And he may be told, particularly if Gigginstown share the thought that he and DC are a little incompatible. Which slightly contradicts my earlier point that he won't be jocked off but if two of the Gigginstown horses line up with similar chances in the betting, perhaps the choice won't be entirely his?

the owner pays the bills,i would think that he would have the final say if he has a couple in the race

Be interesting if RTR beats DP next time out!!
FWIW I think he will,think he's a better horse then DP.
Cooper or whoever decides on riding plans will have some decision then.

DC jumped beautifully in the slipstream of RTR, Djakadam and others in the Punchestown Gold Cup which makes me think a steady and decent pace is necessary something I believe he'll have in the Gold Cup field.

Haven't read comments since yesterday but the clear point to make is that they need to check they had the right Don in the race because if that was the Cossack version then he too is developing that lazy streak!

Defo rides Dom Poli.

Don Cossacks jumping at Cheltenham isn't to be trusted. When he hits a flat spot his jumping comes under pressure. With Vatour being a natural front runner the pace will be strong and can see DC struggling.

I expect Dom Poli to be under pressure some way out before running them down from the final fence.

Would have thought Ruby would be riding the current fav and the horse he knows will stay.

Been reading this place for 2 or 3 years now and finally decided to get on here, this thread is as good a place to start as anywhere. I'm another one of these that has the incurable festival fever disease and to be fair this is the most knowledgeable place on the internet I've seen for a chat about Cheltenham thus far.

Anyway, there's definitely a Don Cossack love in here alright, just to let people know where I stand I have a tidy treble from way back that includes Don Poli at about his current price, I'll be sticking up for him but will try and remain as unbiased as possible. However I wouldn't give it a second thought about backing Poli over Cossack. DC's last two runs have confirmed to me he won't be winning the Gold Cup. Whoever Bryan Cooper ends up on is no indication and is basically irrelevant, he has no clue which horse has the better chance and neither does anyone else, we can only go off what we've seen on the racetrack and make our own assumptions. But to be honest I'd probably rather someone with experience who's been there and done it like Davy Russell on my mount come race day anyway. Cooper could easily panic and press too hard or not hard enough if he comes under pressure early, and both these two will be the first of the big boys off the bridle for sure.

But back to Don Cossack and without wanting to derail the point of discussion it would be hilarious to see how many of those talking him up used to crab The New One for being a horse who ''always has an excuse''. Because that's exactly what Don Cossack is. ''If he jumped the 2nd last he would've won'', ''If he didn't get sandwiched at Cheltenham'', ''If he didn't peck on landing''. The letters I and F on your keyboard must be wearing thin. The fact is he wouldn't have won because he can't jump the bloody fences, he is a stayer granted but this is NH racing and poor jumpers - which Don Cossack is, don't win Gold Cups. He's too sloppy too often and it will cost him.

I'm not going to pretend Don Poli doesn't have his faults but he is an excellent jumper. He may not be as spring heeled as Cue Card or Vautour but he rarely makes an error and is very economical at his fences. I think he's quicker than a lot of people give him credit for too but he's just such a lazy sort, a real sloth. If he needs to quicken he can and although it's a different calibre of horse that he faced in the Lexus and the RSA to what it'll be in March he pulls it out when he needs to.

..."which means the GC extra trip and the slightly easier gallop than at Kempton will play into his strengths".. Like it did in his RSA and Ryanair??!

Satrus Froot, you misunderstand the points made, certainly by myself, timtin and several others. The winner of nine chases in the past season and a half and top rated chaser needs no excuses and you'll find none from me. It was his fault, and no-one else's, that he blundered in the Ryanair, lost his place and then endured a difficult passage. Similarly, at Kempton, he fell. But, in looking at the horse (or any other) speculation about what might have happened is inevitable, concerning the two races in his past 11 that he hasn't won.

My view is that Don Cossack is capable of beating himself, and may do so at Cheltenham, but is the best horse in the race if he gets it all right. "If" surely applies to all the contenders.
"If" Djakadam has improved and you can disregard the beating he got from DC at Punchestown.
"If" Vaoutour stays.
"If" Don Poli can improve a stone and a half on this season's form.
"If" Road to Riches gets his going.
"If" Cue Card is good enough, can peak again in March and if his previous career form can largely be discarded.

Don Cossack has beaten Djakadam 1/1, Cue Card (excluding the fall) 2/2 and Road to Riches 2/2. I would argue there are less "ifs" about him than the rest. If you think he's a poor jumper, watch him at Aintree or Punchestown

Cyclops, I don't miss the points mate. I am well aware they all have and if to their name. But many on here seem to turn a blind eye to Don Cossacks weaknesses and think he is rock solid, when you can pick holes in him as much as you can Don Poli. Just trying to level the debate out a bit.

Satrus, of course it's your prerogative to cast doubts on the Punchestown form. But then you're introducing an "if", namely that Djakadam and RtR would have performed better "if" they hadn't had a hard race at Cheltenham. I take the opposite view, shared by both the RP and the official handicapper and, yes, that is the main reason for my conviction that he is the best horse in the race.

As for your Don Poli equation, how can you possible say DC has as many holes in him as DP when the latter has yet to race against any horse quoted at less than 100/1 for the Gold Cup and comes out, from his last race, as almost the same horse as First Lieutenant and Foxrock and, in the previous one, as worse than Many Clouds?

Unaware that the handicapper had done that. DC 175, Cue Card 172 going into the King George.

We'll have to agree to disagree about Don Poli. The most hyped horse I've known for a while.

Satrus - when you started your post i was quite optimistic - particulalrly when you wrote that you would try and remain unbiased - and then you actually started to give your opinion - and subsequent opinions - your desire to remain unbiased doesnt appear to have won the day - i get that DC's jumping can be knocked but you like every other DP fan have resorted to exactly the same thing i.e. 'he pulls it out when he needs to' you may be right but if you took an unbiased view you would concede that that is an 'if' as while you may be confident he will he has not yet done this with high 160 and mid 170 rated horses of which there could be 5 or so turn up. And whats more 2 or 3 that could get close to a 180 if they fire on the day.

Racing is all about IFs every time we bet it is about ifs - the reason because we are betting before we know the result and before we know what is about to happen - and as we all know with racing there are many possibilities - one of which if you remain unbiased is that DP may not be able to pull it out against the calibre he will be up against.

Anyway - it was good to meet another clairvoyant - there are quite a few on here - at least some of them dont claim to try and remain unbiased

its not often you can back the three highest rated horses entered in a grade 1 and still almost double your money (if one (irrespective of which one)) wins.

Satrus_Froot

he's just such a lazy sort, a real sloth

With fans like that who needs enemies

Let's hope Don Poli and Road To Riches run in the Irish Gold Cup on 6th February as we'll be a lot wiser by then, here's hoping.

if you look at the pace of last years race then don poli would stand no chance, it was ran at a really fast pace, no conaegree this year though

^
Agree

Champ lost sight of the hare,got so far behind......I believe.
Maybe DP will lose sight of the other horses,maybe DP will stay close enough to be able to take a hand in the finish.
Who knows??