The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored
by Totesport, featured ten runners and produced a dramatic finish,
with odds-on favourite Kauto Star taking a crashing fall at the
fourth last fence. Trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh,
Kauto Star had won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009 and
started 8/11 in his bid for a third Gold Cup victory.
However, the ten-year-old blundered
badly at the eighth fence and appeared to be struggling long before
parting company with his jockey. He was niggled along heading out on
the second circuit and, although only 3 lengths down, was labouring
in fifth place when falling at the fourth last, soon after the turn
at the top of the hill. Ruby Walsh acknowledged that fact, saying,
“His first one was a bad mistake. It knocked me out of position and
I could not get him on an even keel.”
In any event, the race was won, in
convincing style, by 7/1 third favourite Imperial Commander, trained
by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by Paddy Brennan. The
seven-year-old was always prominent and, having taken the lead at the
second last fence, was driven clear to win by 7 lengths, going away.
The 2008 winner, and 4/1 second favourite, Denman finished a tired
second under A.P. McCoy, but was still 23 lengths clear of 2009 Grand
National winner Mon Mome who, at 50/1, stayed on strongly in the
closing stages to deny Carruthers of third place in the dying
strides.
Imperial Commander was a first
Cheltenham Gold Cup winner for trainer and jockey. Twiston-Davies was
bullish about his charge, saying, “It’s just absolutely
brilliant. It’s been very hard for us sat there with the
third-favourite when all the talk was about Kauto and Denman, but we
always knew we were going to win.”
Brennan, too, was cock-a-hoop, saying,
“It's by far the best day of my life. I'm speechless. It was a
dream the whole way.”
