Why I tipped A Plus Tard for the 2022 Gold Cup
We saw un unbelievable performance by A Plus Tard, in winning the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup this year. He won by 15 lengths and there was no fluke about it. However, it didn’t surprise me one bit, in what he did to the rest of the field. If you were a member of my group or had seen my YouTube videos, you would have known I have been very sweet on
A Plus Tard for a long time. I said in a YouTube video back in October, that the Gold Cup was a matchup between Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, guess I was right! The forecast paid around 20/1!
His win at the start of the season at Haydock was breath-taking I thought after destroying a decent field on the bridle. He showed he has bundles of class and was only an 8-year-old going into Cheltenham this year, which seems the prime age for the Gold Cup in recent years. The only negative on form was horses tend to struggle to win the Gold Cup on their 2nd attempt, if they win the race, it’s usually on their first attempt. However, A Plus Tard has never been a champion that has gone unbeaten, he does get beat from time to time, but never finishes outside the places, so is a very consistent horse. The fact he managed to beat Chacun Pour Soi over 2 miles a few years ago, was the best bit of form on offer I thought and showed he has so much speed than the rest to do that, combined with the proof he stays 3m2f from the Gold Cup last year.
He struck me as the classiest horse in the race by a long way and getting beat at Christmas wasn’t a concern, as Galvin got a good ride on the day by Davy Russell and Henry De Bromhead’s horses weren’t going very well, but he still ran very well and would have won on another day.
My thoughts on his rivals going into the Gold Cup,
- Minella Indo loves Cheltenham but got beat by a handicapper at Leopardstown last time out
- Protektorat drifted a mile in the betting before Aintree which was a concern for me despite winning very easily
- Galvin is just not as classy as A Plus Tard, my judgement
- Al Boum photo too old and it was his 4th try in the race
- Royale Pagaille needed much heavier ground
- Chantry House just not good enough visually
- Asterion Forlonge is not reliable jumping wise
- Tornado Flyer got a good ride at Kempton, but form is questionable
So, after looking at the race in depth, A Plus Tard had standout form and credentials. The Gold cup hasn’t always gone to the most talented horse, but I think this is changing and the classier horses are winning the race, which is what happened with A Plus Tard, who bolted up this year!
