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Dynamite Denman wins Gold Cup14th March 2008
Denman galloped his stablemate and reigning champion Kauto Star into the ground to win the 2008 Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup in spectacular fashion.
Twenty-five years after Michael Dickinson saddled the first five home in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham - a training feat voted the greatest of all time in a recent poll in the Racing Post - Paul Nicholls came closer than anyone since to matching him when he sent out the first three yesterday.
Since Denman won the Royal & SunAlliance Chase 12 months ago, the clash between the pair who occupy adjoining stables in deepest Somerset had been eagerly-awaited.
But it never quite lived up to the billing as Denman powered away from the field and denied last year's winner and 10/11 favourite by an emphatic seven lengths.
Nicholls' second jockey Sam Thomas read the script perfectly and allowed Denman to stride on passing the stands on the second circuit.
From there the 9/4 shot gradually wound up the pace and Ruby Walsh could be spotted sending out distress signals aboard Kauto Star from the top of the hill.
Denman forged clear and while Kauto Star gave chase his neighbour - now unbeaten in nine starts over fences - had already put the race to bed and kept on to provide Thomas with a first Festival success.
Nicholls' third string Neptune Collonges rallied to nearly pip Kauto Star for second, pulling nine lengths clear of Halcon Genelardais in fourth.
Nicholls said: "Your first win in a race is always the best and I'll never forget See More Business winning in 1999, but it doesn't get any better than saddling the one-two-three in the Gold Cup. Denman was awesome. He jumped and galloped and put Kauto on the back foot really.
"Kauto didn't jump as well as he can and the ground may have been a little tacky for him, but we are not going to make any excuses as he got beat by a better horse on the day. But Kauto will be back here and will win plenty more races.
"Denman has been progressing. He beat nothing in the Aon and the form wasn't there in the book, but he has taken another step today. We didn't know he was capable of doing it until he went out there and there was no point me putting my head on the block until we had seen it.
"I was left alone to watch the race by a Tote window. I knew Denman had won with a circuit to go as I could see what was happening."
Denman's win also resulted in a tidy profit for his part-owner Harry Findlay, who had backed the eight-year-old ante-post to win over £500,000.
The renowned gambler said: "Forget about your Grand Prix and your football and your tennis. This was two stablemates. We had to do what we had to do to break the champion.
"All this about conspiracy theories and whatever, we've had to do everything to break Kauto Star's heart and that's what we've done. We've gone through the race so many times and we knew what we had to do. It was just brilliant and went totally to plan. We knew Neptune would go out and give us a lead and we'd then take it up on the second circuit and make it a war.
"From early in his career I have believed Denman is a left-handed tank and I was more than happy Sam was on him as they get on great."
Findlay's partner in the horse is Paul Barber, who also owned See More Business.
He said: "Paul Nicholls eats, sleeps and breathes horses. That's where his greatness comes from.
Kauto Star's jockey Ruby Walsh admitted he had known his fate a long way out. He said: "I was struggling past the winning post on the first circuit when Sam picked it up. I just couldn't get there. Well done to them all. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. I could only ride one. I picked the wrong one and that's racing.
"Of course Kauto Star could come back next year. On any given day any horse can win."
Denman's owner Clive Smith said: "I would definitely take Denman on again next year. Ruby did say he didn't jump quite so well today - he hit the top of a couple of them and turning for home Ruby felt he wasn't going to get there.
"He never quite seemed to be himself and didn't quite run up to his best. If he won today he'd be there with the all-time greats, but maybe he can do that next year. It was an absolutely ferocious performance from Denman. I'm sure we'll have him in the rematch."
Denman powers home ahead of stablemates Kauto Star and Neptune Collonges