THE Cheltenham Gold Cup, like most of the rest of the Festival races, is not a happy hunting ground for favourites, with only five having won it in the last 20 years — two of them coming from the unfortunate Best Mate.

The participation of Grey Abbey in the totesport Gold Cup on Friday remains in the balance, despite the front-running grey being one of 16 declared for the blue riband today.

Strong Flow justified all of the hype as he strode away with the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury today.