Paddy Power Gold Cup Betting Tips

Not many major prizes over fences have eluded champion trainer Paul Nicholls, but the Paddy Power Gold Cup has proved something of a bogey race for the Ditcheat handler, who has saddled the runner-up in three of the last four renewals of the Grade 3 handicap, which is the centrepiece of Cheltenham's Open Meeting. However, this year he has an outstanding chance of laying this particular ghost to rest with the progressive Taranis, who looks by far and away the best handicapped horse in Saturday's race and is well worth a decent sized punt at 4/1 with Blue Square and paddypower Nicholls has been aiming the five-year-old at this race for quite some time and the French import demonstrated his wellbeing when landing a Listed hurdle at Chepstow in good style last month, taking advantage of a favourable handicap mark in that sphere, while concurrently preserving his rating over the larger obstacles with this event in mind. Although he has had just five starts over fences, Taranis jumps like an old hand and handled the fences and unique undulations of Prestbury Park with aplomb when landing a well-contested novices' handicap chase on the new course in April, travelling well throughout the race and effortlessly drawing away from his rivals on the run-in. He is one of many of Nicholls' horses to benefit from a breathing operation and if this gelding continues along the progressive lines that he ended last season - and his reappearance victory at Chepstow suggests that he will - then there's no telling quite how far he will go. With the trip perfect and the going likely to be genuine good ground, Taranis is going to take an awful lot beating. Martin Pipe has won five of the last six runnings of this prestigious event - indeed, the Nicholashayne wizard has well and truly ruled the roost at this meeting over the years - so son David, who now has hold of the reigns at the Pipe Somerset yard, will no doubt be feeling the heat. Pipe has three of the first five in the betting - Commercial Flyer, Contraband and Vodka Bleu - so is clearly aiming to uphold fami ly tradition. The first-named looked like a potential world beater when hacking up on his chasing bow at Taunton in February, but he then posted lacklustre performances at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals, eventually being pulled up on each occasion. He is just seven and is open to any amount of improvement, but he has serious to questions to answer, therefore looks a risky proposition for punters, while Contraband is a tad in and out. He would be in with every chance if you could be sure he would put his best foot forward, but he generally needs his first run of the season to blow away the cobwebs so it's a big ask for him to take this on his reappearance. Vodka Bleu needs to improve significantly to feature in a race of this nature, his 714-day absence notwithstanding, so I'm surprised that he's as short as 8/1. A bigger threat to Taranis than the Pipe trio is likely to be presented by Irish raider In Compliance, who had plenty left in the tank when outpointing Wild Passion on his comeback run at Down Royal recently. Rated a long-term Gold Cup prospect by his trainer Michael O'Brien, In Compliance is a young horse open to improvement in this sphere and looks sure to make his presence felt on Saturday. However, he hasn't looked as sure footed as Taranis and I wonder whether his jumping will hold up when they're going like the clappers at Cheltenham and, furthermore, he appears at his best when conditions are pretty testing. The admirable Fondmort, winner of this in 2003, and stablemate Copsale Lad, should give accounts of themselves. Fondmort rarely runs a bad race at this Gloucestershire venue and while he lacks the scope of some of these rivals, and is probably a tad high in the weights, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him finish thereabouts. Verdict - 3pts Taranis @ 4/1 (Blue Square and Paddy Power)