VAUTOUR

“This year Willie has Don Poli, Djakadam and probably Vautour for the Gold Cup. Where do they fit in? Which one of them could be the best? I know if you were tying my hand behind my back at this stage and told me I had to ride one, I would go with Vautour. But only time will tell. Will he get three and a quarter? Will he even get three miles? Jesus, I love him. I think he’s a monster. I thought his performance in Cheltenham was breathtaking. He looks great. There’s room for him to develop into a Gold Cup horse. He kicked 160 [rated] horses out of the way at Cheltenham like they were selling-platers. What he did to Apache Stronghold, Valseur Lido, Irish Saint… It was some thrill up on his back. For a two mile and five chase, the way he opened up down the hill to the third last. And when I gave him a root in the guts off the bend. Coming to the back of the last he’d one ear pricked as if to say dismissively ‘ah come on.’”