Cue Card stakes Gold Cup claim as Bobs Worth fails to fire

It’s worth remembering that he was eased when jockey Barry Geraghty knew he wasn’t going to feature in the finish.

It was a poor run but there are extenuating circumstances.

The ground was soft and although his Gold Cup win came on testing going, he has mainly raced on better ground.

His Cheltenham record reads 1-1-1-1-1-1 and at 4/1 he is still the most likely winner of the March showpiece.

Bet on Silviniaco Conti to win Gold Cup at 10/1

Silviniaco Conti travelled well for a long way at Haydock and Paul Nicholls will have been pleased with his effort, especially as the Ditcheat handler expected him to come on a lot for the run.

The combination of better rivals and a change of track (they raced on the more testing flat track rather than the sharper chase course) meant he was unable to repeat last year’s victory in the race.

However it was a strong performance to finish third and he is now 10/1 for The Gold Cup.

He was still moving well when falling at the third-last fence in the 2013 renewal and, although he is yet to prove his stamina for the 3m 2f trip, it should be within range.

The other horse to stake a claim for the prize in March was Dynaste who finished second and seemed to shrug off his relative inexperience compared to his rivals.

David Pipe’s grey was another who travelled well into the race and he could further stake a claim for Cheltenham if taking on Cue Card in next month’s King George VI Chase at Kempton.

He is 12/1 at present for the Gold Cup but won the Feltham Chase on the Boxing Day card last season and would surely shorten further if he was to run well at the track 12 months on.

Bet on Dynaste to win Gold Cup at 12/1

Former Gold Cup winner Long Run was fourth on Saturday and ran well, but it appears that there are a bunch of horses which might be leaving him behind.

He is now 20/1 for the Gold Cup but is no back-number just yet. Elsewhere on Saturday Al Ferof made a pleasing return to action, although he didn’t need to be his best to prevail in a two-runner Amlin 1965 Chase at Ascot.

Paul Nicholls’ ace had been off the track for a year but showed no signs of rustiness and jumped the last two fences as if he had just joined the race.

It’s worth remembering that he beat Cue Card in the Supreme Novices’ back in 2011 and although he is yet to prove his stamina for the Gold Cup trip, a bold run in the King George would see his current odds of 16/1 contract significantly.

The son of Dom Alco is only eight and could still have his best years ahead of him.