Cheltenham Gold Cup Runners: The contenders & their credentials

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most important race of the National Hunt season and it always features an elite group of superstars. They slog it out for 3 miles 2½ furlongs in a bid to join the likes of Arkle, Golden Miller and Best Mate in the all time pantheon of greats. These are the leading contenders for glory in 2020:

Santini

Nicky Henderson’s star eight-year-old has been gaining significant traction in the antepost Gold Cup betting odds since securing victory in the Grade 2 Cotswold Chase last month. That race is held at Cheltenham over a distance of 3m 1f 56y, and Santini appeared to relish the trip, the soft going and the course. He did well to overhaul leader Bristol De Mai in the closing stages of the Cotswold Chase, and he should be in even better shape by the time the Gold Cup begins.

His only defeat over fences came at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, when he was second to Topofthegame in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase. However, he had no real preparation for that race, and he should be a lot more dangerous this year. Santini is a big, powerful horse and Henderson has high hopes for him, so it is perhaps easy to see why he is the favourite in the racing betting to win the Gold Cup. The last favourite to win the big race was Don Cossack in 2016, and Santini has the potential to follow in his footsteps, but the field looks fiercely competitive.

 

Al Boum Photo

 

Al Boum Photo handed legendary trainer Willie Mullins his first ever Gold Cup triumph at last year’s Cheltenham Festival. It was the one honour missing from his impressive list of successes, and Al Boum Photo received very little attention in the build-up to the race. The favourites were Presenting Percy, Native River and Clan Des Obeaux, and pundits were largely split between that trio when predicting the winner. Yet Al Boum Photo, a 12/1 chance, delivered a commanding performance to finish ahead of long shots Anibale Fly and Bristol De Mai, with Native River back in fourth.

 

He followed it up with a second placed finish in the Punchestown Gold Cup before being put away for the rest of the season. Al Boum Photo reappeared at Tramore on New Year’s Day, where he breezed to victory in a Grade 3 chase. That will be his only race in preparation for his Gold Cup defence, but Mullins has reported that the eight-year-old is in great shape. The last horse to win back-to-back Gold Cups was Best Mate in 2002, 2003 and 2004, highlighting the enormity of the challenge Al Boum Photo faces this year.

 

Delta Work

This promising seven-year-old is Gordon Elliott’s big hope for Gold Cup glory. He finished third in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase, behind Santini, but he has been on an upward curve since then. Delta Work won the Grade 1 Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown the following month. He was fourth behind some big names on his seasonal reappearance in the Grade 1 Champion Chase at Down Royal in November. Yet he showed his class by beating Monalee, Road To Respect, Kemboy and Presenting Percy at the Grade 1 Savills Chase at Leopardstown over the festive period.

Elliott says he would not swap Delta Work for any other runner in this year’s Gold Cup. “I don’t think he’s done much wrong over the last couple of seasons – he was lame after Down Royal and was just beaten in the RSA last year,” said Elliot. “I think he’s made for the race. His style of racing will suit – going three-mile-two. He probably is a bit of a forgotten horse. He’s won five or six Grade Ones and gets the job done. Al Boum Photo and Santini are probably the two horses you’d respect most. I tend to worry about my own horses and let everybody else worry about theirs. I wouldn’t swap my horses,”

 

Lostintranslation

Lostintranslation could well be handed the “forgotten horse” tag by the time the Gold Cup gets underway. He was second to Defi Du Seuil in last year’s JLT Novices’ Chase, and then he beat Topofthegame to win the Grade 1 Mildmay Novices’ Chase over 3m 210y at Aintree the following month. Lostintranslation produced an impressive return to action with a victory at Carlisle in November, and then he landed the biggest win of his career: The Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock.

He was among the favourites for the King George on Boxing Day, but he had to be pulled up. That might cause some punters to write him off, but he has since had his palate cauterised and trainer Colin Tizzard says he is now in good shape. He will go straight into the Gold Cup, meaning he could fly under the radar a little in the build-up to the race, but he might make an interesting each-way option if he continues to drift out from his current price of 7/1.

Clan Des Obeaux

 

Many punters fancied Clan Des Obeaux to win last year’s Gold Cup after his superb victory in the King George. However, it was not his day and he finished fifth when running out of steam in the closing stages. However, he is right back in the mix this year following another King George triumph on Boxing Day. That saw him join an elite club of multiple King George winners, but replicating that form at Cheltenham could prove challenging.

The likes of Kauto Star and See More Business pulled it off, but the great Silviniaco Conti was unable to do so. Yet Clan Des Obeaux always seems to be in the mix – he was second to Kemboy in the Grade 1 Betway Bowl in April and he finished well clear of Delta Work when second in the Grade 1 Champion Chase in November – so he might be another interesting each-way shout.

Kemboy

Kemboy has been earmarked as a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender ever since he beat stablemate Al Boum Photo in last year’s Punchestown Gold Cup. He got the better of Clan Des Obeaux to secure the Betway Bowl, and he has enjoyed plenty of success at Grade 1 level. He fell awkwardly and unseated his rider at last year’s Gold Cup, but that is the only time he has ever failed to finish a race.

Mullins says that Kemboy is delighting his connections this year. Stable jockey Paul Townend will probably stay aboard Al Boum Photo for the Gold Cup, but he has a tough decision to make, as Kemboy is a very powerful horse and he has the ability to spring a surprise at Cheltenham. He was last seen finishing second to Delta Work in the Irish Gold Cup earlier this month, and he seems to be progressing nicely ahead of the big race.

The Rest

Presenting Percy won the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase in 2018 and went off as the 10/3 favourite in last year’s Gold Cup. However, he failed to live up to his billing and finished eighth. He has delivered a string of underwhelming performances since returning to action this season, but some punters still see promise in him, and he has received a reasonable amount of backing in the antepost markets. You can never write off Bristol De Mai, who is as long as 33/1 with some bookies, especially if the going becomes sloppy. Yet Al Boum Photo and Lord Windermere are the only horses with a starting price of more than 10/1 to win the Gold Cup this century, so the winner is likely to come from the elite group of runners listed above.