Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.IT WAS a familiar story on Sunday morning when British punters awoke to empty wallets and full-blown inferiority complexes after another night of humiliation at the Breeders' Cup. The meeting is as close as racing fans ever get to supporting a team in an international fixture, so the willingness to believe in Britain's challengers even after so many earlier disappointments is understandable. Even so, it might be better in future years to ignore the sideshow in America and concentrate instead on the one branch of racing in which Britain is the world leader.
Jumps racing never really goes away these days, but as of this weekend, it is back in spirit as well as in body. The Murphy's Gold Cup, the race which anyone of a certain age (ie. 20 and over) still thinks of as the Mackeson, is the showpiece of the first weekend meeting of the season at Cheltenham. Backed up by two more days of valuable events, and packaged as a mini-Festival - the Irish craic - it is stage one of a whole series of big weekends which leads all the way to the Cheltenham Festival itself in March.
Seventeen horses were declared for the Murphy's yesterday, with the field headed by Or Royal, the 1997 Arkle Trophy winner who is not a certain starter, and Senor El Betrutti, who, provided a few lucky punters with their betting bank for the whole season when hewon the race 12 months ago at 33-1.
The horse which most backers will pin their hopes on this time around, though, is Or Royal's stable-mate, Cyfor Malta, who won the John Hughes Chase over the National fences at Aintree by 13 lengths on his final start last season. Many observers struggled to recall when a horse had last won so easily over the big fir fences, and the performance was all the more surprising in view of the fact that Cyfor Malta is still a five-year- old.
He has been raised 9lb for that win, which is hardly extreme, and the bookmakers are doing all they can to discourage punters from supporting him. At a top-price of 9-4 with Ladbrokes and the Tote, only the reckless will step in to support him this early in the week, and it may well be that he will drift a little in the market on the day as the on-course bookies take him on.
Next in lists are Queen Of Spades, whose trainer, Nigel Twiston-Davies, landed a gamble with Mister Morose in the Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle at Chepstow on Saturday, and Mandy's Mantino, who will try to take the prize to Josh Gifford's Findon yard for the third time in the last six years.
They can both be backed at 8-1, but the obvious springer in the market this morning is Papillon. Ted Walsh's runner is a 13-2 chance with the Tote, but available at 10-1 with Hills and Stanley, always assuming that they have the courage of their odds compilers' convictions and lay that price when the telephone lines and doors open. Papillon, who would be Ireland's first winner since 1980, won the Ladbroke Trophy Handicap Chase at Cheltenham last season and was unlucky to finish a half-length second in the Irish National at Fairyhouse.
"A horse fell in front of him at the fourth in the National and it knocked him back a bit," Walsh said yesterday. "He had a run at Navan two weeks ago and he's okay after it." Walsh's 19-year-old son, Ruby, one of Ireland's most promising young riders, will be in Papillon's saddle on Saturday.
Ayr too will have a strong Irish challenger this weekend in Dorans Pride, one of his country's principal hopes for the Gold Cup next year, who will run in the Sean Graham Chase. "This is a slight change of plan," Michael Hourigan, his trainer, said yesterday. "I had intended to run Dorans Pride at Punchestown in December but he is in such good form I picked on Saturday's Ayr race." Whether anyone will dare to take him on, of course, is another matter entirely.
ANTE-POST UPDATE
MURPHY'S GOLD CUP H'CAP CHASE (2m 4f 110yds)
Coral Wm Hill Ladbrokes Stanley Tote
Cyfor Malta (M Pipe/11st3lb) 15-8 2-1 9-4 2-1 9-4
Mandys Mantino (J Gifford/10st8lb) 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 13-2
Queen Of Spades (N Twiston-Davies/9st12lb) 7-1 8-1 8-1 8-1 13-2
Papillon (T Walsh(Irl)/10st13lb) 9-1 10-1 8-1 10-1 13-2
Simply Dashing (T Easterby/11st12lb) 9-1 10-1 8-1 9-1 8-1
Senor El Betrutti (Mrs S Nock/12st) 9-1 9-1 8-1 9-1 11-1
Challenger Du Luc (M Pipe/11st13lb) 12-1 12-1 10-1 12-1 11-1
Addington Boy (N Richards/11st12lb) 16-1 14-1 16-1 16-1 16-1
Dr Leunt (P Hobbs/10st) 16-1 16-1 16-1 16-1 11-1
Or Royal (M Pipe/12st) 16-1 dbt 16-1 16-1 16-1
Bertone (K Bailey/11st10lb) 20-1 16-1 14-1 16-1 16-1
Potter's Bay (D Nicholson/10st6lb) 20-1 16-1 16-1 14-1 14-1
Philip's Woody (N Henderson/10st) 25-1 25-1 20-1 25-1 20-1
Danger Baby (P Bowen/10st1lb) 33-1 20-1 25-1 33-1 33-1
Pimberley Place (N Twiston-Davies/10st3lb) 33-1 33-1 33-1 25-1 25-1
Hoh Warrior (C Mann/10st3lb) 50-1 40-1 40-1 50-1 33-1
Glamanglitz (P Dalton/9st2lb) 50-1 50-1 66-1 50-1 50-1
Minimum weight: 10st. Each-way a quarter the odds, places, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Cheltenham, Saturday)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments