2010 Paddy Power Gold Cup Antepost Early Betting Tips

We’ve got a massive field of 26 remaining that’s going to be cut down here shortly after the declarations, but you can expect some very big names to line up in the 2010 Paddy Power Gold Cup Chase at Cheltenham this Saturday.

Tranquil Sea got the job done last year in a race where nearly half of the entrants were either pulled up or fell during the proceedings. A few are likely back for another bash this year so let’s delve into the pool of entrants here and start scoping out some decent value.

There’s a few that we can probably knock out of contention early on and these include The Sawyer (who I like but not against this field) as well as Gwanako, Can’t Buy Time, Tatenen, rory Boy and Il Duce. It will take something pretty special for any of these contenders to pull off anything resembling a result here although a place isn’t completely out of the question.

We’re looking for good form over the Cheltenham course, the ability to win in or around 2m4f  and a proven ability to get the result over good to soft ground, which we expect to hold going into the weekend.

Long Run is taking the bulk of the money here and this 5 year-old Nicky Henderson contender has only one previous trip over the Cheltenham surface, finishing third to the impressive Weapon’s Amnesty in the RSA Chase.

That was over 3m on the day and it stands out as an anomaly on his record. The big question here is whether he’s ready to take this step up off the novice circuit on a seasonal debut- he should be able to handle the distance and he was up against better quality competition during his solo Cheltenham outing. He’s definitely in the hunt, but at a 4.3 price just doesn’t present any value for the amount of questions he needs to answer.

Poquelin has plenty going in his direction, having finished runner-up in this one last year to the talented Tranquil Sea. One thing that Poquelin has is the ability to recover well from mistakes (if you throw out his disappointing UR in the Melling Chase last year) and that bodes well over the unforgiving Cheltenham course. He put in a great shift on his seasonal debut, finishing second in the Old Roan to Monet’s Garden.

Paul Nicholls will have him sharp for this one and you reckon that he needed the race. He could progress nicely here and looks a snip at 13.5. Strong play.

Paul Nicholls also saddles Tchico Polos for this one and, though he is a bit of an under the radar type, he’s got a Grade 2 score under his belt and is Grade 1-placed to the respected Punchestowns. He’s set for his Cheltenham debut here and, though he looks a bit outclassed by some, he could improve here and make a real statement.

He got the season off to a real bang when conquering Twist Magic over 2m1f at Exeter. He gave his all that day and earned a solid 153 OR which puts him in with a shout here and he could be a factor on your forecast tickets. He’s a massive 42.0 on the exchanges right now.

David Pipe’s Great Endeavour is taking a fair amount of money for this one and the exchange punters rate him as the second favourite here to Long Run. He’s set for a seasonal debut here and that counts as a stroke against him when lined up against a field this solid.

The talented grey boasts a course and distance reference here and his score in the Byrne Group Plate last March was his first Cheltenham victory, appropriately enough at 2m5f. The issue with Great Endeavor is that he hasn’t beaten that much quality in his previous runs. He looks a proven Grade 3 chaser but with a number of contenders taking a drop down in class he may come up a bit short. He is under-priced at 5.6.