Sport News 24/7
Cheltenham Gold Cup: Forget the jockey ... the horse is the key point in the Denman debate
/ Graham Cunningham / 19 February 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet
AP McCoy has faced rare criticism since Denman's AON Chase blunder but it's the horse, not the jockey, punters need to focus on when sizing up their Gold Cup bets
The hanging judges - led by the Racing Post's Tom Segal and followed by hordes of Betfair Forumites - have donned their black caps and pronounced AP McCoy guilty of being the wrong man to get the best out of Denman.
Segal deserves credit for having the balls to air his concerns before the 2008 Gold Cup hero crashed out of Newbury's Aon Chase last Saturday, but the debate has broadened since to embrace the issue of who is qualified to comment on whether a certain jockey is an asset or liability to his mounts.
The short answer to that question is clearly that some are better qualified than others, but I'm happy to go with Ruby Walsh on this one.
Walsh lit up last week's Morning Line with some typically cutting comments on various issues and summed up the McCoy issue by simply saying: "if we're going to have a debate then let's make it a credible one."
That comment was made before McCoy was sent crashing to the ground at Newbury, but I doubt Ruby has changed his position and the Denman debate surely rests more on the wellbeing of the horse than whether a man with over 3,000 winners under his belt can present him at a fence properly.
The bottom line is that since putting his rivals through the Gold Cup mincer two years ago Denman has suffered from heart trouble and run five times, putting up a stellar effort in winning the Hennessy but failing to complete the course twice and being put firmly in his place by Kauto Star in the 2009 Gold Cup.
In short, there is one piece of evidence that suggests he is at least as good as ever and four which suggest he isn't quite the unstoppable force of old.
The McCoy angle adds yet another compelling layer to the most eagerly awaited Gold Cup showdown in decades, but is Denman really ready to shrug off this latest setback?
He's out to [4.5] on Betfair. On balance, I'm not tempted.
