Gold Cup - Djakadam

I like his prospects too Graeme and think the team behind him have been unusually upbeat - and clearcut - in their plans. You'd have to be taking a bit on trust but he always looked like a possible top-notcher and winning any competitive handicap in soft ground when conceding so much weigh has to be a smart performance.

16s ew cany go far wrong really could be a superstar

will not stay the trip

NO CHANCE

Thanks for the heads up there zealot - who wins by the way?

cant see any problems with the trip got 3 miles on herrendous ground last time finnished on the bridle, cant judge him on his hennesy run blantatly not fit enough

deffo be 170 chaser sooner than later

I think it could well be SILVI mate , saver on windermere.

DJAKADAM is a 6 year old , never won a grade one and is officially rated about 145 . I know it could have loads  improvement in it but you want a performance hitting at least mid 160s to win  the gold cup . Not too sure it could

I couldn't write off Djak quite as easily as you, zealot - as I think he's an improver and will have Ruby on board. Like you I'm into Lake W who I think is an underated horse and won't be fully fit until 2 weeks on Friday. But I wouldn't have Silvi - even if he was 33/1 leave alone 3/1. GL mate.

surley must be higher than 145 thysetis ??

would look at him as 160 beast now

The way i see it fellas, is that he is cleary a talented animal. Now he is inexperienced in comparison to others who will line up. Then again, if he needs experience so badly, why didn't they have another race ? Now you can say long run had more experience when he won his gold cup, but when long run himself picked up more experience the following season, he got done by synchronised.  Maybe it can be about the right time as much as anything, depending on the horse. Last years gold cup was a brilliant race, but i think it leaves enough room to think this lad is in with a chance of being there or there abouts.

del - I agree conti is very short and theres definitely no value in 3-1 but I think its the most likeliest winner tbh .

Got beat under 2L last year and could have gone close in 2013 , and has by far the best form on offer in the gold cup field

good luck

Very highly regarded by connections, they ballsed up his Hennessy bid not going there with a prep though. I've got a saver on him, my only reservation is his jumping, he tends to land a bit steep at times which going a good lick as they do could lose him ground and of course a repeat of his fall in the JLT last year could happen (I was all over him that day :( ).

Rath i'd say that's all in the current price. If ruby gets on, it will shorten to around 9/1 by default, which wouldn't be ideal. We will see what happens. For me i just like to see them get there.

ZEALOT
24 Feb 15 16:55
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I think it could well be SILVI mate , saver on windermere.

DJAKADAM is a 6 year old , never won a grade one and is officially rated about 145 . I know it could have loads  improvement in it but you want a performance hitting at least mid 160s to win  the gold cup . Not too sure it could IS NOW RATED 159

BHA rating is 162, same as Sam Winner so still have to improve to beat few of these.
Hope he does as backed him before Hennessey run at 50/1.
Agree when Ruby states he is riding will be good back to lay,as wont be staring in double digits imo.

Backed him ages ago before the Hennessey......should have backed him after that race!!

I do worry it may be a year too soon maybe,but hes a horse I like and hes another with a fair chance,like a fair few others. Think he will stay ok,but this year contains a lot of tough hardened horses.

At the end of the day, own his own hadn't run in many chases, and he hadn't run in a grade 1 either. He also went into the gold cup on a 1lb less mark. These races can throw the book out of the window. Stay all day and you have a big shout. The issue for everyone this time is that there's quite alot who will stay.

Yep,dead right Greame,loads of tough stayers.
Really like this Gold Cup,really competitive and fascinating imo. Horses at 66/1 that would not be a total surprise if they figured in the finish.Looking at the likely runners,i reckon between 12 and 16?? and could make a case for all of them.

I'd say 12-16 runners is about right bud, no hopers included. I basically just looked for something that didn't run in the race last years renewal, but anything can happen. Right now no 66/1 shots will line up, not even on the machine. Maybe something 20s to 40 can pop up. With Djakadam, if he runs and jumps, and finds a similar amount of improvement from hennesy to theystes, he could be asking question of the shorter priced runners.

Well he ought to be improving still,and I guess he needs to,but he's certainly intersting,and I'm glad I have him on my side.
I've actually got myself in a fair position on this race,wish I could say the same about most of the other Races!!

I'd put him in the Ryanair personally, and then step him up next year.

I think it is a year too soon, and I wouldn't want a Gold Cup to bottom him - they have loads of time to go for a Gold Cup.  Ryanair is looking particularly weak, and with only Ballycasey looking like a Mullins runner, it spreads them out a bit too (2 in the Ryanair and 2 in the Gold Cup).

He could be a good Gold Cup prospect one day, but not this year for me.

Can't agree wc. He travels like a gc horse. Let's see what he has, if he gets there. Fingers crossed.

He ran a fantastic race for a 6yo. He would have won many gold cups with that run.

Huge run from such a young horse

So now he's fav for this year.
And deservedly so Imo.
Out of all the main ones he's less questions to answer.
I actually find it interesting the adulation that his stablemate gets on here and in the media,compared to him.
Maybe cos he lost at the end of the season?
To be fair he was entitled to run a tad flat after trying to win THAT Gold Cup as a six year old.

This season he has thrashed a similar field in much the same way as Vautour did,but not nearly as much fuss made of it.
I guess some horses just get it,and some don't. It would have made sense if we looked at the Walsh,Ricci,Mullins factor,but they both have that.
Oh well,anyway he's a massive chance of winning this year,and I look, forward to seeing how he fares against what will be virtually a different field.

one of a number of horses than can win it. He was very impressive last year to stay with coneygree at such pace. well beaten by Don cossack in ireland . makes for agreat race i tokk the 6/1 sometime go in an ew double with Identy thief for the champion Hurdle

Does the fact that Djak's younger than the average GC horse offset the old stat that says when you've failed at the first attempt you're up against it?

I cannot have Djakadam as the winner even though its connections are 1st class; it had every chance last year eg ground and prep, unlike RTR, the long time 'fav' until race day due to a change in going from good to soft; the beating he received from Don Cossack (DC) in the Punchestown Gold Cup reinforced my view on it - Djakadam and RTR ran to their nearest ratings in this race; it's the current 'fav' solely at the courtesy of its trainer's 'genius' race placement, Vautour's defeat in the KG and DC's  fall in the same race ie Djakadam has earned its 'fav' tag on default.

That is your opinion, fair enough.

Mine is that he nearly won as a six year old, and has come out this season and run really well, and looked a totally different horse to the one that got beat at the end of the season.

Not saying he will win, its not that sort of race to have a firm opinion on the winner at this stage imo, but hes certainly a major player, and right to be around the head of the market.

If only Dhakadam had run in the KG, win, lose or fall; so far an easy campaign which does not enhance his 2015 reputation despite his younger age and probable improvement.

He was never going to run in KG with Vautour, admit having easy campaign but may well pay off come the big day.

indeed it may well pay off.
Vautour has had to be campaigned the way he has,they are trying to find out things.....with Djakadam they already know.

His younger age and probable improvement are significant for me.
It's possible Coneygree is better than any of these in a Gold Cup, there's certainly an argument for that,and this fella weren't far behind him.
Also of course one or two of these might be better than Coneygree..........the beauty of the unknown!!!

Delsie, I think it does myself.

I think it is a positive he has had an easy season, similar to RTR in another thread.

He had a very hard race in the Hennessey as a 5 year old, and then two very hard races in the Gold Cup and Punchestown.  That's a pretty grueling campaign for a 5 year old going into six; most hurdlers of that age are cantering round in little novice hurdle races.

I put in this thread a year ago (Feb 15), I think he should run in the Ryanair last year, and despite his excellent run in the Gold Cup, I stand by that.  Long term prospects in mind, I think the Ryanair last year/Gold Cup this year would have been the best fit and his best chance of winning a Gold Cup, and the best chance of giving him longevity.

Then again, we won't know that until this year, because if he wins he will have definitely proved me wrong.

I think it no coincidence that both Djakadam and RTR have had light campaigns,makes perfect sense after last seasons exertions,and I can see both running similar class races this time as they did last year.
Both could improve though for different reasons,Djakadam for age and experience and possibly better ground.....yes I know most of his form is on soft,but I feel decent ground will bring out the best in him. RTR will definitely be better for decent ground.
If both are allowed to run I would not be at all surprised if they were the first two home.