Cheltenham

cheltenham festival / 2010 news /

Trix Could Still be the Each-Way Gold Cup Value
12/02/10

Despite running well below par at Leopardstown in early February, there are still good reasons to believe that, if the ground comes up testing, Money Trix could represent excellent value to sneak into the frame in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, writes Elliot Slater.

Going into the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown, Money Trix had never finished out of the first two in completed starts, but the Irish race was run at an absolute dawdle and effectively turned into a mile sprint, a situation that was never going to suit Nicky Richards' relentless galloper and made significantly worse after he made an uncharacteristic blunder at the second from home when still close enough to make his presence felt.

What A Friend
© racing-images.co.uk

Money Trix is better judged on his previous outing when staying on relentlessly to only just fail to catch the smart What A Friend in the Lexus Chase. Should the ground at Cheltenham ride soft, or ideally heavy, (and with the winter that has been endured in England so far, anything is possible when it comes to Cheltenham Festival Weather) there would be every reason to believe that Money Trix, coming off a fast pace and bringing his stamina into play over three-and-a-quarter miles and a stiff uphill finish, would have a good chance of chasing home the big two, Denman and Kauto Star.

Cumbrian-based Richards is not one to call his geese swans and still holds out strong hopes that the ten-year-old son of Old Vic has what it takes to get into the thick of things once again at the highest level.

If arriving fit and well at the Cheltenham Festival Horse Racing event on March 19th and encountering optimum conditions, it could easily be that connections will see their gallant grey attempting to serve it up to the outstanding big two in a race that could well go down in history as one of the best ever.