Would Don Poli have beaten Conergree

RSA on Weds had good ground and a couple of horses taking each other on for the lead (Kings Palace and TYM), both factors would have been against Coneygree. I think Don Poli would have won in those conditions.

I don't understand the RSA ante-post backers crying over what might have been. It's a completely different race and the rain hadn't arrived yet. It's far from certain he would have won on Wednesday.

Both plodders.Why do people think speed demons win Gold Cups.

The ground this year destroyed Coneygrees competition,Holywell RTR CL LW BB.Still it was a brilliant performance.

mullins said hes one paced

No, not in GC

comingupthehill

Well if Mullins said he was then of course....... err didn't he say Faugheen was going chasing this season? Still if it's an honest man you're looking for look no furth...............err Wicklow Brave.

In short I don't care what Mullins or anybody else says. I don't pay his wages so don't expect honesty. I judge by what I see and I saw Don Poli coming up the hill like his ar5e was on fire at the festival last year over two and a half. There is a difference between being lazy and being slow. The horse could be said to be lazy and O'Leary's exact words after the race were, "he's a big lazy bugger". He is certainly not slow.

Slightly futile debate isn't it. Coneygree won the big one and won it really well. Ran everything else in to the ground. I didn't think it would happen but was very wrong. Add in the fact he is a novice and you have without question the performance of the Festival. They can all try to take him on up front but that is a recipe for disaster as his cruise speed and pure jumping are his number one strengths. Don Poli is 6. Djakadam is 6. Both from Willies stable. Road to Riches and Don Poli are both owned by Gigginstown. If Wille or Gigg thought Don Poli was better than either Djakadam or RtR this year then he would have been in the Gold Cup. He wasn't and Coneygree beat the best of Willie's and the best of Gigginstown's. So, in my opinion, its a definite and very clear "no" to the OP question of whether Don Poli would have beaten Coneygree. Next year may be different but this year the best staying chaser in UK and Ireland won the Gold Cup and he did it in great style as a front runner and a novice. Was beautiful to watch. Lets pay appropriate homage to a great performance.

waloc no1 knows the answer,its like listening in the schoolyard (my mum no's more than your mum)

I think King's Palace has Hennessy written all over, fresh and at his best FTO, receiving over a stone from Coneygree, travels well on the pace..

The form of the GC has a much more solid look to it than the RSA.

Don Poli will never win a GC with that kind of jumping.

I think it's ramped up because plenty of people before the race were against him running because he is a novice - none of those people appeared to object to a 6yo with barely more experience running in the race - it seemed solely because they could n't label him as a novice.

The two best jumping performances all week (and arguably for many a year) were both by novices with a total of 6 completed chases between them beforehand.

An emphatic NO to the opening question.

Well that's possible of course,but nothing more than that at this stage.
I prefer to look at all the potential runners for next year at this stage without thinking so and so may not be the same.
Coneygree in the form of last week would have DP struggling way out imo.

I agree Budd, Coneygree's gold cup was one of the most impressive GC winners I can remember and every ones already talking about DP and vautour beating him??! They were both I catching performances, but what Coneygree did to that GC field was unbelievable and I would of thought that the race would of more likely left its mark on Dj and R2R than Coneygree. They were forced to go his pace and are less mature horses. The winner just went his natural pace and was far from stopping up the hill.

As for the KG I would of thought that he is unbelievable value, especially when you factor in his annihilation job at the course. if there's any soft in the description I believe a horse would have to post one of the highest ratings in the races history, as it would be guaranteed to be a true test.

budd, what makes you say that it was a poor RSA renewal please?

before cheltenham coneygree's conections thought the gold cup might have been the easier race this year

Red hot!!!!!!!!

Competitive yes. Ran at a good pace, yes.

Red hot!!!! No

I think Southfield Theatre will turn out to be very decent and Kings Palace will continue to win pots away from the Festival, so possibly stronger than recent RSAs.
However, that Gold Cup was a very deep field. Who wasn't there? The winners of every recognised trial, the last two winners and the top novices from last season and one from this season were there, bar OFB (whose form was represented by Many Clouds and Smad Place). OK, perhaps no Kauto or Denman, but they were the exception, not the norm.
Make no mistake, it was an excellent Gold Cup, won in a breathtaking fashion. If the race doesn't leave it's mark on the first 4, then any novice stepping up will have it's work cut out next season. My only concern is that attritional Gold Cups, such as this renewal, invariably do leave their marks.

It's what might happen,also it might not happen.
Personally I think all the first 4 will be fine to compete again next season.