UK Horse Racing Tips

The 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup was, arguably, the most competitive renewal of what is often referred to as the ‘Blue Riband’ event of British steeplechasing for many years, before or since. The field was by no means the largest ever assembled, but the thirteen runners included Kauto Star, winner in 2007 and 2009, Denman, winner in 2008, the defending champion Imperial Commander and Long Run, a comfortable, 12-length winner of the rearranged King George VI Chase at Kempton on his previous start.

Despite attempting to become the first six-year-old to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup since Mill House, in 1963, Long Run was promoted to 7/2 favourite, ahead of Imperial Commander at 4/1, Kauto Star at 5/1 and Denman at 8/1, with the other nine runners available at 9/1 and upwards. On the prevailing good going, confirmed front-runner Midnight Chase took the field along, but was headed by Kauto Star soon after halfway and, thereafter, the contest developed into a three-horse race between the market leaders, with the exception of Imperial Commander. Nigel Twiston-Davies’ ten-year-old weakened soon after a mistake at the fourth-last fence and was tailed off when pulled up lame, and in distress, before the final fence.

Meanwhile, Kauto Star and Denman duelled all the way up the home straight, but were joined at the second-last fence by Long Run who, despite jumping less than fluently on more than one occasion, had maintained a prominent position throughout the second circuit. Approaching the final fence, it soon became clear that the writing was on the wall for the ‘old guard’ and, on the run-in, Long Run drew clear to win, convincingly by 7 lengths. Denman stayed on gamely to finish second, with Kauto Star fading to finish third, a further 4 lengths away. Winning jockey Sam Waley-Cohen became the first amateur rider since Jim Wilson, thirty years earlier, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

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