IT’S time for the Gold Cup, highlight of day four and what has been a fantastic week here at Prestbury Park.
Interestingly, no owner has ever won the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup in the same year but Rich Ricci looks like he has an ace in the pack to break that particular statistic.
Gaelic Warrior for me is the best horse in the Gold Cup. His run at Leopardstown despite not settling, his run at Kempton despite circumstances not really suiting him and the John Durkan performance when he won despite running away, tells you this horse is immensely talented.
Gaelic Warrior is the one they all have to beat in the Gold Cup
I think Paul Townend is going to be able to switch him off, considering it isn’t as big a field as we anticipated a week ago.
Gaelic Warrior is the rightful favourite and he’s the one they all have to beat in the Gold Cup.
But obviously I have to mention Spillane’s Tower, trained of course by my father, Jimmy Mangan.
Harry Cobden rides him for the first time as Mark Walsh – retained rider to owner JP McManus – chose to ride last year’s winner, Inothewayurthinkin, and Jack Kennedy has been claimed by his boss Gordon Elliott for Firefox.
Harry’s a good substitute jockey and he should get on well with Spillane’s Tower. The trip is the question mark but we know he handles the track after his win here in January, and he has talent.
He’s an each-way player in the Gold Cup for what could be a fairytale if he runs well.
The Triumph Hurdle gets proceedings underway – it’s a race in which Irish horses have a dominant record, particularly Willie Mullins, who fields an incredible team of nine horses in this one.
I think Minella Study has very good course and distance form for Adam Nicol and I think he’s a lively outsider against the favourite, but I just can’t get way from the fact that Proactif was very impressive in his two starts to date, in France and in Ireland, and he’s going to be very hard to stop in the Triumph Hurdle.
I like the profile of Sinnatra in the County Hurdle, of course a race that Harry and Dan Skelton have a strong record in.
His form at Newbury back in November, when he was second to Act Of Innocence reads well, especially after he ran so well when second to King Rasko Grey on Wednesday. And he was a good winner at Warwick since then.
He’s a horse that I think has plenty of upside and has a very low weight of 10 stone, five pounds on his back, so I will side with Sinnatra, the six-year-old to prevail in the County.
In the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase, Panic Attack has improved from a mark of 120 right up to 147 this year, she’s been a marvel.
She won the big handicap chase at Newbury, back in November, and she was a course and distance winner here just two weeks after that. She also won at Newbury on her last start back in January.
Dinoblue is going to be hard to beat but Panic Attack can give her plenty, she’s in receipt of three pounds and she’s in the form of her life.
Panic Attack is in the form of her life
Doctor Steinberg has proven himself to be ground versatile, having won his maiden on good at Galway in October and on heavy at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
He’s a horse with immense talent as we saw when he beat Kazansky by eight lengths the last day at Leopardstown. He is the choice of Paul Townend of the Closutton runners in the Albert Bartlett and while he needs to settle over this extended three miles, I think he’s got the class to win the Grade One and complete a big week for the Townend and Mullins team.
Panda Boy isn’t an old horse, he’s been a decent handicapper over hurdles and fences for Martin Brassil, but since changing to the hunter’s chase discipline, he’s really got a new lease of life.
He made all in Thurles in January, he was good when winning in Naas last month and while he doesn’t have to dominate proceedings, I think that John Gleeson, who knows him very well, is a big asset in a race like this because he’s such a polished amateur.
It’s Panda Boy to out-class his rivals in the Hunters’ Chase.
And we close out the 2026 Festival with the Martin Pipe Hurdle. This race has a history of throwing up some very good horses, from Sir Des Champs to Galopin Des Champs, with Killultagh Vic in between. The common denominator? Willie Mullins.
Willie has a strong hand in this, and I like the fact he’s been able to book John Shinnick for Roc Dino. Despite losing his claim in Ireland he’s still entitled to ride in this race in the UK.
He’s bumped into some very impressive horses in maiden hurdles this season in Mighty Park and El Cairos and now debuts off a mark of 131. I think that is potentially a lenient handicap mark.
It would be a mighty win for the Cork rider if he did manage to win on Roc Dino – he’s a horse with a lot of upside in the Martin Pipe and could send the Irish raiders home on a high.
