18th Mar 2016 | Cheltenham Festival
Gold Cup Tips: Cue Card
Better than ever after wind operation and can get a trip now he settles better. Ran fast times at Kempton and Haydock.
The market has got the Gold Cup almost spot on but it’s still possible to steal some money off the bookmakers.
The King George is the key piece for form and I expect the 1-2-3 (assuming Don Cossack has stood up) to battle it out again. Cue Card came out on top at Kempton by the narrowest of margins but now Vautour has defected, life has got easier.
Cue Card’s stamina was questioned in the past but since his wind operation he’s a much better stayer. Ruby Walsh set a strong pace on Vautour in the King George and the leaders actually came home 1.88s slower than the preceding Novices’ Chase won by Tea For Two. Cue Card ran the fastest closing sectional to get up on the line, proving he could finish off a strongly run race, albeit on an easy track.
It was a similar story in the Betfair Chase where Silviniaco Conti set a strong gallop to test Cue Card’s stamina. That resulted in a 7-length victory for Colin Tizzard’s chaser and a big speed rating to boot.
The drying ground is in Cue Card’s favour and with the biggest speed ratings and best form to his name, he will take all the beating at 4/1.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 05:35 18th Mar, 2016 but subject to change
