bet365 Gold Cup: Is it the race it used to be?

The bet365 Jumps Finale meeting at Sandown on Saturday marks the end of what has been another fantastic National Hunt season which has brought many highlights, none more so perhaps than Tiger Roll becoming the first horse to win back-to-back renewals of the Grand National since Red Rum in 1974. 

It also saw Altior become the fourth dual winner of the Champion Chase this century, his record of 18 straight wins over jumps matching that of the top-class staying hurdler Big Buck’s. He will have the chance to surpass that record on Saturday, too, reportedly set to bow out for the season in the Celebration Chase, a race he has won for the last two years. It won’t be as straight forward as it has been the last twice, however, with the ‘new kid on the block’ Cyrname set to lock horns with Altior for the first time. 

#RTVMomentOfTheDay We had some good contenders but nothing to match Cyrname's remarkable 17-length Ascot Chase win

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The Paul Nicholls-trained seven-year-old has taken his form to a new level this season, winning his last two starts at Ascot in devastating fashion, the latest in the Ascot Chase in February by 17 lengths. That performance resulted in the BHA rating as him the best jumper in training, but, in contrast, we have Altior rated 7 lb superior, and he still has the Timeform small ‘p’ attached to his rating, denoting that he could yet improve further still. Cyrname’s connections passed up the opportunity to run at Aintree’s Grand National meeting earlier this month in favour of this option, with Nicholls keen to keep him on a right-handed track for the time being. However, Cyrname’s participation rests on how much rain – if any – arrives at Sandown between now and raceday, with Nicholls stating that the ground would need to have some soft in the description for them to take their chance; hopefully they do, as it really would be a race to savour.  

It is the bet365 Gold Cup that is the most historic and more puzzling race on the card, though, well established as one of the most prestigious races in the National Hunt calendar since its inception in 1957. Originally named the Whitbread, it was the first race to be commercially sponsored in Britain, and the longest-running until it ended in 2001. The race was won by some iconic names whilst under the Whitbread banner, most notably by Arkle in 1965 and Desert Orchid in 1988.  

And, while the race hasn’t taken as much winning as it once did in more recent years, it has still attracted very competitive fields, not surprising given that it is the last chance for smart staying handicappers to land a big pot before being put away for the summer. 

As the graph above illustrates, the lowest Timeform performance rating in the last 10 years came in 2017 – by some way, too – when the rank outsider Henllan Harri (40/1) sprang a surprise to beat the more-fancied Vyta du Roc. Henllan Harri was inferior even to Jack High, Timeform's previous lowest-rated winner this century, in a field that lacked both quantity and – not for the first time in recent years – quality, with 13 runners the fewest to take part since 2007. Henllan Harri raced from 4 lb out of the handicap and only had to run to a figure of 124, seen to good advantage under a well-judged ride, making all and fending off all challengers in determined fashion. 

In contrast, the highest figure achieved in the last decade came in 2012, when the 11-year-old Tidal Bay shouldered top weight and routed his field by 15 lengths. It was his first win since his victory in the 2010 Cleeve Hurdle, and a first win over fences since 2008, the switch to giving weight to lesser rivals over a longer trip seeming to suit him ideally at that stage of his career. That performance ranks as top-class on Timeform’s scale, a brilliant achievement for a veteran, who many will remember was a sight to see when in full flight, but not the most straightforward at times. It is likely that that performance figure of 172 will take some beating in the years to come.  

On average, though, it has taken a performance in the mid-140s to win the bet365 Gold Cup over the last 10 years, as the straight red line on the graph shows. At the time of writing, there are 66 entries for this year’s renewal, but that will likely decrease somewhat at the five-day declaration stage. Still, it looks set to be another representative field, nothing short of what this prestigious race deserves, especially given the healthy prize money on offer. 

It is the 2016 winner The Young Master who currently heads the ante-post market. The 10-year-old has proved at least as good as ever this season following a couple of years in the doldrums, winning two of his four starts. He is 6 lb lower than when successful in this three years ago, so from a handicapping perspective he makes appeal, and there was plenty of encouragement to be taken from his latest third in the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival, especially with a view to stepping back up to this sort of trip (stayed on at the finish).

Talkischeap comes into the race with a similar sort of profile to Step Back, last year’s winner who was a rare novice to run in it, never mind win. Talkischeap has only won once over fences, but he has plenty of solid form to his name and left the impression that he is on a good mark – for all that he wasn’t able to show it – when finishing fifth in a Grade 3 Chase (Handicap) at Kempton last time. Talkischeap shaped as though in need of a stiffer test of stamina, unable to quicken with the principals from four out but staying on steadily later on in the race. There should be more to come from him, especially over marathon trips; he did hold an entry in the Scottish Grand National and appears to have been saved for this. 

A feature of the jumps season for over 60 years, the bet365 Gold Cup has a firm imprint in history and, for all that the top echelon of horses no longer compete, it is still a race to look forward to and savour at the end of another dazzling National Hunt season.