racing_news/

Tidal Bay of Plenty in bet365 Gold Cup
28/04/12

1 Tidal Bay 9/1
2 Roalco De Farges 7/1
3 Any Currency 16/1
4 Vic Venturi 25/1
NR: Free World (IRE)
19 ran Distances: 15l, 7l, 4½l
TIME 7m 50.30s (slow by 35.30s)

Tidal Bay put up a remarkable performance to sweep to victory in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park under top weight.

Tidal Bay
© racing-images.co.uk

One of the most enigmatic horses in training, the hugely talented 11-year-old has never quite lived up to his billing having won the Arkle Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival back in 2008.

Now with Paul Nicholls, the 9-1 shot was always travelling supremely well for Daryl Jacob and it was simply a matter of whether he would consent to go clear after jumping the last. He did, and quickened away to beat Roalco De Farges by 15 lengths.

Jacob said: "The horse gave me a great ride, I just sat there and pointed him in the right direction. He always travelled well and jumped great. Another fine team effort at Ditcheat.

"I was always fairly confident and he was travelling in his comfort zone. I tried to reserve a bit of energy as he had a lot of weight, to try to get away from Dickie (Johnson) at the last. He did it well. He got a good jump at the last and got some momentum."

Nicholls added: "I knew he ran really well over hurdles at Aintree the other day, but he nearly got brought down on the far side. He flew up the straight and finished fourth. He might have finished second but for that and that race was a prep for this.

"When it kept on raining to slow the ground down, it was always going to suit him. We knew they would go that bit slower and it would give him time to get his confidence. If it had been quick ground, it might have rushed him and he would not have jumped well enough.

"Everything was right for him today for the first time for a long time," he told .

Position	Horse Trainer	Jockey Weight	Starting Price Beaten Distance
1	Tidal Bay P F Nicholls	D A Jacob 11st 12lbs	9 - 1 Winner
2	Roalco De Farges P J Hobbs	R Johnson 10st 6lbs	7 - 1 15 lengths
3	Any Currency M Keighley	Aidan Coleman 10st 3lbs	16 - 1 7 lengths
4	Vic Venturi D T Hughes	J M Maguire 10st 9lbs	25 - 1 4 1/2 lengths
5	Aldertune P F Nicholls	Nick Scholfield 10st 1lbs	11 - 1 3/4 length
6	Dover's Hill Mrs Mary Hambro	S Thomas 10st 11lbs	20 - 1 14 lengths
7	Knighton Combe Jamie Snowden	Brendan Powell 10st 0lbs	25 - 1 10 lengths
8	Rare Bob D T Hughes	P J Brennan 11st 3lbs	11 - 1 14 lengths
9	Galaxy Rock Jonjo O'Neill	D C Costello 11st 2lbs	20 - 1 22 lengths
10	Le Beau Bai R Lee	J E Moore 10st 12lbs	6 - 1 4 lengths
PulledUp	Deep Purple Evan Williams	Paul Moloney 11st 10lbs	25 - 1
PulledUp	West End Rocker A King	W Hutchinson 11st 7lbs	8 - 1
PulledUp	Tullamore Dew N J Gifford	D F O'Regan 11st 0lbs	25 - 1
PulledUp	Ouzbeck Miss E C Lavelle	D Elsworth 10st 10lbs	20 - 1
PulledUp	Swing Bill D Pipe	T J Murphy 10st 10lbs	25 - 1
PulledUp	Viking Blond N A Twiston-Davies	William Twiston-Davies 10st 7lbs	12 - 1
PulledUp	Enter Paradise C J Mann	D Crosse 10st 6lbs	25 - 1
PulledUp	Major Malarkey N A Twiston-Davies	S Twiston-Davies 10st 5lbs	15 - 2
PulledUp	Ethiopia R H Buckler	James Best 10st 0lbs	100 - 1
NonRunner	Free World W Greatrex	T Scudamore 10st 0lbs	-