In a few weeks time we converge on Cheltenham again for what could be one of the best Cheltenham Festivals, ever. We certainly could witness the best Gold Cup of all time with two exceptional horses pitching up against each other. It is one all between Kauto Star and Denman, but in both those runs one of the horses was not right. This year they are!
After a Win in the Betfair Chase Denman threw down a marker with a sensational performance to win the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, under Ruby Walsh. A simply sensational performance….watch Denman below from YouTube.
A special mention for Lydia Heslop, true emotion, one of the very best racing broadcasters in my view.
Denman then headed the Gold Cup market and people were writing off the dual Gold Cup winner Kauto Star, but then we followed the Christmas star to Kempton for the King George, and Kauto Star won a historic fourth sucessive King George, but watch this, he pulverised a quality field, he won by a distance.
Wow is all you can say! Kauto Star is not done with yet, far from it! So now the scene is set for the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in 2010. If Tony McCoy rides Denman, as he looks likely to do, it will be even better, Walsh v McCoy, Kauto Star v Denman. It gets no better than that!
A race to look forward to, but there are some seriously good races to look forward to at Cheltenham. Is Zaynar good enough to win the Champion Hurdle? Is Dunguib the next National Hunt Superstar? Who will fill Kauto Star‘s shoes in a couple of years? There are many questions to answer.
Then it is back on the flat. 2009 was a year that saw Sea The Stars, a true great. He is a horse of a lifetime but in my view St Nicholas Abbey could be the flat star of 2010. His racing Post trophy was sensational and he could win the Derby in my view.
There are some huge races to look forward to, 2010 is looking like a vintage year, before it has even started!
