Coral Gold Cup Big Race Verdict: Chief can be King for the day at Newbury

• Can Myretown justify his position at the top of the betting?

• Six places on offer on the Sportsbook for Saturday's Coral Gold Cup

• Alan Dudman picks out his 1-2-3 in the latest Big Race Verdict

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Myretown out to prove he is the best

Ahead of Saturday's Coral Gold Cup at Newbury, trainer Lucinda Russell hailed her star chaser Myretown as "one of the best I have ever trained". For those looking to unearth a nugget on the Betfair Sportsbook, the best is now 4/15.00, or was at the time of writing, and had been cut from the initial 11/26.50.

With 24 runners this promises to be one of the races of the season, and in the early throes of the jumps' campaign which has gathered plenty of pace of late, this is a real weekend highlight.

The big field means big places and the Sportsbook are going six places for all each-way bets.

Market movers for Coral Gold Cup

Before the form comes the price and Panic Attack was a big cutter from 16/117.00 into 9/110.00 on Friday morning. The mare has excelled since finding life at Dan Skelton's more in keeping with herself and she beat Vincenzo (my pick) in the Cheltenham Paddy Power Gold Cup just 14 days ago.

A 4lb rise for an effort described as "thundering home", the only doubt is another big handicap in the space of two weeks. Skelton has rolled the dice.

Victtorino was another positive from 16/117.00 into 12/113.00 - probably off the back of the first lady of racing Venetia having a winner at Uttoxeter in the week - breaking a cold spell.

Pic Roc from 33/134.00 into 16/117.00 has halved in price for the in-form Ben Pauling and exceptional Ben Jones, and Intense Raffles was backed too on Friday morning into 22/123.00.

The stats that matter

Twenty-one of the last 23 winners have been eight years of age or younger, which looks a great stat until you realise most of the field are in that age group anyway. Panic Attack is a nine-year-old and is the only one outside of the age bracket in the top 10 in the market.

Sixteen of the 23 winners in that time have been rated between 140 to 151, so my antepost pick The Doyen Chief off 137 has to buck that trend.

Betfair ambassador Paul Nicholls has four wins from the last 23 runnings, Nicky Henderson three, two from Pipe and Joe Tizzard two of the last nine.

Trainer form and who's hot

Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore: 4-23 last two weeks at 17%

Olly Murphy: 19-98 at 19% since 30 October, 5-49 at 10% at Newbury in five seasons.

Joe Tizzard: 11-34 in the last two weeks at 34%, 7-47 at 15% in the last five season at Newbury.

Sam Thomas: 9-22 at 41% since 30 October, at Newbury five seasons 3-17 at 18%.

Paul Nicholls: Five seasons at Newbury 45-215 at 21%.

Nicky Henderson: Five seasons at Newbury 35-215 at 16%.

Alan King: Last two weeks 2-24 at 8%, at Newbury five seasons 9-115 at 7%.

Chris Gordon: 6-21 last two weeks at 29% and 9-88 at 10% last five seasons at Newbury.

Pace map

Front runners: Intense Raffles, Spanish Harlem, Gorgeous Tom, Lowry's Bar, Hyland, The Changing Man, Riskintheground, Myretown, Pic Roc, Ask Brewster.

Prominent: Monty's Star, Intense Raffles, Three Card Brag, Spanish Harlem, Blizzard Of Oz, Resplendent Grey, Gorgeous Tom, Annual Invictus, The Changing Man, O'Moore Park, The Doyen Chief, Katate Dori, Ask Brewster.

Mid division: Perceval Legallois, Victtorino.

Held up: Victtorino, The Changing Man, Panic Attack, Katate Dori.

Lowry's and The Chief still my idea of a big runner

As you can see from the potential front-running pace map, Myretown, as brilliant as he was last term, will have plenty of company towards the head of the pace.

Willie Mullins' challenger Spanish Harlem bolted up in the Kerry National in September by almost five lengths from Three Card Brag at Listowel, and while he will have to sharpen up his jumping when attacking some much stiffer fences at Newbury, he has an interesting profile for a seven-year-old from a mark of 155.

Team Closutton also have the unexposed Blizzard Of Oz who goes up slightly in trip and O'Moore Park for owner Rich Ricci with the haircut that says "business at the front, party at the back".

Out of the Mullins trio, I like Spanish Harlem as the each-way factor comes in with six places at 16s on the drift from 12s to defy a whopping rise of 16lbs. But these Mullins' horses find plenty at the end of races, and there are 142 thousand sheets to the winner here.

Lowry's Bar for Philip Hobbs jumped poorly when last seen at Kempton in February as a novice, and he fits the bill as a second-season novice into this sort of race. Hobbs' stable look in better shape these days with plenty of young, progressive horses.

He did bleed at Kempton, but before that he jumped well in the fog at Chepstow during the Welsh National meeting. From 148, a first run of the season, he is another of my each-way plays alongside The Doyen Chief - who should be coming into this race off the back of a win at Bangor. He made a howler at the last fence when going well and hit 10s in the run. Tom Bellamy all out of sync asking for a big one did not help.

King is coming into form and The Doyen Chief has always had this as his target.

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Alan Dudman's 1-2-3

1) The Doyen Chief

2) Spanish Harlem

3) Lowry's Bar

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