The 2011/12 National Hunt season will explode into life with one of the most exciting races of the year on Saturday – the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Cheltenham plays host to the Grade Three showpiece and with twenty horses set to go to post for the race, it looks like being a thoroughly intriguing contest.
Not for the first time in its history Paul Nicholls will saddle the favourite for the race and he will be hoping that he can finally end his Paddy Power Gold Cup hoodoo with a victory at Prestbury Park. Every year the contest arrives and there is talk of a highly regarded Nicholls inmate that looks a handicap sure thing in the ante post market, but the valuable prize has so far eluded him and the handler will be hoping that French import Mon Parrain can end his drought.
The favourite has been billed as a potential Gold Cup winner with the ability to take over from the ageing Kauto Star and Denman and it isn’t hard to see where the hype has come from. After a sensational debut after arriving from France, Mon Parrain jumped like a stag in the Topham Chase at Aintree and he cantered all over the National fences like a superstar in the making. He was eventually beaten into second in that race (when he looked like he had the race in the bag), but that should not worry his supporters and on that performance alone he could be well in at the weights.
There is a feeling that Nicholls must believe the five-year-old is on a handy mark and it is highly likely that Poquelin has been left at the top of the handicap to keep the weights down on Saturday. The worry for his backers is that Long Run was a warm favourite for last year’s race and he was clearly a very well handicapped horse at the time. Also, the race could come a little too soon for Mon Parrain and only one five-year-old has tasted Paddy Power Gold Cup in over fifty years. If he’s good enough he will probably make a mockery of his rating, but there is nothing quite like a trip to Cheltenham and those supporting him at odds of 3/1 will be hoping that the favourite has learnt more tricks of the trade over the summer.
At the prices, Philip Hobbs’ WISHFULL THINKING (15/2) is a far more enticing prospect and the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup hopeful can confirm he will be a threat to all at the Festival with a victory at the weekend.
The selection is very much a chaser on the up and in his seven career starts over the larger obstacles he is yet to finish out of the top two. That should come as no surprise to those who have seen him in action and he is a seriously likeable horse who appears to thrive on jumping. After finishing second to Noble Prince in the Jewson at Cheltenham in March, Wishfull Thinking put up a power-packed display to win a Grade Two at Aintree, hammering the useful Medermit by ten lengths in the process. His jumping and pace were both very striking on Merseyside and it was hard not to be impressed by the eight-year-old’s performance.
The same can be said for his victory in a 2m5f handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival at the end of last season and Philip Hobbs’ charge cruised to victory under 11st 10lbs in the race. With the result never in doubt, Wishfull Thinking proved that he is capable of carrying a big weight to victory and the 11st 6lbs he must carry around Cheltenham on Saturday should hold no fears.
A very intelligent, aggressive and courageous horse, Wishfull Thinking is at the forefront of many bookmakers’ Cheltenham Gold Cup markets and with course form in the book, he can continue to improve on what he has already achieved and win the Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Nick Wilby's selection - Wishfull Thinking (15/2)
