RIP Cooldine. I remember that race vividly, they went off at a ridiculously brutal pace (no doubt thanks to Carruthers), no wonder Cooldine seemed to have won so easily, everything else behind him was knackered!
Very much agreed it does seem to knock the stuffing out of horses. But luckily it seems to have produced some of the best chasers (Gold Cup) in recent memory (Denman, Bob's Worth)