Coneygree became the first novice to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 41 years after making nearly all the running under Nico De Boinville. As in his previous handful of races, the horse put up a superb display of jumping and remorseless galloping to beat a big field of talented rivals.
The result is a total vindication of the decision by Mark and Sara Bradstock, the training team behind Coneygree, to send their horse for the biggest prize of all. The much more orthodox alternative was to keep him to novice company in the RSA Chase here on Wednesday and many in racing were set against the idea of running such an inexperienced horse in such a famously tough contest.
The winner was bred by the late Lord Oaksey, who spent many years as a popular pundit on Channel 4 Racing. Sara Bradstock is his daughter.
“Words can’t describe it without using expletives, but it’s unbelievable,” said De Boinville, who had previously been best known as the regular work-rider of Sprinter Sacre. “I knew I had a lot of horse left.”
The first circuit of this Gold Cup proved undramatic, though Lord Windermere, last year’s winner, dropped even further to the rear than he had then and this time there was no recovering. Going out on the back stretch for the second time, Coneygree wound up the tempo mercilessly and, within two or three fences, half the field was plainly beaten.
Silviniaco Conti, who was sent off favourite to win the race at the third time of asking, was running on empty by the final downhill run, along with another fancied runner, Many Clouds. By the turn for home, Djakadam, Road To Riches and Holywell looked like the only ones still with a chance of catching the pace-setter.
Djakadam’s challenge lasted longest and it seemed he might give his trainer, Willie Mullins, a first success in the race, as he stayed on up the far side of the run-in. But Coneygree, who hung towards the stands, somehow found the reserves to keep pounding up the famous hill and he held a winning margin of a length and a half at the line.
Mullins has now had the runner-up five times in this race. Road To Riches was third and Holywell fourth as the old order that produced such a muddled finish last year was swept aside.
The outcome means four of the week’s five major races have been won by horses who made all the running, Coneygree following Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle, Uxizandre in the Ryanair and Cole Harden in the World Hurdle.
