Kingscliff one step closer to gold standard
Kingscliff lived up to the hype as he made it seven wins from seven races in the Tripleprint Chase at Cheltenham yesterday and he looks to be a genuine Gold Cup contender.
The 4-7 favourite beat Haut Cercy by six lengths to advertise his claims for championship honours later this season.
Bookmakers were certainly impressed and make him generally an 8-1 chance for the Gold Cup, though William Hill cut him to just 6-1.
Even a rather clumsy leap at the final fence failed to disrupt his momentum, as he quickened up nicely under Andrew Thornton to pull away again in the final yards.
Marlborough, who looked the likeliest challenger for most of the contest, gradually faded from the second-last fence, where Exit To Wave, who was bustling up the winner, came to a slithering standstill after a jumping error.
Trainer Robert Alner admitted that the attention directed towards his charge in the run-up to the race had made things tense.
“We were very nervous that he wouldn’t produce the goods,” he said. “When you have a horse like him, who is unbeaten, every race they have, they become one step nearer to getting beaten.”
Alner, who tasted Gold Cup glory at Cheltenham with Cool Dawn in 1998, confirmed that the winner would now be campaigned at the Festival’s blue riband.
“We had thought we would wait for 2005, but it looks like we are going to give it a crack this season now,” he said.
“He answered all of today’s questions and now we can look forward. I would like to give him one more run before Cheltenham but I am not the sort of man who already has a plan in mind. I will go home and have a good think about things.”
Thornton was equally convinced that going for Gold was the right decision for the winner.
“You all forget that he has only had seven starts,” said the jockey. “He is still learning all the time, but he has shown today that he deserves to take his place in what I think is going to be a vintage Gold Cup.
“With the likes of Best Mate, Beef Or Salmon, Jair Du Cochet, First Gold and even Sir Rembrandt (stablemate of the winner and a possible alternative ride for Thornton), it is going to be a hell of a race.
“Nothing he has done says that he doesn’t deserve to take his chance.
“He got under a couple early on but he was clever enough and I probably got it wrong at the last when I asked him to do too much. Fair play to him, he picked up well when I asked him to quicken and he wasn’t stopping at the finish.
“It’s all good experience and if we can come back for something like the Pillar Chase – which will give him more experience of this track and the fences - that will put him just right.”
Kingscliff was the starring performer on a day that the bookmakers will want to forget, with all six market-leaders obliging.
Tony McCoy was, as usual, the darling of the punters as he notched a double on Therealbandit (11-10) and Battle Warning (7-2).
Therealbandit put up a hugely-impressive performance to take the opening Ian Williams’ Owners Novices’ Chase.
McCoy eased him into the lead at the top of the hill and Therealbandit strode clear to win with his ears pricked by eight lengths.
Victor Chandler installed the Martin Pipe-trained winner as short as 5-1 second-favourite behind Strong Flow for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Festival in March.
But 7-1 is available with Coral and 8-1 with Irish layers Cashmans, who briefly offered 10s before being forced to take evasive action.
Battle Warning denied the Pipe camp a double as McCoy drove the Peter Bowen-trained winner out to win the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle (Qualifier) from Imperial De Thaix.
Perouse (9-4) completed a quickfire hat-trick with a smooth success in the CFR Group Electrical Services Handicap Hurdle.
And punters came out on top again after Jasmin Guichois, the 11-4 favourite, turned in a splendid leap at the last to take the Club 16-24 Adrian Maguire Testimonial Ball Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase.
The rout was completed when 4-5 chance Grey Report took the concluding EBF National Hunt Novices’ Hurdle.
