With less than two weeks until the Cheltenham Festival starts, I am hearing some strange stories coming out of the Paul Nicholls' stable, you know, the one that houses Cheltenham Gold Cup hopefuls Denman (2008's Champion) and Kauto Star.
Apparently, one of the Denman's owners, Harry Findlay has stated that he is not sure whether or not Denman will ever be back to form that landed him the Gold Cup last year. He feels that the fantasctic run that Denman put in that day may have really taken its toll, and that we may never see a run like that out of him ever again.
I must say, if this proves to be true, it will be a real shame.
Paul Nicholls however, was much more upbeat about Denman's chances, saying he was showing signs that he may be back to his best, and that for the first time in a while he was 'sparkling'.
He went on to say that he was going to take him for a gallop but having seen Denman like that, he felt that he didn't need it. Nicholls added that Denman, unlike fellow stable mate Kauto Star, is not a good work house, but that was normal for him and should not affect his chances for a s hot at the Gold Cup again this year.
So a contrast in views. My opinion is that having seen Denman's last run at Kempton 3 weeks ago, he looked a shadow of the horse that we saw win the Gold Cup last March. We do have to consider though, that was his first competitive run for a long while and that it may have simply been a case of getting rid of a few cobwebs.
We'll see. It will be a sham if we never see him back to his best again, so fingers crossed. We'll know an awful lot more in a few days time.
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