King George. He was short at home for that but still ran very well and stayed in behind the best 2 his first attempt at a decent trip.

If Kauto misses the race (or even runs he is getting on maybe the fall at home is disguising his inevitable decline) and Long Run falls what wins it then. We even have Quel Esprit who struggled to get over a fence last season let alone win a race and the rest. He demonstrates that a good round of jumping is not out of the question for Captain Chris on the day and if he is there at the bottom of the hill he will power up there. Connections would have to be crazy to miss this chance, they nearly missed the Arkle hopefully they will make the right decision again. Dickie knows the engine beneath him and will be confident, the spring ground is coming let him go on it.

hobbs has said it is the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, nothing else.

They are even fancying their chances with Medermit in the Gold Cup, Captain Chris will absolutely tonk him he is the better horse and has shown it.

he just outstayed Somersby who is a complete non stayer at 3m,and was at a guess about 20l behind the front 2.

hes a non stayer,who was bl00dy awful lto at the course,and pulled up.
good luck!!

Agree Budde. Sounds like someone wants CC to run for their pocket only.

Only today did Hobbsy say he is not even definate to go to the festival. That tells you all you need to know!

Seem to remember you were a non believer for the Arkle as well. Good luck to you also

i was,but thats cos i thought he would not run in the race,not cos of the distance he would have to run.

Let us just say there must have been a hell of a lot of non stayers in the King George if an under-prepared Captain Chris trying anything like a staying trip for the first time came 3rd. Hobbs clearly stated they knew they needed some more time with him. There is no doubt to me the horse who powered past non stayer Finians Rainbow up the hill last year can do the same over this longer trip on the ground that transforms him in a year where the 2 Gold Cup favourites look vulnerable. He is the one with the engine to take advantage with a good round like last year. He is schooling well at home, you cant pass a chance like this up even Medermit's connections fancy it.

I must admit to taking a very small e/w position after the Argento as his run was too bad to be true and the price was too appealing.

However all the indications are that they are struggling with the horse and at this stage it does seem unlikely that he will show up at the festival. If he does go, I do think it will be for the GC

am on nrnb so not a disaster if he dos not go !

eric

He demonstrates that a good round of jumping is not out of the question for Captain Chris on the day and if he is there at the bottom of the hill he will power up there.

I don't understand this logic. Surely the two big issues with this horse is the fact that in jumping right he will give further distance away than in an Arkle and that what is in issue is whether he will stay. If he is there at the bottom of the hill a big question is whether he will be treading water coming up the hill.

Sounds like he might go Ryanair if anything from Hobbs own lips Eric.  I'd probably back him in that if he turned up, left him alone last time after backing him in the King George as he clearly didn't get home there.  I'm still a fan of the horse after taking a nice price in the Arkle but the CGC seems a bad idea with such a doubtful stayer when there is an obvious alternative race.  Think he is going to miss both mind you so we are probably wasting our time even discussing it.

Dont know where you get that from ... today ...


Trainer Philip Hobbs concedes his charge has always had a tendency to go to his right but if he does go to Cheltenham it will be for the Gold Cup.

"I certainly hope we haven't seen the best of him this season and at this stage it's not definite that he'll definitely go to Cheltenham," Hobbs told At The Races.

"I just want to be happy, but things are going the right way.

"Ever since his very first hurdle race he has always gone right, this is nothing new.

"He's had lots of physio from various people and at home he's the same as he always has been.

"If we are very happy with him he'll run at Cheltenham and I suppose the Gold Cup is more likely than the Ryanair as they'll go a bit slower over a longer trip, but we need to be very happy with him before he runs."

You can write off the Argento .. he has never done that before. He always jumps to the right but has performed really well at Cheltenham in the past putting up his best performances there. It is being positive at his fences with a clear view of them and the spring ground that brings out the best in him.

He will stay alright and the way the 2 market leaders are going I'd take him over the likes of Medermit and Quel Esprit in the pack behind the market leaders. Grand Crus also wont like this race so early in his career. Captain Chris was fav for the Argento if he performs as he has and is spot on with the ground making a big big difference to him they hav to give it a go. If we see Quel Esprit in 1st spot in the history books in a few weeks time they will wonder what they had to lose and why they didnt go for it.

fav for the Argento before the drift ..

Think the ground this year will add the turbo over the trip provided the jumping goes as well as it has prior to the Argento there.

Under-prepared horses dont win King George's he did well to come 3rd considering he nearly missed the race.

its all complete guesswork on your part Eric to say he will stay alright,hes never before when tried at 3m,now he has to go an extra 2f on a track hes just run appalling at,or should i say jumped appalling!!

Lets be honest here,CC has not run well all season and his jumping has been average at best.He never travelled or jumped that well at Exeter,was even worse at Kempton and Cheltenham was just awful!!

The trainer has told you he was under-prepared for that so you cannot judge that as being his true form at a trip. Personally that told me he would stay as I believed connections re his prep and could see the improvement to come on spring Festival ground he loves and which he has definitely improved hand over fist upon in the past. There is a case to be made for saving him for a spring campaign as this time of year sees him turn around form with horses previously beating him as before the Arkle, this fooled a lot of people last year.

In a year where an upset now seems most likely he has to take his chance if well, against a favourite Long Run who spends, not just a visit like Captain Chris post Argento which has helped reading comments but nearly all of his time at Yogi Breisner's. Kauto Star will be declining, it could be this is what connections are seeing at his age rather than the effects of a fall though it wont have helped. Of all recent years this is the most likely for an upset and Captain Chris could be that outsider who puts a great round in as he did last year. We also know the big advantage having past Festival winners on your side in subsequent Festivals.

Kauto Star looking weak again, free for all if he misses it and Long Run blunders his way around. Best jumper on the day will win it then Captain Chris powered up the hill last year and will have claims even if the front 2 run.

I would agree with the comments on here about backing in-running. I have watched the King George video a number of times and don't believe Captain Chris is gaining on the other two. However if Long run were to fall and / or Kauto was a no-runner then he would come into the reckoning assuming his own jumping has been put right. Synchronised for me can't go in the ground and some of the other runners are a way from top class. CC at least has the potential to be a 175 horse.

Still so many if's, but's and maybe's that you can't overly confident. For me an in-running play or nothing.

gotta be worth a try captain chris in the gold cup a few negatives against him but also negatives about just about every runner in the race, including the top 2 in the betting and it could be that this is a year of the suprise result , long run has jumped better this season but on flat tracks and he is always liable to whack 1 or 2 he looked beaten on the home turn last year but run past 2 ageing champions .
captain chris hasnt jumped that well this season but it was a fair performance 1st time up at exeter giving weight and a probable beating to medermit  but for dickie falling off at the last if hobbs has him right after his last 2 races then he is too big a price on his form of last season including his arkle win and punchestown festival win ,sure you are taking a chance that he jumps and stays but the odds refect that .
he is one of the few with poetntial to rate a good bit higher than his rating .

Looks like Finians needs a lead rather than being the sitting the duck like he was last year in the Arkle for CC.

What a mess numpty Hobbs is making of this classy horse. Whoever is deciding targets needs kicking into touch. He was staying on in the Ryanair obvious he needs a longer trip he would be in amongst it in todays Gold Cup... truly shocking from connections but got what they deserved after misleading over targets.

Jumped a lot better yesterday but still away to his right Still think he needs to go righthanded to be seen
at his best.Must be the green light for Punchestown

He won a breakneck Arkle left handed or did I just see that, pulling clear from this years Queen Mother winner who just beat last years Queen Mother winner.

W1seprice is selecting Synchronised for the Gold Cup ffs, they are complete idiots for running him in the Ryanair where he was staying on showing he needed further. Would have had a great chance today.

No mate you didnt just see that,it happened. As I said I still think its better going the other way.He jumped out to his right again yesterday,I dont know if you missed that,and when he jumped the last I thought he would have stayed on better than he did. I can see anything other that the Gold Cup next season but he wont win over any trip at HQ again unless his jumping is sorted

What a horlicks Kauto pulled up, Weird Al dropped out, stupid not running Captain Chris

Synchronised ffs

Nevermind Eric

Sounds like pocket talking to me. If you truly believe Captain Chris would have gone close to winning a Gold Cup he would have finished better than 4th yesterday over 21F. Lets not forget, this is a horse who you said '' went past Finians Rainbow as if he were standing still'', so you therefore cannt think he lacks speed.

The horse has just not fired this season and anyone who backed him for the Gold Cup after his Argento run when it wasn't even certain he'd be heading to the festival is quite frankly a lunatic.

Funny how the opinion of punters can change when they put their cash on.

Eric will have backed it long before that.  Possibly when it was a foal.

^ hahahahahaha

It is rare but i have to agree with
Eric

Synchronised ffs .

Bit like
For Auction when he won the champion hurdle(still havent quite got over that)

A worthy winner in my opinion.With kauto pulling up and Long Run not reproducing last years form it was wide open and the one thing that Synchronised does better than most is stay.

Just re-reading this thread and reckon my assessment of Long Run as a 174 horse is holding up pretty well and The Giant Bolster did have the potential to run to 175 as i suspected.  Sad to say I wandered about between potential selections like a complete tart over the last few weeks but at least I got there in the end!

I actually backed Sync in the Lexus (posted on the NH thread) but I deserted him yesterday because I didn't think he'd beat Long Run.

OH well, it was nice to see the Owner have the winner of the seasons biggest race, he certainly deserves it.

Would have to agree with the OP. Had 25 e/w at 40s for the GC, on the basis that he had Planet of Sound earmarked for the national. Both would have gone close imo.

I note some people saying he should go right handed, but I don't agree. All his form is in the spring, grade 1 festival winner and a decent size field to help him concentrate on his jumping.

Kauto Star had jumping probs early in his career. I remember Nicholls putting this down to KS not racing next to another horse or a running rail, problem was pretty much rectified later.

Hopefully, CC will next go for the 3m at Liverpool, and not the Melling.