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Horses For Courses: Why Grands Crus should go for Gold
Grands Crus ridden by Tom Scudamore jump the last on their way to victory in The GPG Novices' Chase during Newbury Day of the Sportingbet Winter Festival at Newbury Racecourse. PIC: PA
With only one English jumps meeting taking place since last Friday, the Cheltenham Festival seems light years away.
In actual fact it is less than five weeks and counting – 33 days to be exact.
The big talking point at this stage is whether Grands Crus should run in the Gold Cup and in my book it’s a definite yes.
David Pipe’s dashing grey is actually due to race this weekend, but whether we will get to see him in the Newbury novices’ chase is another thing altogether.
The meeting remains in the balance due to the recent snow and freezing weather and let’s just cross our fingers and toes that the thing is on as it’s been a grim week racing wise relying on the all-weather rubbish.
We need something to get the juices flowing.
Should the Newbury meeting go ahead, another easy victory for Grands Crus would be the likely highlight and surely then team Pipe would be in a position to say whether it was Gold Cup or RSA Chase at Cheltenham for their exciting eight-year-old.
One look at the ante-post markets and the suggestion is that Grands Crus will take the easier option of the RSA Chase on the Wednesday.
The French import is the 3-1 market leader for that contest ahead of Bobs Worth (5s), Last Instalment (8s) and First Lieutenant (9s).
As for the Gold Cup market, the grey is only third best in the betting at 10-1 behind “big two” Long Run (9-4) and Kauto Star (21-5).
Opposition-wise, the Gold Cup is a completely different ball game, but both Long Run and Kauto look beatable and if Grands Crus does go for the Gold Cup then 10-1 is massive.
The temptation to go for the RSA Chase with Grands Crus is understandable and obvious as despite looking an absolute natural and a star waiting to be born, Pipe’s inmate has only actually had three runs over fences.
Each of them has resulted in a hugely-impressive victory but he has only beaten the likes of Silviniaco Conti, Bobs Worth and Sonofvic and you can’t really add Cue Card as that one fell. Taking on Kauto Star and Long Run, let alone beating them, is another matter altogether.
The fact remains that Grands Crus is still only a novice –- a first-season chaser – and the last successful novice to win the Gold Cup was Captain Christy back in 1974.
Even he had run six times over fences and if Grands Crus was to run at Newbury on Saturday and then get the Gold Cup green light, he would be attempting to win it on the back of just four chase starts.
Best Mate, like Captain Christy, won the Gold Cup after just six starts while the brilliant Dawn Run won the illustrious prize after just four runs over fences in 1986 but the great mare was not a novice.
She was the first to win the Gold Cup with less than six chase starts since Mill House in 1963 and if Grands Crus were to land this year’s big one it would be a monumental achievement.
The popular chaser is also only an eight-year-old and there will be, you would think, plenty of other years for a Gold Cup tilt.
There is, though, no time like the present and who’s to say what shape Grands Crus will be in come this time in 2013 and 2014!
As good as ever hopefully but you never know and it is surely hugely tempting for the Pipe team to strike while the iron is hot.
Grands Crus certainly has the class to live with the best of them having been rated as high as 169 over hurdles behind only the mighty Big Buck’s.
Grands Crus has obviously never raced against Kauto or Long Run but that pair are now rated 183 and 182 respectively. the former is not getting any younger at 12 years of age while Long Run, who is still only seven, is not really progressing quite as much as anticipated.
It was thought, following his 2011 Gold Cup success, that he would take chasing by storm. In fact, he has not won since.
There is clearly nothing between Kauto and Long Run at present –- as shown by their Boxing Day clash – and there must be a chance that the bold jumping Grands Crus can improve past both.
Take out the big two in the betting and also Grands Crus and the Gold Cup looks a weakish contest with the next four in the betting being Synchronised (14s), Midnight Chase (16s), Weird Al (20s) and Quito De La Roque (25s), Decent horses but not superstars and when Tony McCoy was asked about Synchronised’s Gold Cup chances following his latest success, the champ’s reply was: “I doubt Kauto Star will be worried.”
He just might be if Grands Crus looks him in the eye in 36 days’ time.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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