Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)

Cheltenham

14:20

Date 2023-11-18

Distance 2m4f44y

Class Class 1

Going Soft

Type Chase

Surface Turf

Age Band 4yo+

Prize £90,032

Winning Time 5m 13.26s (slow by 13.26s)

Result

Pos	Horse	SP	Btn
1st	Stage Star (IRE) Harry Cobden · Paul Nicholls	4/1F	Won
2nd	Notlongtillmay (GB) Adam Wedge · L J Morgan	7/1	4
3rd	Il Ridoto (FR) Freddie Gingell · Paul Nicholls	12/1	8
4th	Fugitif (FR) Gavin Sheehan · Richard Hobson	12/1	4
5th	Unexpected Party (FR) Harry Skelton · Dan Skelton	5/1	1.5
6th	Easy As That (IRE) Charlie Deutsch · Venetia Williams	10/1	3.5
7th	Angels Breath (IRE) Jonathan Burke · Sam Thomas	15/2	10
8th	Whistleinthedark (IRE) Kevin Brogan · L J Morgan	33/1	8
9th	Final Orders (GB) Danny Gilligan · Gavin Cromwell	33/1	13
10th	Harper's Brook (IRE) Kielan Woods · Ben Pauling	16/1	2.75

Non-Runners / Other

Status	Horse	SP
P.U.	Authorized Art (FR) Danny Mullins · W P Mullins	22/1
P.U.	Black Gerry (IRE) Jamie Moore · Gary Moore	40/1
P.U.	The Real Whacker (IRE) Sam Twiston-Davies · Patrick Neville	13/2
Fell	Torn And Frayed (FR) Tom Bellamy · Nigel Twiston-Davies	20/1

Runners (14)

EW Terms: 3 places, ¼ odds (standard bookmaker terms — may vary)

#	Horse	Jockey / Trainer	Wt	Gear	Form	OR	RPR	TS	Last	Crs	Dst	Val	Scr	EW	Odds
2	Stage Star Bay J:Harry Cobden T:Paul Nicholls	J:Harry Cobden T:Paul Nicholls	161	—	21115-	155	166	147	219d	—	—	+31	46.7	1.13/1	9/2 18%
Two notable wins at Cheltenham last term, including Festival G1; major contender back here
7	Unexpected Party Grey J:Harry Skelton T:Dan Skelton	J:Harry Skelton T:Dan Skelton	152	t	2353-1	146	167	141	35d	—	—	+24	38	1.00/1	5 20%
Form stacks up well; should build on his Chepstow reappearance success; big player
1	The Real Whacker Bay J:Sam Twiston-Davies T:Patrick Neville	J:Sam Twiston-Davies T:Patrick Neville	168	—	/0111-	162	163	134	248d	—	—	+42	53.3	1.63/1	13/2 13%
Three wins at Cheltenham since switched to fences, latest in the Brown Advisory; respected
10	Angels Breath Grey J:Jonathan Burke T:Sam Thomas	J:Jonathan Burke T:Sam Thomas	150	—	1/P2-2	144	165	133	22d	—	—	+26	36.4	2.00/1	8/1 11%
Lightly raced; runner-up over hurdles here last time; well treated on his 2019 chase form
5	Notlongtillmay Bay J:Adam Wedge T:L J Morgan	J:Adam Wedge T:L J Morgan	158	—	1112-4	152	166	152	21d	—	—	+18	28.6	1.75/1	7/1 13%
Progressive; second to Stage Star in the Turners; another good effort here on reappearance
12	Easy As That Bay J:Charlie Deutsch T:Venetia Williams	J:Charlie Deutsch T:Venetia Williams	147	—	/2115-	141	167	133	252d	—	—	+31	38.4	2.25/1	10 10%
Second-season chaser who may have further progress in him; yard in great form at present
3	Fugitif Bay J:Gavin Sheehan T:Richard Hobson	J:Gavin Sheehan T:Richard Hobson	159	tp	21225-	153	166	151	218d	—	—	+31	37.7	2.75/1	12 8%
Second in three handicaps here last season; solid chance with cheekpieces added
8	Il Ridoto Bay J:Freddie Gingell(5) T:Paul Nicholls	J:Freddie Gingell(5) T:Paul Nicholls	150	tp	4416P-	144	172	156	218d	—	—	+22	28.9	2.75/1	12 8%
Good form in major 2m4f handicaps here last term; Freddie Gingell takes off valuable 5lb
14	Harper's Brook Bay J:Kielan Woods T:Ben Pauling	J:Kielan Woods T:Ben Pauling	142	t	215P2-	136	166	134	203d	—	—	+25	31.1	4.00/1	16/1 6%
Not fully exposed but comes with risk; idled badly and threw the race away last time
13	Torn And Frayed Bay J:Tom Bellamy T:Nigel Twiston-Davies	J:Tom Bellamy T:Nigel Twiston-Davies	142	—	322P1/	136	166	-	658d	—	—	+31	36.4	4.75/1	20 5%
Absent since his 6l success in similar event here in January 2022; market instructive
4	Authorized Art Bay J:Danny Mullins T:W P Mullins	J:Danny Mullins T:W P Mullins	159	p	456-24	153	159	107	59d	—	—	+23	26.7	6.00/1	25 4%
Ran well in major Irish handicaps the last twice but is an exposed sort
9	Whistleinthedark Bay J:Kevin Brogan T:L J Morgan	J:Kevin Brogan T:L J Morgan	150	—	21111-	144	165	148	205d	—	—	+46	49.3	8.25/1	33/1 3%
4-4 since switched to chasing; could improve further the way he's going; hard to dismiss
6	Final Orders Bay J:Danny Gilligan(5) T:Gavin Cromwell	J:Danny Gilligan(5) T:Gavin Cromwell	154	t	5F-014	148	166	118	35d	—	—	+22	25.3	8.25/1	33/1 3%
May raise his game; major Irish trainer had three winners at the meeting here last month
11	Black Gerry Bay J:Jamie Moore T:Gary Moore	J:Jamie Moore T:Gary Moore	148	—	1PP11-	142	164	124	222d	—	—	+39	41.4	9.75/1	40 3%
Two wins in April took his chase record to 5-10; faces a stiffer task at this level

Horse	bet365	William Hill	Unibet	Boyle Sports	Ladbrokes
Stage Star	9/2	9/2	9/2	9/2	9/2
Unexpected Party	5	5	5	5	5
The Real Whacker	6	13/2	13/2	13/2	13/2
Angels Breath	15/2	8/1	8	15/2	7
Notlongtillmay	7/1	13/2	7	7	7
Easy As That	9	10	10	10	10
Fugitif	10	10	12	12	12
Il Ridoto	12	10	12	12	11
Harper's Brook	14	16/1	14	14	12
Torn And Frayed	20	18	18	18	18
Authorized Art	25	20	22	22	22
Whistleinthedark	28	28	33/1	28	28
Final Orders	28/1	33/1	28	25	25
Black Gerry	40	33	40	40	40

Predictor

Scored on Official Rating (max 30), Recent Form (max 25), and Market Odds (max 20). Max score: 75.

1st

The Real Whacker

53.3

OR: 28 Form: 22 Odds: 3.3

13/2

2nd

Whistleinthedark

49.3

OR: 23.5 Form: 25 Odds: 0.8

33/1

3rd

Stage Star

46.7

OR: 26.3 Form: 16 Odds: 4.4

9/2

Black Gerry

41.4

OR: 23 Form: 17.8 Odds: 0.6

Easy As That

38.4

OR: 22.8 Form: 13.5 Odds: 2.1

Unexpected Party

OR: 24 Form: 10 Odds: 4

Fugitif

37.7

OR: 25.8 Form: 10 Odds: 1.9

Angels Breath

36.4

OR: 23.5 Form: 10 Odds: 2.9

8/1

Torn And Frayed

36.4

OR: 21.5 Form: 13.6 Odds: 1.4

Harper's Brook

31.1

OR: 21.5 Form: 8 Odds: 1.6

16/1

Il Ridoto

28.9

OR: 23.5 Form: 3.5 Odds: 1.9

Notlongtillmay

28.6

OR: 25.5 Form: 0 Odds: 3.1

7/1

Authorized Art

26.7

OR: 25.8 Form: 0 Odds: 1

Final Orders

25.3

OR: 24.5 Form: 0 Odds: 0.8

33/1

Ratings

Horse	OR	RPR	TS
The Real Whacker	162	163	134
Stage Star	155	166	147
Fugitif	153	166	151
Authorized Art	153	159	107
Notlongtillmay	152	166	152
Final Orders	148	166	118
Unexpected Party	146	167	141
Angels Breath	144	165	133
Il Ridoto	144	172	156
Whistleinthedark	144	165	148
Black Gerry	142	164	124
Easy As That	141	167	133
Harper's Brook	136	166	134
Torn And Frayed	136	166	—

Last Run

Horse	Last Run	Status
Notlongtillmay	21d ago	Fit
Angels Breath	22d ago	Fit
Unexpected Party	35d ago	Fit
Final Orders	35d ago	Fit
Authorized Art	59d ago	Fresh
Harper's Brook	203d ago	Long break
Whistleinthedark	205d ago	Long break
Fugitif	218d ago	Long break
Il Ridoto	218d ago	Long break
Stage Star	219d ago	Long break
Black Gerry	222d ago	Long break
The Real Whacker	248d ago	Long break
Easy As That	252d ago	Long break
Torn And Frayed	658d ago	Long break