For this race I think my money will be on Kasbah Bliss- has won over 3m and 2 m so the distance wont be a problem! F A G i think will struggle with anything over 2m plus the soft ground will make it even more challenging which is why Kasbah bliss imo will win, has won over 3m on soft so the distance 2m 4f on soft shouldnt be a problem! and has come 2nd over 3m before too on the soft so stamina is not a problem what so ever. and currently @ 12/1 is a very good e/w and placings must be the minimum!!
Just been in my local Totesport office during my lunch break and they were showing a piece on Turf TV about the Gold Cup. Apparently, other than Yeats, no horse seven or older has won the Gold Cup in 68 years. That should theoretically rule a few out. As the going is now reported as good to soft, soft in places, stamina is going to be a bigger consideration. Although Fame And Glory has won on soft ground and he is the class horse in the race, I do not think that he will stay and the bookies will want to get him. I have left the race alone as there are too many imponderables.
Do we have any known stayers (ie will be running on strongly in a truly run race). All horses will stay; it's a case of how long they take to get there. If, for example, all those proven to stay are relative plodders, Fame & Glory may find he's got all day to get past them after ambling along at what he might think is an exercise gallop for 2 miles. Just a thought as I know nothing about most of these horses.
Ron, the only distance winner in the race is Francois Doumen’s raider Kasbah Bliss, who was unplaced in last year’s race. Aaim To Prosper was placed in the Ascot Stakes (same trip) last year. Askar Tau was unplaced in last year’s Prix Du Cadran (metric two-and-a-half miles). Geordieland placed behind Yeats in the Gold Cup in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Tastahil was unplaced in last year’s Gold Cup. The remainder have never been this far on the flat so they are in new territory.
Ron, Geordieland has not raced for nearly two years and he was not exactly a close third to Yeats in 2009. If Jamie Osborne has got him fit and he is still as good as he used to be, like when winning the 2008 Yorkshire Cup, he would not be without a chance; however, I seem to recall they pulled him from the 2009 race because of the ground. Aged ten he would probably be the oldest ever winner of the race. That statistic that I saw on the Turf TV preview earlier on is a load of rubbish. If no winner other than Yeats has been seven or older in the last 68 years, how come Drum Taps was seven in 1993 according to Wikipedia?
Surely there'll be some pace and if people are right that F&G doesn't properly stay he's going to be found out. But his family stays and one of his best performances was on soft ground. I've had a small interest investment on Motrice.
Fame And Glory gambled down from 2/1 to 11/8. O’Brien does not need his book of excuses today. He stayed – and at only five could he go on to emulate Yeats? The bookies will have to give back some of the dosh that they snaffled on So You Think. Good run from Opinion Poll to be second – the rain was in his favour. I know that Andre Fabre was not happy about the weather but Brigantin plugged on well for third.
A horse that finished second in the Derby winning the Ascot Gold Cup? I feel like I've gone back a hundred years! Maybe not the best renewal overall but a pretty classy winner. 66/1 to emulate Yeats, and 200/1 to win the race five times - not so sure about that though!
Ye cracking performance by ***, and a very good ride from Jamie Spencer, arguably the ride of the week. He had *** travelling in a perfect position throughout and made the decision to go for home at the perfect time. *** clearly stayed and it became obvious a long way from home that the race was in the bag! I don't see any reason why *** can't go on to emulate Yeats, at the end of the day which horse is going to have enough class to stop him, it's not often a horse as classy as *** is targeted at the Ascot Gold Cup, so unless another horse who is classy enough to win races like the Irish Derby and Coronation Cup turns up then *** will be impossible to stop. Obviously *** may regress but AOB kept Yeats at the top of his game until he was 8 so *** is in the correct hands! Interesting to hear AOBs post race comments about ***s next possible targets, he mentioned the Arc and whilst I would love to see him win that race, I don't think he has enough speed to, and AOB is hardly short of high class middle distance horses. There is a staters G1 at the Arc neeting over 2m4 I believe, so why not go for that with ***
The track would need to be on the verge of being waterlogged for F & G to feature. He's had his chances there.
I was very disappointed today by Kasbah Bliss, really fancied him, and looked like everything was in favour. Softish Ground, definate stayer & good jockey
There is only one National hunt horse that could give *** a race in an Ascot Gold Cup, and that's Big Bucks, I've never understood why they have not given the Ascot Gold Cup a go with BB, afterall he only runs 4 times a year, so I'm sure he would be fresh enough for the Ascot Gold Cup! Wouldn't it be an amazing clash if BB turned up next year, even if it is unlikely
I'm sure Hurricane Fly would deal with BB most comprehensively. It is over 2.5 miles, not 3 miles afterall
I'm not a big fan of F&G but given he is now fully matured he could use his stamina to better effect this time. He didn't have the best of runs last year: "Chased leaders travelling well, close 6th and going well over 3f out, 3rd straight and not much room, ridden and hampered 1 1/2f out, not really recover " I wouldn't rule him out completely just yet. I would like to see him in one more race before deciding.
