Great stuff Bobby!

Most ot the bookies have a bet calculator ror example p power at top under calculator.

VERY,VERY difficult to operate.
Obviously not programmed by an entusiast of gambling.

Thanks steeps.

Yeah I was wondering if that was the north of England or northern
Ireland, being from Manchester it's understandable.

I was fortunate enough to be in the same lounge as connections on Friday afternoon, and to hold the cup itself!
An earlier poster stated that he wouldnt open his curtains to watch flat racing in his back garden. Whilst I wouldnt go as far as to say that, I do think that people like Bobby D and his fellow owners of the great Imperial Commander are what sets this sport apart. They are polite, friendly, honest, and most of all, just normal, everyday, people.
I didnt have a cent on Imperial Commander on Friday, but enjoyed every second of seeing the horse's owners enjoy their considerable success.
Many many congratulations Bobby, and good luck next year.

Lovely words BD - your pride and passion just shines through in what you have just said x

Bobby, good to hear from you, as magnanimous as always. Everyone connected should feel very proud, the horse was superb and you have done much to win him loads of support from us hardened punters. Best wishes.

BD, I was indeed in the Crest Room, and watched the great race from the seats immediately in front of that lounge, a few rows below a number of ardant Imperial Commander fans!
It was an afternoon I shall never forget, and I didnt have a cent on your horse! (I did however back the two other NTD winners later in the day)
One of your fellow owners (the petite blonde lady) was good enough to allow me to hold the Gold Cup and even take my photograph.
I shared the day with another racing enthusiast who prefers flat racing. I asked him whether he thought there was any chance of us getting that close to the Derby winning connections and their trophy!
Your posts upon this forum portray exactly what you, and your fellow owners are, a credit to the great sport of National Hunt Racing.

Interesting fastbear. I note that the time was quicker than the last 2 renewals, and I suspect that the ground was softer this year come Gold cup time than the previous year. I have read plenty on here (not this thread) crabbing the form, and suggesting that IC beat 2 horses that were past their best and not a lot else. I have also seen reports that they crawled first circuit.
I was in the Denman camp (always have been), and I felt that AP could have forced the issue earlier, to my eyes he was concentrating on Kauto, and when he saw that he had him beat he felt that the race was in safe hands. I have no reason to believe that he could have got Imperial off the steel earlier in the race but would have liked to see him try. Denman's stamina is unquestioned, coming into the race Imperial's was questioned (maybe not by you Bobby!). Imperial was given the run of the race and Paddy looked comfortable throughout.
The time, the way that Kauto's jumping went to pieces, and the distance to the rest, make me believe that this renewal was right up there with the best of modern times. Imperial is a lightly raced 9 year old, lets hope he is able to do what Kauto and Denman have failed to do, and win as a 10 year old.

1 Man they did crawl on the first circuit (6 seconds slower than the Foxhunters) but after that it was no prisoners taken (finishing time 13 seconds quicker than the Foxhunters). So they ran the second circuit 19 seconds faster than the Foxhunters. Given how tired they finished in the Foxhunters I think it shows what a brutal race it became - once again hats off to Denman who destroyed the rest of the field when he powered on, could now be a winner of two Gold Cups the second one by 23 lengths but for Imperial.

I think that injection of pace asked too much of Kauto at a time when Ruby was still trying to get him back on an even keel, and the fact that Mone Mome got up on the line for third showed how much stamina was needed in the conditions. Carruthers a solid 155 to 160 horse was beated 30 lengths and I don't think Denmans class is in any dispute so it looks to be one of the best renewals in recent times.

Bobby - i see IC is going to run at Aintree? will he be fresh enough? and will he like the course?

Imo this is the best gold cup in my memory, just short of, or on a par with, denmans. if anyone crabs this, they need their head testing. bomb proof, a superstar, hail the king imo. congrats BD, agree with all your sentiments re our great NH sport.

Teddy - Imperial will only run at Aintree if he tells us he wants to - currently standing in a field so we are a long way away from any decision being made - and yes I did see the trainers comments today.

Jose93 - we were very short of time last year, the stable had some sort of problem and IC finished the King Goeroge very distressed. Had a decent break then had a shortened preparation. Was supposed to be having a racecourse gallop at Newbury which was prevented by firm ground - so in the end the Ryanair was the obvious choice.

This year he was trained for one race - I must admit to being astonished when PN announced to the world that Kauto needed it, but Nigels horses are always fit at this time of year. Anyone with eyes could see how much we had left on Imperial. The mistake in the King George proved to be a blessing in disguise, he hates the track and Paddy let him hack round - so in the end he had an easy time and we were able to kick on for the Gold Cup without interruption.

ANOTHER HUGE RUN BY IMPERIAL COMMANDER

I've said before that I rate IMPERIAL COMMANDER (45) the equal of Kauto Star or any other chaser we've seen in the last decade on my ratings. Now, following his win in the Gold Cup, more people are beginning to recognise what an exceptional horse he really is. The way he beat the still brilliant DENMAN (43) seven lengths was most impressive.

Still, this was a pretty hard fought affair, so I have to put down trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies' comments about now going to Aintree with his star down to the kind of post race enthusiasm you often get after a big win. There are only three weeks to Aintree and it's asking a lot of any horse, let alone one whose record so clearly says he's best fresh, to go and win there so soon after such a tough race.

In addition Imperial Commander is a big strong horse that is surely not at his best around tight turns. He did win a point to point around the tight Summerhill course. But he hardly had to produce his best there. His Racing Post rating for the win was 92 pounds lower than for his Gold Cup success. In three starts around tight tracks under rules Imperial Commander has run a clunker every single time, including once at Aintree.

It does seem pretty clear that Imperial Commander is best with seven weeks or more between his runs. If that unlucky head bob photo against Kauto Star had gone his way he would have won all eight times he's come into a race off a break of seven weeks or more (I'm including his point to point win). Off a quicker return he's won just one time out of nine, and that was in a minor novice chase against weak opposition.

DENMAN (43) was game in defeat and is as good as ever judged by my speed ratings. Still, he's not getting any younger and probably only has a couple more big races left in him so his connections will have to pick their spots carefully.

I don't like the way COOLDINE (36) tired so badly after moving well for a long way. I don't think it was lack of stamina that caused this to happen. My suspicion is that he has some sort of physical problem, so I can't support him again till he shows a return to form.

Poor old KAUTO STAR deserves a mention. He made a bad mistake early and was under pressure and beginning to look in serious trouble when taking a crashing fall four out.

I have to say that it looks like all those miles of racing have finally caught up with Kauto Star. He's never looked in trouble so far out in any of his British or Irish starts and the stats say he's probably reached the stage where deterioration is inevitable.

I say this because I've carried out some research and found the two French bred horses that have lasted longer at the top of the three mile chasing tree than any in the last three decades. They are the full brothers Al Capone II and The Fellow.

Al Capone II is famous for being the only horse to win a Grade 1 race seven years in a row. He took the Prix La Haye Jousselin ever year from 1993 to 1999 (he finished second when going for eight in a row in 2000).

The Fellow won the Prix La Haye Jousselin, the Grand Steeplechase de Paris, the King George (twice) and Cheltenham Gold Cup at the fourth attempt, having been second twice and fourth in the race previously.

The interesting thing is that the very last Grade 1 chase that both Al Capone II and The Fellow won was the twelfth over three miles plus that they contested.

Three mile plus Grade 1 chases are incredibly taxing. Sectional times show that the runners generally go the same pace they'd normally run in a two mile chase but then keep going for another mile or more. This has certainly been true for most of Kauto Star's big wins.

It makes sense that there's only a certain number of runs in three mile plus Grade 1 chases that a horse can take. And for French breds that limit would seem to be twelve. Which is very interesting because the King George that Kauto Star won on his previous start was the twelfth three mile plus Grade 1 chase he'd contested.

JC is Nick Mordin. :|

So, after his best ever performance in a KG, 3 months later and Kauto is now on the wain?

Can't thave that at all myself. Just an off day. I think Kauto is just as good as ever tbh.

Disappointed you fail to answer my questions while answering everyone else's tbh

Ben10......I Dont agree with all of what he says but years of cherry picking have served me well. Hence the opening thread ;)