Entries are unveiled today for the £130,000 Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday, 14 November. The G3 handicap chase is the highlight of The November Meeting and has attracted 37 hopefuls in 2020.

Paddy Power returns to back the two and a half mile contest in 2020, having previously been the sponsor from 2003 to 2015 inclusive.

Last year’s contest went to the mare Happy Diva (Kerry Lee), who put a game performance under conditional Richard Patrick to score by a neck from Brelan d’As (Paul Nicholls). If successful again in 2020, Happy Diva would become the first horse to win back-to-back runnings since Bradbury Star is 1993 and 1994 and the sixth dual winner overall.

Happy Diva went close to further success at the Home of Jump Racing last season when runner-up in the G3 Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase at The Festival™.  Her conqueror that day was Simply The Betts (Harry Whittington).  Seven-year-old Simply The Betts was winning his second race at Cheltenham, having previously landed the Timeform Novices’ Handicap Chase on Festival Trials Day in January.

Trainer Harry Whittington was in fine form last week when Cheltenham’s new season got underway with The Showcase, landing the Bentley Flying Spur Handicap Chase with Rouge Vif. Like Rouge Vif, Simply The Betts is owned by Kate and Andrew Brooks.

Sparsholt-based Whittington said: “Simply The Betts is on course for the Paddy Power Gold Cup and one would assume that is where we will go.

“I will talk to Andrew Brooks again, but we have made the entry and that looks to be where we are heading.

“He is a course and distance winner and an exciting prospect for this season.

“I have been delighted with how Simply The Betts has summered – I am thrilled with him to be honest with you.

“We have just done things slightly differently to sweeten him up and he has been working really well at home.

“We are looking forward to this season with him.”

Heading the market at 6/1 with Paddy Power is Saint Sonnet, one of seven entries for 11-times champion Jump trainer Paul Nicholls. The five-year-old is a Listed winner in France and made a very impressive debut for Nicholls when winning at Catterick in February. Saint Sonnet was far from disgraced on his only subsequent appearance when seventh, beaten 13 lengths, behind Samcro in the G1 Marsh Novices’ Chase at The Festival™.

Nicholls is chasing his third Paddy Power Gold Cup success following Al Ferof (2012) and Caid du Berlais (2014). In addition to Saint Sonnet and last year’s runner-up Brelan d’As, he could also be represented by Greaneteen, fourth in the G3 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase at The Festival™, recent Chepstow Listed scorer Grand Sancy,

Master Tommytucker, Southfield Stone, who was successful in a novices’ handicap chase over the course and distance at The Showcase last week, and Modus.

Nicholls’ great rival Nicky Henderson has won the Paddy Power Gold Cup once before with Fondmort (2003). The four entries from Seven Barrows are headed by G2 scorer Mister Fisher, who could be joined by Listed-winning mare Casablanca Mix, Precious Cargo and Gold Present.

Gloucestershire-based Nigel Twiston-Davies has sent out four Paddy Power Gold Cup winners, most recently Splash Of Ginge in 2017. His trio of entries for 2020 includes G1 Arkle Novices’ Chase fifth Al Dancer, who made an impressive return to action at Newton Abbot on 11 October, plus recent Bangor victor Good Boy Bobby, who was also a very useful novice in 2019/20, and Count Meribel, who was sixth to Happy Diva last year.

Other chances of the prize remaining in Gloucestershire come from trainers Kim Bailey and Jonjo O’Neill. Bailey has two very interesting entries - Imperial Aura, winner of the Listed Northern Trust Novices’ Handicap Chase at The Festival™, and G2 winner Two For Gold. O’Neill’s entry is Sky Pirate, who shaped well on his return from a lay-off when second at Wetherby earlier this month.

Siruh du Lac was a dual G3 winner at Cheltenham in the 2018/19 campaign but disappointed in this race in 2019 when a well-supported 8/1 chance. He has been transferred to the yard of David Pipe, who saddled the 2011 scorer Great Endeavour, adding to the record eight Paddy Power Gold Cup winners sent out by his father Martin.

Venetia Williams, based in Herefordshire and successful previously with The Outback Way (1999) has four entries headed by Cepage, a G3 handicap chase winner on Festival Trials Day last season, and likely top-weight Aso, runner-up in the 2019 G1 Ryanair Chase at The Festival™.

Weights for the Paddy Power Gold Cup will be revealed on Wednesday, 4 November.

Paddy Power Gold Cup – Paddy Power prices:

6/1 Saint Sonnet; 8/1 Greaneteen, Imperial Aura; 11/1 Cepage; 12/1 Simply The Betts; 14/1 Al Dancer, Good Boy Bobby, Mister Fisher, Siruh du Lac; 16/1 Espoir de Guye, Grand Sancy, Midnight Shadow, Southfield Stone, Spiritofthegames, Vision des Flos; 20/1 Brelan d’As, Count Meribel, Happy Diva, Precious Cargo, Sky Pirate, Two For Gold; 25/1 Master Tommytucker, Slate House, The Russian Doyen; 33/1 Aso, Belami des Pictons, Casablanca Mix, Coole Cody, Court Master, Gold Present; 40/1 Domaine de l’Isle, The Bay Birch, Vinnie The Hoddie; 66/1 Kauto Riko, Pinson du Rheu 

Paddy Power himself said: “The Paddy Power Gold Cup is the contest that really catapults the Jump season into full swing and returning to sponsor the great race felt very much like a homecoming for us.

“With 37 entries this time around, it looks all set to be as big a conundrum as it has even been. Our current 6/1 favourite is the unexposed Saint Sonnet, who looks open to any amount of improvement.

“Paul Nicholls has made no secret that he wants to hit the ground running this season and certainly is no stranger to Paddy Power Gold Cup success, having landed the spoils with Al Ferof and Caid du Berlais in the past. Saint Sonnet is a horse we want to definitely we want to be on the right side of at this stage.”

The Paddy Power Gold Cup

Grade 3 handicap chase, £130,000 total prize fund. Cheltenham, Saturday, 14 November. Two miles, four furlongs (2m 4f 44y). For four-year-olds and upwards. Penalties: after November 1, a winner of a chase 5lb. Entries closed October 27, entries revealed October 28 (37 entries). Weights revealed November 4. Five-day confirmation stage November 9, final declarations November 12. Maximum field size 20 runners plus 2 reserves.

Horse	Age	Owner	Trainer
Al Dancer (FR)	7	Walters Plant Hire Ltd	Nigel Twiston-Davies
Aso (FR)	10	The Bellamy Partnership	Venetia Williams
Belami des Pictons (FR)	9	Hills of Ledbury Ltd	Venetia Williams
Brelan d'As (FR)	9	J P McManus	Paul Nicholls
Casablanca Mix (FR)	8	E R Hanbury	Nicky Henderson
Cepage (FR)	8	The Bellamy Partnership	Venetia Williams
Coole Cody (IRE)	9	W Clifford	Evan Williams
Count Meribel	8	Charles C Walker	Nigel Twiston-Davies
Court Master (IRE)	7	Mrs Lynne Maclennan	Michael Scudamore
Domaine de L'Isle (FR)	7	12 Oaks Racing and Ian Hutchins	Sean Curran
Espoir de Guye (FR)	6	Mrs J Hitchings	Venetia Williams
Fidux (FR)	7	AXOM LXVIII	Alan King
Gold Present (IRE)	10	John & Barbara Cotton	Nicky Henderson
Good Boy Bobby (IRE)	7	Simon Munir & Isaac Souede	Nigel Twiston-Davies
Grand Sancy (FR)	6	Martin Broughton Racing Partners	Paul Nicholls
Greaneteen (FR)	6	Chris Giles	Paul Nicholls
Happy Diva (IRE)	9	Will Roseff	Kerry Lee
Imperial Aura (IRE)	7	Imperial Racing Partnership 2016	Kim Bailey
Kauto Riko (FR)	9	Mr and Mrs J Dale and Partners	Tom Gretton
Master Tommytucker	9	A G Fear	Paul Nicholls
Midnight Shadow	7	Mrs Aafke Clarke	Sue Smith
Mister Fisher (IRE)	6	James and Jean Potter	Nicky Henderson
Modus	10	J P McManus	Paul Nicholls
Pinson du Rheu (FR)	9	S Bean	Alexandra Dunn
Precious Cargo (IRE)	7	T Barr	Nicky Henderson
Saint Sonnet (FR)	5	Colm Donlon	Paul Nicholls
Simply The Betts (IRE)	7	Kate & Andrew Brooks	Harry Whittington
Siruh du Lac (FR)	7	John White & Anne Underhill	David Pipe
Sky Pirate	7	M Tedhamb	Jonjo O'Neill
Slate House (IRE)	8	Eric Jones, Geoff Nicholas, John Romans	Colin Tizzard
Southfield Stone	7	Angela Hart & Angela Yeoman	Paul Nicholls
Spiritofthegames (IRE)	8	N W Lake	Dan Skelton
The Bay Birch (IRE)	9	Tony Scrivin	Matt Sheppard
The Russian Doyen (IRE)	7	The Gosden Mob	Colin Tizzard
Two For Gold (IRE)	7	May We Never Be Found Out Partnership 2	Kim Bailey
Vinnie The Hoddie (IRE)	6	Five Guys & A Striker Syndicate	Oliver Sherwood
Vision des Flos (FR)	7	Ann & Alan Potts Limited	Colin Tizzard

 

37 entries

 

Defending champion Harambe among 36 in Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle

The 2019 winner Harambe is among 36 entries for the £80,000 G3 Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle, run over two miles on the third and final day of The November Meeting, Sunday, 15 November.

Harambe sprang something of a surprise last year at 16/1 and now has the chance to become the first two-time winner of the race.

His trainer Alan King, who landed the spoils in 2017 with Elgin, has also entered recent Welsh Champion Hurdle victor Sceau Royal and Edwardstone, last seen out when sixth in the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at The Festival™.

Nicky Henderson, remarkably, has yet to win the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle. The master of Seven Barrows has engaged Marie’s Rock, who is unbeaten in three starts, and Countister, the sole entry for owner JP McManus.

Paul Nicholls has six contenders, the most of any trainer. They include classy four-year-olds Solo, Sir Psycho and Thyme White.

Song For Someone made great strides last season, winning two of his four starts including the rearranged G2 Kingwell Hurdle at Kempton Park in February. He now has a rating of 153.

Trainer Tom Symonds said: “Song For Someone is in great form and the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle is a possibility.

“He is entered at Ascot on Saturday and could head there, but the Greatwood is also in our minds.

“He is in really good form, and I am delighted with how he looks and how he has done over the summer.

“It is very exciting to have a horse like him in the yard, as he was a real flag bearer for us last season.

“His victory at Kempton was a real highlight and with his rating of 153, we will have to pitch him into some big races. Hopefully, he can have another good season.”

Anemoi has already been in winning action this season, taking a two-mile handicap at Wetherby on 14 October. That was the six-year-old’s first start for 550 days, during which time he underwent wind surgery.

Trainer Harry Whittington said: “Anemoi could run in the Greatwood Hurdle.

“He may run in a Listed handicap hurdle at Ascot on Saturday and then perhaps go on to the Greatwood, but he has plenty of options at the moment.

“He has actually also been schooling over fences, so we basically want to cover all bases with him at the moment.

“We will continue to see how he schools over fences before making any firm decision, which means the Greatwood could definitely still be on the table."

The five Irish-trained entries include 2019 Galway Hurdle victor Tudor City, one of two possible runners for trainer Tony Martin, and Wolf Prince (Gavin Cromwell), who was last seen out over hurdles when second in the G1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown in February.

Weights for the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle will be revealed on Wednesday, 4 November.

Ed Nicholson, Head of Unibet’s racing communications & sponsorship, said:

“The Unibet Greatwood hurdle has always thrown up quality two-mile hurdlers since it’s inception in 1987; that year Celtic Shot won before taking the Unibet Champion hurdle the following March.

“Space Trucker, Rooster Booster, Sizing Europe and Menorah are all on the Unibet Greatwood Hall of Fame, while in recent years Garde La Victoire and Elgin have won the race, while many other G1 contenders such as Silver Streak, Verdana Blue and The New One have placed.

“It’s no surprise that big race trainers such as Philip Hobbs, Paul Nicholls and Alan King have good records in the Unibet Greatwood hurdle, but what is a surprise is that Unibet ambassador Nicky Henderson has never won the race, given his seemingly perennial ammunition of good two-mile hurdlers. This time around he relies on a pair of mares in Countister (20/1) and Marie’s Rock (12/1).

“Alan King has won the race twice in the last three seasons and his Edwardstone heads Unibet’s market at 7/1, just ahead of the Paul Nicholls trained Thyme Hill at 8/1.

“The Unibet Greatwood hurdle is one of two big sponsorships for Unibet on Sunday, 15 November, as we also sponsor the Grade 1 Unibet Morgiana hurdle at Punchestown, and they form two of six legs in our Unibet Road to Cheltenham series of two mile hurdle races that culminates at the Cheltenham Festival in March with the Unibet Champion hurdle itself.”

Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle – Unibet prices:

7/1 Edwardstone; 8/1 Thyme White; 10/1 Sceau Royal; 12/1 Tegerek, Maries Rock, Wolf Prince; 14/1 Main Fact, Anemoi, Cormier; 16/1 Milkwood, Hunters Call, Proschema, Solo, Pisgah Pike; 20/1 Benny's Bridge, Harambe, Song For Someone, Sir Psycho, Christopher Wood, Oakley, Countister; 25/1 Teqany, Ballyandy, Zambella, Dear Sire, Calva d'Auge, Ballinsker, Bua Boy; 33/1 Scaramanga, Strong Glance, Goobinator, Golden Spear, Tudor City, The Shunter; 40/1 Haafapiece, Thinking

The Unibet Greatwood Hurdle

Grade 3, £100,000 total prize fund. Cheltenham, Sunday, 15 November. Two miles and half a furlong (2m 87y). For four-year-olds and upwards. Penalties: after November 1, a winner of a hurdle 5lb. Entries closed October 27, entries revealed October 28 (36 entries). Weights revealed November 4. Six-day confirmation stage November 9, final declarations November 13. Maximum field size 24 runners.

 

Horse	Age	Owner	Trainer
Anemoi (FR)	6	Kate & Andrew Brooks	Harry Whittington
Ballinsker (IRE)	5	GG Thoroughbreds XII & Partner	Evan Williams
Ballyandy	9	Options O Syndicate	Nigel Twiston-Davies
Benny's Bridge (IRE)	7	Biddestone Racing I	Fergal O'Brien
Bua Boy (IRE)	5	Katie & Brian Castle Partnership	Denis Hogan IRE
Calva d'Auge (FR)	5	Owners Group 040	Paul Nicholls
Christopher Wood (IRE)	5	Ms Sharon Kinsella	Paul Nicholls
Cormier (IRE)	4	Dan Gilbert	Brian Ellison
Countister (FR)	8	J P McManus	Nicky Henderson
Dear Sire (FR)	8	Green Day Racing	Donald McCain
Edwardstone	6	Robert Abrey & Ian Thurtle	Alan King
Golden Spear	9	John Breslin	Tony Martin IRE
Goobinator (USA)	4	T G Leslie	Donald McCain
Haafapiece	7	Mrs Tilly Coles	Pam Sly
Harambe	7	Niall Farrell & Friends	Alan King
Hunters Call (IRE)	10	Holloway,Clarke,Black	Olly Murphy
Main Fact (USA)	7	Munrowd's Partnership	David Pipe
Marie's Rock (IRE)	5	Middleham Park Racing XLII	Nicky Henderson
Milkwood (IRE)	6	Ms J Bridel	Neil Mulholland
Oakley (IRE)	7	Tim Syder	Philip Hobbs
Pisgah Pike (IRE)	5	ValueRacingClubcouk	Jamie Snowden
Proschema (IRE)	5	Empire State Racing Partnership	Dan Skelton
Scaramanga (IRE)	5	Malcolm C Denmark	Paul Nicholls
Sceau Royal (FR)	8	Simon Munir & Isaac Souede	Alan King
Sebastopol (IRE)	6	C Boultbee-Brooks	Tom Lacey
Sir Psycho (IRE)	4	Martin Broughton & Friends 3	Paul Nicholls
Solo (FR)	4	Mrs Johnny de la Hey	Paul Nicholls
Song For Someone (GER)	5	Sir Peter & Lady Gibbings	Tom Symonds
Strong Glance	7	Welfordgolf syndicate	Olly Murphy
Tegerek (FR)	6	Local Parking Security Limited	Jonjo O'Neill
Teqany (IRE)	6	Mrs June Watts	Fergal O'Brien
The Shunter (IRE)	7	P Byrne	Emmet Mullins IRE
Thinking (IRE)	5	Nick Shutts	David Pipe
Thyme White (FR)	4	The Stewart Family	Paul Nicholls
Tudor City (IRE)	8	John Breslin	Tony Martin IRE
Wolf Prince (IRE)	4	Patrick Sheanon	Gavin Cromwell IRE

 

36 entries

5 Irish-trained

If you need any information about racing at Cheltenham, please contact Meg Furse, Regional Marketing Executive - Communications on 07896 076579 megan.furse@thejockeyclub.co.uk