Royal Pagaille goes for the Cheltenham Gold Cup then...bold move. Not sure his jumping will stand the test.
He's never fallen in his career, unlike many of the field (including Al Boum Photo - a festival faller in the RSA). His jumping at Haydock was imperious and he is actually very experienced for a novice - 9 chases, all completed
I was all for ABP and Santini ew but I am now looking at APT. As for RP, as Rod Stewart once said "never wait or hesitate get in kid before its too late, you may never get another chance". More chance of getting round than Champ.
Very true Oddy I m glad he s going for the Gold Cup though as it adds to the intrigue of the race.. All his recent form is over flat tracks/speedier tracks so he'll find it a totally different ball game on Friday. He really doesn't clear his fences by much and hasn't ever run at Cheltenham so he s not one for me.
Clearly not having run at Cheltenham is a risk to weigh up if backing Royal Pagaille, but I do see a lot of parallels with Coneygree (not just that both ran as a novice in the Gold Cup, but also in their style of running) and he also had no chase experience of Cheltenham prior to the Gold Cup (admittedly 3 hurdles races though). Coneygree went Newbury, Kempton, Newbury in his 3 chases prior to the Gold Cup so also very flat tracks. A stiff galloping track is exactly what Royal Pagaille wants and if he can cope with the undulations he should be bang there coming down the hill the second time. I do expect Dickie Johnson to make it on Native River so there will be no hiding place. It will be a big test for Charlie Deutsch.
