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GOLD CUP DAY CHAMPIONS CROWNED, HISTORY MADE 16 MARCH 2018
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t imico Cheltenham Gold Cup day is Having spent most of his life with former trainer Henry De Bromhead running around behind Douvan in Ireland over two miles, he had been a revelation over the winter, upped in distance. A first crack at three miles yielded a win in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February and he followed up with a dominant display in the most prestigious of chases by fending off the challenges of Minella Rocco and Native River. While Sizing John was dominant, Minella Rocco is all about staying power and a faster-run affair would have suited him better as Jonjo O’Neill’s runner was flying up the hill. Native River’s trainer Colin Tizzard also had to suffer seeing Cue Card fall at the t h e h i g h l i g h t o f t h e w e e k , t h e t i m i c o c h e lt e n h a m g o l d c u p, wa s a s i z z l e r w i t h s i z i n g j o h n p r o d u c i n g a t h r i l l i n g f i n i s h always a special one with a capacity crowd and it certainly was this year for the in-form partnership of trainer Jessica Harrington and her jockey Robbie Power as they combined to take the blue riband with Sizing John.
A victorious Robbie Power on Sizing John
Richard Johnson.The youngster had been dominant in his division all winter and barely came out of third gear to win at a generous 5/2. Philip Hobbs’ runner was to follow up at Aintree and would be a Champion Hurdle candidate for 2018. Gordon Elliott, whose Champagne Classic won the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle, had made no secret of the regard in which he held Death Duty, but he befell the fate of many fancied favourites such as Neon Wolf and Unowhatimeanharry during the week. He was already beating a retreat in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle when unseating Brian Cooper at the final flight, with Elliott’s nemesis Willie Mullins picking up top honours with 16/1 chance Penhill. Mullins was also to collect the County Hurdle prize too with a remarkable training feat as Arctic Fire overcame a lay-off stretching back to January 2016, when second to Faugheen in the Irish Champion Hurdle, to cause a 20/1 shock under Paul Townend. And the tears were flowing following the St James’s Palace Foxhunter Challenge Cup as former Grand National-winning jockey Jimmy Frost saw his daughter Bryony guide Paul Nicholls’ Pacha Du Polder to victory.
third-last fence for the second year running. Harrington and Power’s work was not done for the day and they added to their Coral Cup win of earlier in the week as Rock The World landed the closing Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup – an emotional victory with the race named after her great friend Nicky Henderson’s late father. The name to note from the final day of the 2017 meeting was the JCB Triumph Hurdle winner Defi De Seuil who maintained an unbeaten record over hurdles with his sixth success over obstacles under
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diary dates The Festival, March 13-16, 2018
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