Big shots should beware of the underdog
Few gave Norton's Coin even a puncher's chance in the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Not even part-time trainer Sirrell Griffiths gave his runner much of a chance. If Griffiths hadn't missed the deadline for a more appropriate race at the Festival, the Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase, few would remember Norton's Coin today. But the Welsh trainer's clumsy error ultimately led to the greatest day of his training career.
Facing some of the best talent in racing at the time, including the revered Desert Orchid who was a heavy favourite after winning the 1989 Gold Cup, the 100/1 Griffith-trained runner shocked the racing community. With that, Griffiths and Norton’s Coin went from relative obscurity to racing immortality in less than 10 minutes. It remains the greatest underdog story in Cheltenham history.
In the years that followed other small trainers followed suit. Peter Beaumont, Robert Alner and Fergie Sutherland, who won the Gold Cup with his first runner at the Festival, all triumphed in the race despite overseeing yards of relatively modest size. Anything was possible for those who had the wherewithal and ambition to strive for racing's most prestigious prizes. Those days have become less frequent in recent years as larger stables increased the power of their arsenals, holding on to the most valuable prizes on offer with an iron grip. Willie Mullins and Henry De Bromhead have won the last five Gold Cups between them.
The smaller trainers, on the other hand, have been struggling to keep their heads above water, the cards seemingly stacked against them. There hasn't been a winner of the Gold Cup from a smaller yard since Mark Bradstock saddled Coneygree to win the race back in 2015. But the lesser-known man is now making a comeback. Hills in the distance are becoming greener. And the heavyweights of the industry are peering over their shoulders as that glorious week in Prestbury Park looms.
While the Irish household names still hold impressive hands as March approaches, the lesser-known trainers are producing genuine threats and head to the Gold Cup with solid chances. On any given day, a David can beat a Goliath. And this year's renewal of the Gold Cup has a selection of Davids.
Hewick produced one of the greatest underdog stories of recent years when he attacked late to claim the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day. The American Grand National winner seemed to be blowing hard midway through the race, with jockey Gavin Sheehan admitting post-race that he would have pulled his ride up if he was running in any other race. He had the look of a horse that had been totally outclassed by a smattering of Grade One winners – like a local park run competitor attempting to maintain the pace of an Olympic final.
But the Shark Hanlon runner rallied in the final furlongs, sweeping home from behind the television set to stun his rivals at the line. The horse that cost only €850 now heads straight to Cheltenham in a bid to break larger trainers' hegemony over the Gold Cup. The famous Cheltenham Hill, which has beaten so many superstars, shouldn't prove an issue for the horse either given his ideal trip is probably nearer the Grand National distance. If the horse does go all the way, Hanlon would be one of the most popular winners of recent years in the Cheltenham paddock.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, the burly Carlow handler wasn't born into the industry. He was a cattle dealer who was convinced to get involved in a leg of a horse by George Mullins, his neighbour and a brother of Willie. Since then, he has developed a very shrewd eye for spotting unwanted talent. He famously gave Blackmore her start when others failed to see potential within her and won his first Grade One with Skyace in 2021, a mare Mullins was willing to offload for £600. When you begin to identify potential the Irish champion trainer fails to notice, the industry takes notice. So, the progression of Hewick since he was bought for pennies should come as no surprise.
For all Hewick's heroics, he remains an outsider heading into the Festival. The same cannot be said for Fastorslow.
Galopin Des Champs may be the favourite for this year's race, after travelling like a locomotive to win last year's renewal. But the Willie Mullins star must still go out and beat Fastorslow, a horse that has beaten him twice since last March.
Of course, the performance of last year's Gold Cup winner in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown during the Christmas period rightfully earned him favouritism for this year's race – and yet Fastorslow was absent that day. So a question still exists, albeit for many that was put to bed when he routed his competition in Leopardstown. Martin Brassil's soft spoken character shouldn't see him misinterpreted as a timid character – he’s happy to make bold decisions just as he did with Fastorslow at last year's Punchestown Festival. He has both the enthusiasm and sagacity to pull off scalps. And Fastorslow is shaping like the best horse that has ever been through his yard.
On March 15 though, Hanlon and Brassil will have company in the shape of Mouse Morris in the pre-parade ring saddling stalls. And while Morris also has a relatively modest stable by size, certainly compared to other trainers, he has already won a Gold Cup with War of Attrition in 2006. Gentlemansgame skipped Christmas with a minor setback, having already beaten Bravemansgame, last year's Gold Cup runner-up, in Wetherby earlier in the season. After graduating from hurdles, the eight-year-old has taken to jumping fences like a hamster to a Ferris wheel. Another commanding performance in the Cotswolds Chase at Cheltenham later this month, at which he's being targeted, and he'll be back in the Gold Cup picture as yet another threat from smaller yards.
Even the larger trainers must relish the prospect of these operations leaping from the bushes to contend for their crowns; it's a refreshing jolt to the sport.
Gold Cup Day should be the one day of the year when no result can be truly deemed as beyond believable. Anything can happen over the three miles and two furlongs. A horse can transform from Pegasus into a mule. It can happen the other way, too. As it did with Norton's Coin and Griffiths. And there's no reason it cannot happen to the stable stars of today's small trainers, the grinders that prop up the sport at every meeting around the country. They, too, deserve their day.
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