WHITBREAD GOLD CUP
Saturday 27th April, 3:35pm
Kitty’s Light @ 9/2
Amirite @ 6/1
Threeunderthrufive @ 7/1
Nick Rockett @ 15/2
view odds
*prices correct at time of writing.
RACE
Sandown’s former Whitbread Gold Cup (3-35) was British sport’s first sponsorship in 1957, becoming now centrepiece of an all-singing, all-dancing celebration of jumping on the final day of the season.
The £170,000 purse could play a significant part in the trainers’ championship, while the ever-popular 2023 winner Kitty’s Light attempts to become the fifth horse to win the trophies for a second time.
MARKET
Kitty’s Light was a fine fifth in the Grand National, beaten ten lengths or so; clearly that was only a fortnight ago but this time last year the hardy, Christian Williams-trained eight-year-old was successful here (off a five-pound lower mark) just a week after landing the Scottish Grand National.
Threeunderthrufive, for Team Nicholls, carries top weight but has earned it with three good efforts this season including a win at Ascot, when Rapper received fifteen pounds and a one-length beating. The drier the better for Threeunderthrufive. The stable’s Enrilo is a race-regular with a useful five pounds claimed.
Amirite has Rachael Blackmore riding and was a gallant fourth in a red-hot handicap at Cheltenham in October – he’s been off the track since another nice run, at Leopardstown at Christmas. Grand Nationals apart, Willie Mullins isn’t necessarily renowned for winning British handicaps, and he has three goes at winning this for the first time: Minella Cocooner performed with credit in Ireland’s Grand National when third, while in the same race seventh-placed Nick Rockett’s jumping let him down.
The Dan Skelton-trained Le Milos hasn’t run in a chase since finishing tenth in the 2023 Grand National and remains competitively weighted; he’s won on both visits to Sandown. Kinondo Kweto ran a screamer after a long absence when fourth at Aintree (with the reliable old boy Sam Brown second), and is another which will appreciate drier, springtime conditions. The same applies to Does He Know, the Grimthorpe winner, and maybe to Weveallbeencaught which finished a place in front of Kitty’s Light at Cheltenham.
CORNELIUS’ QUARTET
Finally, the El Fabiolo versus Jonbon encounter is back on (3-00); while El Fab comes to Sandown on a retrieval mission after that mistake at Cheltenham, Festival-absentee Jonbon excelled at Aintree and relishes the Sandown challenge.
At a Fitzdares event before he ran, Harry Cobden enthused about Fire Flyer (1-50) and on a pre-Sandown media call he again didn’t hide his high regard for the six-year-old which, he considered, “might have a few pounds up his sleeve”.
In the Gold Cup, The Real Whacker didn’t get the chance to build on a couple of notable runs, but he has a good opportunity to get his show back on the road (2-25).
Newbury on February-heavy apart, Lookaway (5-20) has been a terrific horse to follow and can continue to be so.
THE WINNER
Compared to some, Kinondo Kweto will be as fresh as a honeymooner after a break at the eponymous Kenyan holiday paradise compared to some, and he ticks the boxes for me – what about you?
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