Present View heads the market for the Paddy Power Gold Cup© Photo Healy Racing
It’s been a ritual for a longer than I care to recall that on the eve of this very weekend I would be scrutinising the longest list of National Hunt horses in training, printed on what was probably the smallest print used in mainstream media, in a folly attempt to put all my favourite eggs in one basket of 10…To Follow.
Discussions often ran in to the wee hours with family and like minded racing nuts over which horses go where and all of us trying to nab an early blow with the Paddy Power Chase winner amongst the line up. I actually managed that once with The Outback Way and basked in the glory of my prime position on the leader board ( well I made the page for a week or so). The dream was alive...
It is such a shame that the competition has been let slide, I guess it made no money, cost some to run and basically was a bit of a pain in the backside for those who would now be tasked with its delivery.
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I’d be very surprised if those that did decide to curtail it are fans of the sport because this was a little bit of added magic that has now disappeared and has a left another hole in my ever evaporating grey matter.
I was thinking about the list, even when I knew I couldn’t enter one ( or several dozen ) and it reminded me that if asked to give ten to follow, which everyone seems to be these days, it wouldn't be the same list as one needed for the now defunct competition.
The nuances were critical, a few chasers, fewer hurdlers, big race targets and bonus point hunting. The banker material of Big Bucks, Denman and Kauto Star, hang on you couldn’t put in the last pair together, you just couldn't, could you?
I am sure all who caught the bug will remember ending up with reams of notes, scribbles, mad looking stress induced doodles with screwed up balls of the same all over the floor before the list read something like the obvious.
Big Bucks, Master Minded, Kauto Star, Denman, Hurricane Fly, Obscure Handicapper that is fancied for the Paddy Power Gold Cup, The Cheltenham Bumper Winner of previous year, Cesarewitch winner going hurdling, Arkle Winner of previous year and something that might have a chance in the Grand National i.e. proven slow boat who could also nick a hurdles race on the way…
The above probably details why I never won or came close in the competition but like everything ever entered you expect to “go close in a monthly prize” or rely on your strong looking “festival squad” and convince yourself you’ve unearthed the darkest of dark horses that even his trainer can’t see as it gallops past the Land Rover with a pigeon in it’s mouth each morning…
This year would have set a few tricky questions for sure. Simonsig and Sprinter Sacre could score 100s or 0s and make or break an entry, the Gold Cup picture is murkier than the Liffey and the old guard are all gone aren’t they!? We have open divisions to solve bar perhaps Annie Power’s route to Quevega’s throne and that would have made for a seriously tasty competition.
I’d have crashed and burned as always so I suppose I should be thankful that I am a few quid better off this weekend but I do miss the dreaming. It’s the Paddy Power Gold Cup of course which generally got you on the first page of an early leaderboard so if the winner is Easter Meteor I’ll be both laughing and crying at the same time. Yes I did back him last year….he would have won wouldn’t he?
Good luck to all.
