Perfect timing from Synchronised

You’d imagine JP McManus has spent much of his life hoping to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and yesterday at Cheltenham it all came right, when Tony McCoy brought the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Synchronised with an irresistible challenge to beat outsider The Giant Bolster and last year’s winner, Long Run.

In a dramatic race, the legendary Kauto Star was pulled up with less than a circuit covered, before the 10th fence, to tumultuous applause from the packed stands.

McManus first came to prominence back in the late 70s with the great white hope of Irish chasing, Jack Of Trumps. That horse was regarded as a possible Gold Cup winner, but it never quite came to pass.