The Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham’s November meeting is one of the most prestigious and valuable handicaps on the calendar. Ante post betting for this race is always lively and it should be no different this year. This race has been a graveyard for the Irish with only one winner this century having been trained in the Emerald Isle. Mouse Morris believes he could have the answer for Ireland this time around. The horse in question will be raring to go on the big day according to his trainer. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
French Dynamite (10-1, bet365) won at Thurles on seasonal debut earlier this month. It was a smooth performance over 2m7f in a competitive race. Connections will have been pleased they ran him over hurdles so his chase mark will be unaffected. Morris said: “There hasn’t been a bother on him since last time at Thurles. I was happy with what he did there over hurdles.” A successful endeavour, French Dynamite picked up a win and that run will have sharpened him up for the big day.
All systems are go now for Cheltenham. His trainer added: “I’d say it’s a good possibility that we could head over with French Dynamite. He’s rated 147 over fences, so hopefully he doesn’t end up too high in the weights.” His rating seems fair enough on the evidence of his Grade 3 novice win back in March where he beat the very useful Ciel De Neige.
Second season chasers do well in this race and he has the perfect profile for it. Improvement will be needed but there’s every chance of that happening. With just five chase starts under his belt, there should be plenty more to come over the larger obstacles.
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