Cheltenham Gold Cup 2022

We have entered him in the race at Newbury, the Ladbroke Trophy, we just entered him in that this morning. He could possibly go for that, I'm not sure. We will take it one day at a time with him. Rachael said he was pretty straight today and we had him ready for it.  Henry De Bromhead

Have we seen the winner today at Haydock? He seems to have progressed from last season. At 4/1 what's not to like unless Champ is a racehorse again.

Agree with above and ur post of 6 and 8 were 2 on the right side of the Irish Sea

'duffy', true. However, it's been a long while since an Irish talent overwhelmed its British counterparts. I was impressed with the way he walked away with the race so effortlessly.

The opposition might have undeperformed nevertheless the manner APT won must not be overlooked either.

^
I was just going to say that

At this rate Champ would be an unlikely runner for this esp if a hurdle race is preferred. And, I've stopped listening to Hendo - a bookie's man.

Hendo doesn't usually get going until the Hennessey meeting, but apparently it's been so dry he's only been able to get his horses on grass in the last week or so. However, he also treats his stars more like ornaments than racehorses nowadays.

Gold Cup, 6 Irish 2 GB?

Nicky has lost most of his sight which can't help but he looked and sounded fine otherwise on Luck on Sunday. Not having a watered grass gallop has been a serious disadvantage but he has had 4 comfortable novice hurdle wins in the last week. Apart from Shiskin and Chantry House the chasers look pretty thin as is often the case.

Protektorat and Fiddlerontheroof are the two for me.

Protektorat could go Ryanair(the same could be said for three quarters of the hopefuls ....it was a bad idea). he looks to improving at a rate of knots.

I do like a strong finisher for Cheltenham and  Fiddlerontheroof was not stopping at the end of the Henessey.

He'd have to get over the first fence properly this time.

very good 2nd 1st time up^^^

My gut feeling is that Champ will go Gold Cup. Nick seems to think he's up to it, and JP is a sportsman. Yet the Stayers Hurdle is surely by far his best chance of actually winning at the Festival. Presumably it'll be the Cotswold Chase or the Cleeve Hurdle next, which would tell us what the thinking is.

But that's a huge "if". The horse is not a good jumper of a fence. The RSA he won fell apart because of the frantic pace - he win it in spite of his own jumping. He appears to be a considerably better hurdler, and he won a good-looking trial yesterday (including a very good yardstick of the Irish form). Nevertheless, because of his connections, I think he will end up in the Gold Cup unless Chantry House puts up a big run on Boxing Day.

Ronald pump ?
A good yardstick of Irish form ?
Not at three miles mate

Personally think he will go Stayers for 2022  , dont know how severe the treatment was , but more time over hurdles now cannot hurt . Plus who knows what sort of a mental scar the previous Gold Cup  has left .

Champ has undoubtedly had his problems. A Grade One winner over hurdles (Sefton Novices’ Hurdle) and over fences (RSA Novices’ Chase, beating Minella Indo), he fell in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March and had a subsequent back operation.

His reappearance at Ascot after nine months off in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle was supposed to be something of a fact-finding mission for Nicky Henderson’s charge, a prep run for bigger things to come.

Yet he showed real determination, finding a second wind and coming back on the bridle to win with ease. The official verdict was a length and three-quarters, but in truth he simply broke runner-up Thyme Hill’s heart.

In this calendar year, Champ has had three runs – the Game Spirit Chase, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Long Walk Hurdle. An unlikely trio if ever there was one.

So now connections have a problem. The nine-year-old – named after 20-time champion Sir Anthony McCoy – is such a talent that he has McManus and Henderson in a quandary.

“Which race to go for – the Gold Cup or Stayers’ Hurdle? We’ll leave it to Nicky,” said McManus.

“I’ve no problem staying over hurdles and equally, if he goes over fences, I have no problem with that.”

Unusually, he candidly added: “There are few horses in training that give me as much pleasure as this horse.

“He is named after the man he’s named after (McCoy) and he is a slow or late-maturing horse who has had niggly problems all his life, but Nicky has shown tremendous patience in dealing with them and giving him the time.

“No horse gives me as much pleasure. We deliberated a long time before we put it (McCoy’s nickname) on a horse, so we thought a lot of him from the start.”

Champ has won six of his eight races over hurdles now and the Stayers’ Hurdle is certainly on the radar, especially since Henderson has lost – for the time being at least – his top hope Buzz. The ante-post favourite was ruled out with a pelvic injury on the eve of the Long Walk.

Though immediately cut to 4-1 favourite for the Stayers’ by Coral afterwards, another crack at the Gold Cup remains a possibility, should his jumping not hold him back.

For Henderson, it was merely a relief to get him back on course after his back operation and McManus was keen to pay tribute to the veteran trainer.

“It was a great training performance by Nicky,” said McManus.

“After Cheltenham last year, it was challenging. I wouldn’t know much about the injury, but he had a back injury and Nicky did a tremendous job to get him back and I have to give him full marks.

“Champ summered well and he came back in good form, and we hoped that this is what he would do, but you never know, especially after that run in the Gold Cup, which was a disappointing run for everybody.

“It is back to the drawing board, but he looked to enjoy himself.”

While Henderson felt his class may be an asset ahead of the Long Walk, he insisted he would need the run.

McManus added: “Nicky had him fairly ready in fairness. He doesn’t leave too much to chance.

“I would say he will be better for the run and it was exciting when he ran a little bit free about 10 furlongs out – I said, ‘God, not so early – there is plenty of time for that’.

“But he did well to see it out and get his second wind and see off Thyme Hill.”

Of course, the billion dollar question remains.

“I would like to do the right thing, whatever that is,” said McManus.

“I’d like to do the right thing for the horse, whether it is the Gold Cup or the Stayers’.

“Let’s see how he comes out of this. It is a high-class problem!”

And in Henderson, McManus and McCoy, there is no better team to solve it.

Hardly irish form mate the stayers hurdle ?

Last time I looked Cheltenham hadnt been moved

irish,

What were the cheekpieces for and do you agree that Rachael's insistence on hassling Frodon at every point the pace seemed to slacken messed with the horse a bit.

BTW Well done with that Galvin bet, very good class 1 chaser him