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An interesting perspective on gold cup 
from the archives
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/All+g...+Of+Racing:+The+Cheltenham+Gold...-a060183705
THE Cheltenham Gold Cup*is widely (though mistakenly) regarded as the championship race for steeplechasers in Britain and Ireland, and some of the great champions of the century feature on its roll of honour.
Comparisons between Gold Cup winners of different eras are difficult because conditions have changed so much in the 75 years of the race's existence. Indeed, the top steeplechasers themselves have changed, with the big, strong Aintree types being superseded by speedier jumpers.
Dual Gold Cup hero Easter Hero put up the greatest Grand National performance of the century when second under top weight in a world record field in 1929, but he probably lacked the pace of Desert Orchid, who excelled on park courses (except Cheltenham) but would have struggled under 12st 7lb over the old upright Aintree fences.
All that can be said with certainty is that Easter Hero was as dominant in his era as Desert Orchid was in his, and common sense dictates they were approximately equal in merit.
Yet few Gold Cup winners have been of that calibre, and the classification on the right shows their ranking in the equine*pantheon.
The Gold Cup was founded in 1924 by the Cheltenham executive under chairman Frederick Cathcart, but it was not intended to be a championship race.
At the time the Grand National dwarfed all other steeplechases in terms of both prize-money and prestige, and the Gold Cup was designed as a trial race for it. It was not even the richest steeplechase*at the Cheltenham Festival, ranking below both the National Hunt Chase for amateur riders and the National Hunt Handicap Chase.
The relatively humble status of the Gold Cup meant that, of the 13 horses who won the race before 1946, all but Easter Hero and Golden Miller were below what we now regard as average Gold Cup-winning standard, and even those two used it as a stepping-stone to Aintree.
In assessing the merit of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners there is only one criterion: quality of performance. The number of Gold Cups won is irrelevant, otherwise Cottage Rake would be among the greats and Golden Miller would be the greatest. This is an assessment of quality, not quantity.
Pas Seul, who triumphed in 1960, is not widely regarded as one of the great Gold Cup winners, yet he could have won the race four times if things had gone his way. He had a decisive lead when falling at the final fence in*1959, was beaten by superior jockeyship in 1961, and was nobbled the following year.
Fred Winter*described Pas Seul as the best horse he ever rode, and the gelding's best form-notably when carrying top weight to victory in the 1961 Whitbread Gold Cup-was superior to Cottage Rake's best form.
Fame is also irrelevant, otherwise Dawn Run would be rated above Pas Seul.
Dawn Run acquired her legendary status by being the first, and so far only, horse to win both the Champion Hurdle*and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Yet her reputation is bogus because she was doubly lucky on both occasions; she would not have won either race without the recently introduced 5lb sex allowance and the absence of her biggest rival through injury.
In the 1986 Gold Cup she would have finished fourth, behind Wayward Lad, Forgive'N Forget and Run And Skip, if she had met them at level weights, and they would all have been trounced by Burrough Hill Lad had he not been forced to miss the race.
Dawn Run is one of several Gold Cup winners who have excelled over hurdles, and Cottage Rake and Knock Hard were versatile enough to win good handicaps on the Flat, but success in those spheres is irrelevant.
The classification assesses Gold Cup winners on their best form over fences. In many cases that means the form they showed in their moment(s) of glory at Cheltenham, but the great champions have usually shown their best form elsewhere.
THE three greatest steeplechasers since Arkle-Captain Christy, Burrough Hill Lad and Desert Orchid-all won the Gold Cup, but they were not at their best when they did so and have been assessed on their later form in races which were fairer tests of merit, like the King George VI Chase.
Many observers believe that the Gold Cup is the be-all and end-all*of a top steeplechaser's career and that the winner is automatically entitled to be called the season's champion steeplechaser, but that has never been true.
The Gold Cup is not a true championship race because in most years it does not identify the best steeplechaser. Only three Gold Cup winners of the 1990s-Jodami, The Fellow and Master Oats-were champions.
Desert Orchid consistently ran a stone below his best at Cheltenham, including when he actually won the Gold Cup in 1989. He was far superior to the horses who beat him into third place in the following two years, just as One Man was superior to those who beat him into sixth place in 1996 and '97.
The Gold Cup's origin as a National trial means that its 3m21/2f distance, combined with a stiff track and uphill finish, demands stamina far in excess of speed. It is as if the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe*were run over two miles.
Champions like Pendil, Desert Orchid and One Man have therefore been at a disadvantage against high-class plodders, and the Gold Cup roll of honour has suffered accordingly.
COPYRIGHT 1999 MGN LTD
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1999 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
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from the archiveshttp://www.thefreelibrary.com/All+g...+Of+Racing:+The+Cheltenham+Gold...-a060183705
THE Cheltenham Gold Cup*is widely (though mistakenly) regarded as the championship race for steeplechasers in Britain and Ireland, and some of the great champions of the century feature on its roll of honour.
Comparisons between Gold Cup winners of different eras are difficult because conditions have changed so much in the 75 years of the race's existence. Indeed, the top steeplechasers themselves have changed, with the big, strong Aintree types being superseded by speedier jumpers.
Dual Gold Cup hero Easter Hero put up the greatest Grand National performance of the century when second under top weight in a world record field in 1929, but he probably lacked the pace of Desert Orchid, who excelled on park courses (except Cheltenham) but would have struggled under 12st 7lb over the old upright Aintree fences.
All that can be said with certainty is that Easter Hero was as dominant in his era as Desert Orchid was in his, and common sense dictates they were approximately equal in merit.
Yet few Gold Cup winners have been of that calibre, and the classification on the right shows their ranking in the equine*pantheon.
The Gold Cup was founded in 1924 by the Cheltenham executive under chairman Frederick Cathcart, but it was not intended to be a championship race.
At the time the Grand National dwarfed all other steeplechases in terms of both prize-money and prestige, and the Gold Cup was designed as a trial race for it. It was not even the richest steeplechase*at the Cheltenham Festival, ranking below both the National Hunt Chase for amateur riders and the National Hunt Handicap Chase.
The relatively humble status of the Gold Cup meant that, of the 13 horses who won the race before 1946, all but Easter Hero and Golden Miller were below what we now regard as average Gold Cup-winning standard, and even those two used it as a stepping-stone to Aintree.
In assessing the merit of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners there is only one criterion: quality of performance. The number of Gold Cups won is irrelevant, otherwise Cottage Rake would be among the greats and Golden Miller would be the greatest. This is an assessment of quality, not quantity.
Pas Seul, who triumphed in 1960, is not widely regarded as one of the great Gold Cup winners, yet he could have won the race four times if things had gone his way. He had a decisive lead when falling at the final fence in*1959, was beaten by superior jockeyship in 1961, and was nobbled the following year.
Fred Winter*described Pas Seul as the best horse he ever rode, and the gelding's best form-notably when carrying top weight to victory in the 1961 Whitbread Gold Cup-was superior to Cottage Rake's best form.
Fame is also irrelevant, otherwise Dawn Run would be rated above Pas Seul.
Dawn Run acquired her legendary status by being the first, and so far only, horse to win both the Champion Hurdle*and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Yet her reputation is bogus because she was doubly lucky on both occasions; she would not have won either race without the recently introduced 5lb sex allowance and the absence of her biggest rival through injury.
In the 1986 Gold Cup she would have finished fourth, behind Wayward Lad, Forgive'N Forget and Run And Skip, if she had met them at level weights, and they would all have been trounced by Burrough Hill Lad had he not been forced to miss the race.
Dawn Run is one of several Gold Cup winners who have excelled over hurdles, and Cottage Rake and Knock Hard were versatile enough to win good handicaps on the Flat, but success in those spheres is irrelevant.
The classification assesses Gold Cup winners on their best form over fences. In many cases that means the form they showed in their moment(s) of glory at Cheltenham, but the great champions have usually shown their best form elsewhere.
THE three greatest steeplechasers since Arkle-Captain Christy, Burrough Hill Lad and Desert Orchid-all won the Gold Cup, but they were not at their best when they did so and have been assessed on their later form in races which were fairer tests of merit, like the King George VI Chase.
Many observers believe that the Gold Cup is the be-all and end-all*of a top steeplechaser's career and that the winner is automatically entitled to be called the season's champion steeplechaser, but that has never been true.
The Gold Cup is not a true championship race because in most years it does not identify the best steeplechaser. Only three Gold Cup winners of the 1990s-Jodami, The Fellow and Master Oats-were champions.
Desert Orchid consistently ran a stone below his best at Cheltenham, including when he actually won the Gold Cup in 1989. He was far superior to the horses who beat him into third place in the following two years, just as One Man was superior to those who beat him into sixth place in 1996 and '97.
The Gold Cup's origin as a National trial means that its 3m21/2f distance, combined with a stiff track and uphill finish, demands stamina far in excess of speed. It is as if the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe*were run over two miles.
Champions like Pendil, Desert Orchid and One Man have therefore been at a disadvantage against high-class plodders, and the Gold Cup roll of honour has suffered accordingly.
COPYRIGHT 1999 MGN LTD
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1999 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Please bookmark with social media, your votes are noticed and appreciated:
