the fondly remembered whitbread gold cup.

​The fall into complete ordinariness of the race that started out as the mould-breaking and historically the first sponsored race in British horse racing, the Whitbread Gold Cup and what is now the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase, becomes ever more apparent. It is the last major race of the National Hunt season and yet would not stand as tall as an iceberg if it were staged mid-week at Warwick or Exeter. And the race is not exactly worth peanuts; there is £115,000 in prize money, more than many of the races on the undercard at the Cheltenham Festival. It’s a disgrace, isn’t it, that a race with such a rich tapestry of history should be allowed by its sponsors, by Sandown and by the B.H.A. to become so forgettable?
Yes, it affords an opportunity for one of the ‘lesser’ stables to win a big prize, though as Nicholls, King and de Bromhead are to be represented the opportunity is no more likely than an iceberg lost in the Indian Ocean making its way back to the coastline of Greenland.
Arkle won a Whitbread. So did Mill House. In fact, under the Whitbread banner, it was contested by nearly all the top chasers of the decades of its duration. When Paul Nicholls entered Clan Des Obeaux I thought the race was finally attracting the calibre of horse its history deserved. But no, Clan Des Obeaux will be packing his bags over the weekend for a journey across the Irish Sea to take on Minella Indo and all those other thumpingly good chasers domiciled in the Emerald Isle. I suspect if Harry Cobden was not injured a different decision might have been taken.
The 2021 renewal is, I have to admit, looking like it might be competitive but then so is the 5.25, the bet365 Handicap Hurdle that has prize money to the value of £23,000. On a card graced by both Frodon and Altior, the highlight is a race where at present the highest weighted horse carries 11-0 st, with the next highest weight only 10st 7Ib.
Something needs to be done to reinvigorate the race, perhaps. No. It should be allowed to perish. It’s had its time; now we must be brave and let it go. It is dying; it is kindest to put it out of its misery.
The problem is that there are just too many long-distance chases throughout the final six-weeks of the season. There is the Midland National at Uttoxeter, the Irish National at Fairyhouse, the Grand National and the Scottish National, races that in theory are competing for the same type of chaser and, sadly, it is the bet365 that is finishing last of four.
My solution is to change the distance to 2-miles 4-furlongs. The season’s first big race, I suppose after the Charlie Hall at Wetherby, is a 2-mile 4-furlong handicap chase at Cheltenham, so there is something in-the-round, cyclical, if you wish, to finish the season in a similar fashion.
Of course, there is no certainty that the quality of runners will increase, though I would bet a penny to a dime that the race would be more attractive to owners and trainers than the race as it presently exists. Believe me, I would be the first to applaud if the magic of the old Whitbread could be brought to bear on the bet365 Gold Cup. But it isn’t happening and no one seems too worried about the situation. Am I alone in remembering all those great chasers that ran in or won the old Whitbread? Am I alone in remembering Tidal Bay running away with the race back in 2012, as easy a winner of the race since the mighty Arkle?
Perhaps, if the B.H.A., the sponsors and Sandown are entrenched in the mindset to keep the race as it is, some form of incentive can be added to the prize money. The winner gets an invitation to run in the following season’s Grand National no matter what its rating. Or a five or six-figure bonus for the winning connections if their horse has in the course of the season won one of the big 3-mile plus handicap chases.
Something must be done and as a matter of urgency. On Saturday we have the ‘peoples’ champion’ Frodon in the Oaksey Chase, the great Lord Oaksey would be mortified to see the decline in his favourite race, as well as Mister Fisher, Itchy Feet and hopefully, though I don’t know why, Tiger Roll, and in the Celebration Chase we will be graced by the presence of Altior and the Champion 2-mile chaser Put the Kettle On. Then we have the highlight of the weekend featuring good, honest chasers, yes, but lightweights compared to the above, Crosspark, El Presente, Smooth Stepper, Plan of Attack, etc. Crest of a wave to the shallows. Is it little wonder the Irish are so dominant at the moment?