Gold Cup entries announced this week

The entries for this year’s Gold Cup have been published. All of the big guns are on the list, but this year’s field will not include Beef Or Salmon, who has been a standing dish in the race over recent years. My Way De Solzen is the other notable absentee.

The race still revolves around the Paul Nicholls pair of Denman and last year’s winner’s Kauto Star, and it is hard to look beyond them. However, from an ante post punting perspective, neither represents much value, whereas Exotic Dancer looks an each way certainty at 12/1, provided the Jonjo O’Neill stable has returned to form by March.

With a number of the other leading candidates likely to be rerouted to the Ryanair Chase to avoid the two favourites, it may also be worth looking at some of the bigger priced runners for some further each way value. The race is likely to cut up significantly, potentially leaving us with one of the smallest fields for years.

Halcon Genelardais would be interesting on very soft ground, but that is rare at Cheltenham these days so the ones to keep an eye on in the build up to the race are Snowy Morning and Another Promise (both currently available at 66/1). The later could be aimed at any of the big races at the Festival, but is very talented and should be followed wherever he turns up.

Last year’s Champion Hurdle hero Sublimity delighted his trainer, John Carr, when put through his paces at Dundalk yesterday and is firmly on target for his pre Festival target, the AIG European Champion Hurdle.

Sublimity may have been well beaten when fourth to Osana in the Boylesports.com International Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, but he travelled like a really good horse that day and it was surely nothing more than a lack of fitness that found him out.

I expect him to put up a much better performance in the AIG. However, don’t be disappointed if he doesn’t win as it is all about the Festival for this horse and I still think he’s a worthy favourite to retain his crown in March. The 4/1 currently on offer will look a very generous price if he makes it to the start of the Champion Hurdle fit and well.