Andy Gibson’s big race review: Aintree next for some Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders

I doubt many will have concerns regarding the stamina of the winner for the Gold Cup trip after this performance.

In theory, one could easily argue that the two horses to follow Galopin Des Champs home had their stamina to prove coming into the race; therefore, it is possible that the winner beat two non-stayers on the day.

Although this is one possible conclusion to draw, I doubt very much that it is the correct one - after all, the pace was a strong one set by Ahoy Senor until he departed six out.

Frome thereon in Hewick and Protektorat were ridden aggressively down the hill from the third last fence. Consequently, it looked more like a staying performance from Galopin Des Champs rather than a success earned through speed.

Furthermore, the runner-up jumped much better compared with the Mullins horse who was low at several fences and less than fluent at best at several more.

Contrast that with the smooth jumping of the Ditcheat horse which gives further credence to the stamina shown by the winner in having to overcome a relatively average round of jumping.

The runner-up would be much more likely to jump round without error on another day and the winner more likely to prevail if standing up.

There has been and will continue to be lots of talk regarding the standing of the 2023 Gold Cup winner compared to those that have been successful before. In my experience, if the most recent winner has looked impressive in the finish he will inevitably be marked up beyond his true place in the pecking order.

In the case of Galopin Des Champs, he will need to jump better on another day and may well do so with this experience behind him. In addition, there always will be a question mark attached to any race when so few runners complete the course.

In this contest, only the first three home plus the fifth horse to complete have much relevance when assessing the quality of the form. Galopin Des Champs may turn out to be a particularly classy Gold Cup horse; that said, I do not think this performance in isolation is proof of that.

I was taken by surprise how much stamina and resolve Bravemansgame was able to display in the closing stages. This looked a particularly tough test and he was only beaten by a horse that could possibly turn out to be one of the better Gold Cup horses.

He finished well clear of the third horse to finish in a race where only seven horses managed to complete the course.

He endured a tough trip in the latter stages and so it will be interesting to see if he is asked to go again at Aintree. When he finished last of four at Aintree in 2022 his trainer stated post-race that:

" Bravemansgame hasn't run his race. It was the end of a long season".

Ahoy Senor won that race last season and also proved to be seven lengths too good for the Ditcheat horse at Aintree in April 2021. Moreover, Bravemansgame had run four times prior to April 2022 and had not run since the February when flopping at Aintree.

This season he has endured a particularly tough trip round just four weeks prior to the Aintree Bowl Chase and could be an interesting horse to take on if the market only responds to the quality of his recent run rather than the evidence of the last two years.

On the run down to the second last fence Conflated was still travelling well and his jockey was looking for room on the inside, when he was stopped twice before the second last fence and had to be switched wide on both occasions.

On the one hand, this may have saved him from being brought down on the inside by Hewick and on the other, it cost him ground and momentum. I doubt it made any difference to his finishing position, but I would suggest that he may be worth marking up by two or three lengths.

He has only had three runs this season and proved he can run well at Aintree after competing at Cheltenham in March last season.

Noble Yeats was rarely going as well as those around him and clearly did not have the pace to stay with this field. He made up many lengths from the third last fence and is completely flattered by his fourth-place finish as he only managed to run past tiring horses. The Grand National should offer a more suitable test for him.

As Protektorat began to tire in between the final two fences, my mind was remembering the words of Dan Skelton from before the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, when he stated that winning was everything and second was nowhere.

This was clearly relevant in the way that Protektorat was ridden from the third last fence to the winning line. I backed the Skelton horse each-way first five places for this race and rather got away with it.

However, the way he was ridden to keep up with horses that were clearly going much better than him was a timely reminder about the extra variable to take on board when dealing with a Dan Skelton contender in any market without the favourite and/or a situation like this where there are one or two horses potentially much better than his runner.

Protektorat would have finished a comfortable fourth place at worst if ridden to do so. I am not sure how useful it is to mark him up a few lengths as there can be little doubt that he will not be ridden to finish in the best possible place the next time we see him.

The attitude of the trainer is an extremely positive one and something that we need to remember. I would suggest that it will generally be important to tread carefully when considering the claims of any Dan Skelton-trained contender in similar circumstances.

If Protektorat is to be more competitive at this level I strongly suspect that he will need much softer conditions.

I thought Royal Pagaille ran a nice race without ever being placed to challenge. He was slightly hampered by the fall of Ahoy Senor and lost a couple of lengths at most in that incident. I suspect he will need very testing ground to be more competitive at this level.

After finishing last of the seven horses to complete the course the final finishing position of Eldorado Allen may read better in the form book than it is in reality.

On balance Sounds Russian did appear to be losing his pitch a little when unluckily brought down at the 17th fence. His rider also stated that he thought he had run his race.

Although Hewick was a beaten horse when taking a tired fall two out, he has still run a really good race on ground that was probably softer than ideal. He seemed to be all set to finish behind Protektorat when coming down so one would guess that sixth place is what he missed out on.

The fall of Ahoy Senor at the 17th fence came too far out to guess what might have happened if he had stood up. He was jumping well enough for him if a little out to his right whilst taking the field along at what seemed to be a good gallop.

His record at Aintree over the last two seasons offers plenty of hope that he can be competitive there.

I thought he was making some quiet headway whilst tracking the favourite at the point he was badly hampered immediately after the 17th fence, and it was too far out to gauge what might have happened without that incident.

His trainer and jockey seemed to be very positive about the race he was running up to that point. And as has only run twice this season, one would imagine we will see him aimed at Aintree next.

Minella Indo and Stattler

We saw a disappointing performance from a previous Gold Cup winner in Minella Indo, while that of Stattler was a similarly poor effort that ended with him being the first horse beaten.