Expert Analysis

L’Homme Presse was gifted the easiest of leads and took full advantage by jogging round in his own time. He held a significant advantage the way the race unfolded and is possibly flattered by his proximity to Spillane’s Tower at the winning post.

SPILLANE'S TOWER He may have lacked fluency over one or two fences but generally jumped economically throughout. He travelled well down the hill and appeared likely to win by a wide margin in between the final two fences. Perhaps his narrow victory underestimates how much he had in hand; nonetheless, he was receiving 6lbs from L’Homme Presse which would leave him with an awful lot to find to be competitive in an average renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

L’HOMME PRESSE I believe this performance will read better in the form book than it was in reality. After enjoying an untroubled lead the eventual winner was going much the best on the run down to the final two fences. After looking likely to be swallowed up after the final fence he did well to battle back before going down by three quarters of a length. The favourite was very disappointing back in third place, and the only other runner was having his first start after a long absence, so I doubt he finished in front of very much at all on the day.

GREY DAWNING  His trainer stated that he was not disappointed with his performance after this third place finish. He went on to state that he was happy with how he battled back after his mistake. Even immediately prior to that mistake he did not convince as a horse likely to pick up the two leaders. He did seem to recover well enough immediately after his jumping error; nonetheless, he then failed to close the gap on L’Homme Presse from jumping the final fence until the winning post. The ground was not as soft as the official description so he can have no excuses on that score. Furthermore, the slow gallop would suggest that a lack of stamina was unlikely to blame for his tame finish even though he does have his ability to stay three miles and one and a half furlong still to prove when competing on a course with a stiff uphill finish

FLOORING PORTER This was his first visit to the racecourse in 486 days, and I would imagine his connections will be perfectly happy with his performance despite him not being put in the race at any stage.