 McCoy will be bidding for his first Gold Cup win since 1997 |
Champion trainer Paul Nicholls reckons Tony McCoy will have few problems partnering 2008 Gold Cup winner Denman for the first time on Saturday. McCoy will ride Denman in Newbury's Aon Chase in his last prep race ahead of his bid to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March for a second time. Nicholls said: "It's a small field and it will be very straightforward. "Denman needs the run but is very easy to ride and obviously [stable jockey] Ruby Walsh will help him [McCoy]." Denman, who won the 2008 Gold Cup under Sam Thomas, has been ridden nine times by Walsh. But when he takes on stablemate Kauto Star for the third time in jumps racing's blue riband event on 19 March, he will be in the hands of 14-time champion jockey McCoy. This year's Gold Cup is expected to be another duel between Kauto Star - ridden by Walsh - and Denman, the former having taken revenge on his stablemate in 2009 to reclaim the crown he had lost the previous year. "If you were going to want [Denman] to have the best possible chance in the Gold Cup you would want the jockey who was to be riding him to have one ride before. However much you think you know the horse from what you've seen, it won't compare to having a ride with him," stated Nicholls.  | 606: DEBATE |
Walsh took Denman to his second Hennessy Gold Cup success at Newbury in November, while Kauto Star has had fine preparation with wins in both his prep races, including a record fourth consecutive success at Kempton's King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. But of the two, Nicholls judges Denman, who he describes as a more "stuffy" individual than his stablemate, to need one more run to fine-tune his Cheltenham challenge. "It's not essential but it was always in his programme and mentally it will do him the world of good," added Nicholls. One of the five rivals who will take on Denman is Charlie Mann's Air Force One, who said of his stable star: "The main thing is that he comes back in one piece. After that it will be a shot at one of the Nationals and I'm thrilled with his progress. I've got him right and am over the moon with him." Denman will also face Tricky Trickster, a leading Grand National contender, Niche Market, Ollie Magern and Wee Robbie - and he is expected to win with some ease. Kauto Star is the ante-post favourite for this year's Gold Cup at around 11-8, with Denman about 9-4. The next best prices for punters looking for a bit of value are Cooldine, second in Sunday's Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown, and Imperial Commander, who lost out to Kauto Star in a photo-finish last November at Haydock. They are both about 14-1. McCoy piloted Mr Mulligan to his only career Gold Cup win back in 1997.
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