Racing seems to attract a lot of high achiever types
Yes they owned silver jaro - who beat psycho in cheltenham given an armchair ride by Carberry the cunt.
Mastersons are like Achey - made their money on sites in uk and buying top class NH horses here but obviously not to same extent as Robcour
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I think Silver Jaro had won in Galway the previous Autumn had he not?
And as for Carberry on Psycho…dont get me started. I loved Carberrys madness all the same. If i remember correctly didnt he win on Solwhit, World Hurdle I think, a few years back? Majestic ride that day.
He did. 2013. What a day it was
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What is the feeling on champ? Nicky and Jp are both into their 70s now and do they really care about another stayers hurdle?
Champ has form over fences which includes Minello Indo and Allaho.
It could be tricky enough to topple klassical dream and flooring porter.
It looks an open gold cup. I wonder do they just roll the dice…
Gold Cup after Chantry house flopped.
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Looking at Oddschecker, I think Pricewise has put up Protektorat for the Gold Cup.
What was Champs excuse for Gold Cup last year?
Jp is something else. I heard the crowd that owned that French cross country horse had turned down an offer of 200k from another owner. So god knows what Jp has paid for it. He then sends it to enda Bolger who isn’t exactly flying. That’s all great given he’s a billionaire but you wonder why he bothers with all the shenanigans in 0-90s around the likes of Bangor and what not. It’s pure madness when you think about it.
Correct.
Because he obviously enjoys it.
That’s what he gets his kicks from.
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The unexposed horse
He’s a bit more sentimental at times than you’d expect.
Whatever about the big races I think he’d love another winner with Joseph in Cheltenham and I also think he’d love a winner with johnjoe snr with jnr in the plate.
His case is watery enough imo.
Kissing spine
Similar profile to long run, who finished 3rd in paddy power in same season he won Gold Cup.
ANTE-POST PRICEWISE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
‘He has the profile to run a huge race’ - Tom Segal starts his festival series
1 of 1
UPDATED 7:19PM, JAN 10 2022
Protektorat
Cheltenham Gold Cup
1pt win at 14-1
10/1
There are some Cheltenham races that don’t have a great betting shape to them, but there are plenty of others that present a decent opportunity. The Gold Cup is one of those.
A lot of the talk in the lead-up to the festival will be the domination of the Irish-trained horses last season and it’s almost inevitable that the same will happen again.
However, it is worth pointing out that last March, British-trained horses were first and second in both the Arkle and the Marsh, they were second and third in the Brown Advisory, while Next Destination gave Galvin a fright in the National Hunt Chase. Basically, where the British horses did more than hold their own was with the novice chasers and they are always the starting point when trying to identify the following season’s Gold Cup winner.
Furthermore, it’s not as if last year’s race has held up that well this season with A Plus Tard getting beaten by Galvin in the Savills Chase and reigning champ Minella Indo finishing behind Frodon at Down Royal and pulling up in the King George.
Consequently, I believe the race is much more open than the market would suggest and the horse who has impressed me most this season and has been overlooked in many quarters is Dan Skelton’s Protektorat.
If you just take his last three starts in isolation, Protektorat won a Grade 1 novice chase at Aintree, ran second under a huge weight in the Paddy Power, when he was perhaps a shade unfortunate after an early mistake, and then won a recognised Gold Cup trial by 25 lengths.
Before anyone says how can one beaten in the Paddy Power win the Gold Cup, you only have to go back a few years to Long Run to see he was beaten further off a similar mark in that race before defeating Denman and Kauto Star by seven lengths in the Gold Cup four months later.
It looked like Protektorat found that trip too short and he appeared to relish the test of stamina when winning at Aintree over 3m1f last time and, in the process, he received a Racing Post Rating of 172.
Six of the last nine individual winners of the Gold Cup had not received that high a figure before winning the race. Two of the other three, Native River and Bobs Worth, had achieved higher ratings in handicaps, where it is easier to post a big figure.
Yes the Aintree race wasn’t a strong one, but it was run at a good pace in bad ground, and what it did prove was that Protektorat was a strong stayer.
As far as I’m concerned he has the profile of a horse who is going to run a huge race in March and the 14-1 is well worth taking.
Protektorat: recorded an RPR of 172 when winning at Aintree
John Grossick (Browse & Buy Personalised Photo Gifts | Racing Post Photosales)
A Plus Tard loves Cheltenham and has to be the main danger, but given his level of ability he doesn’t half lose a lot of races, while it takes a leap of faith to back Minella Indo now.
Galvin has lots going for him, but he’s plenty short enough on form, while no horse this millennium has won the Gold Cup with double digits in their age, not even Kauto Star. Al Boum Photo and Champ are both ten.
Consequently, if I was to suggest another overpriced horse it would be the King George winner Tornado Flyer. Everyone has gone on about how he fluked the race under a brilliant ride, but they have missed the fact that the King George was the first time he’d had a proper test of stamina. He could improve again for the extra couple of furlongs, and he ran well behind the freak Allaho in the Ryanair last season.
Maybe but I’m not sure he is in love Cheltenham tbh or big fields. His run last time looked very impressive but on desperate ground funny things can happen. Look at Bristol de Mai around haydock on heavy ground.
I think protektorat is best on flat tracks anyway. I’d like to see him do it in a cotswolds chase before I’d consider him.
Exactly same was said about Long Run, who was a beaten fav in RSA year before.
His run at Aintree was impressive, I think he is crying out for this type of trip. Whether he has the class of an A Plus Tard is question.
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