LAST Irish horse to win the Coral Gold Cup, under any of its guises/sponsorships? Total Recall, Willie Mullins and Paul Townend, 2017.

And before him? You have to go back to Michael O’Brien’s horse Bright Highway in 1980, if you don’t count Be My Royal in 2002, who was first past the post before being subsequently and somewhat controversially disqualified. That’s one Irish-trained winner in 45 years.

That record could be improved upon today, because there is a strong Irish challenge.

Ten of the 24 declared runners are trained in Ireland, including the top six in the handicap and seven of the top eight. Monty’s Star heads the handicap, he has to concede weight to all his rivals, but Henry de Bromhead’s horse is a classy individual.

Second to Fact To File in the Brown Advisory Chase as a novice, he wasn’t beaten that far in the Irish Gold Cup last February, and he finished fourth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

He probably didn’t realise his true potential last season but, rated 154 this time last year, as he left novice company and moved into open company, you would have said then that he had the potential to go well beyond today’s rating of 159.

Three Card Brag is just 6lb higher than he was when he won at Cheltenham last time, and Intense Raffles is the Irish National winner who ran the Aintree Grand National winner Nick Rockett to three parts of a length in the Bobbyjo Chase in February, giving him 3lb, and Spanish Harlem is the Kerry National winner, who put it all together at Listowel and who may be able to cope with a 16lb hike.

Cromwell challenger

It will be good to see Paddy Power Chase winner Perceval Legallois back, his first run since he fell early on in the Grand National, while Blizard Of Oz and Gorgeous Tom are both progressive, both lightly-raced second-season chasers, who could both improve now from their respective seasonal returns, stepping up in trip.

Myretown heads the British-trained batallion, and the market overall, on the back of his demolition job in the Ultima Chase at Cheltenham. He is 15lb higher than he was then, and you can argue that he got an easy lead in the Ultima, in a race in which the finishing speed was over 108% of overall speed.

But he was still over two seconds faster than his fastest rival through the last four furlongs of the race. He won with lots in hand and Lucinda Russell said shortly afterwards that the Coral Gold Cup could be his next target. He is a big player.

That said, this race has also been on Sam Thomas’ radar for Katate Dori for a while, and he goes into the race with a real chance.

An easy winner of handicaps at Exeter and Chepstow in early January last year, the seven-year-old gelding ran a big race to finish second in the Somerset National at Wincanton later that month off a mark of 122, and he stepped forward from that next time when he spreadeagled his field in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Kempton in February off a mark of 125.

He won with lots in hand that day. In rear early on, he led from fully five fences out, he moved on from Beachcomber at that point, and he just careered away from his rivals.

He was about eight lengths clear as they rounded the home turn, and he won by 15.

The handicapper raised him by 12lb for that to a rating of 137, and he was well beaten off that mark in the Ultima Chase that Myretown won at Cheltenham in March.

Course preference

But he has never been at his best at Cheltenham. He has run there three times now, and he has been well beaten on all three occasions. He could only finish seventh of seven on his seasonal return, but that was in a Pertemps qualifier, over hurdles at Aintree, in a race in which the hurdles in the home straight were omitted. He was right there with them until they were bypassing the second last flight, in a race that was won by yesterday’s Long Distance Hurdle winner Impose Toi.

That race should have brought Katate Dori forward nicely for today, a race that his trainer has had in mind for him for a while. Sam Thomas’ horses are going really well. He has now had four winners from 13 runners in the last two weeks, a strike rate of over 30%. He has also had Vincenzo and Celtic Dino run well in big races at Cheltenham and Ascot respectively in that time.

Katate Dori should appreciate the return to a flat track, and Dylan Johnston has struck up a good partnership with him.

O’Sullevan Handicap

Earlier in the day, before lunchtime, Wiseguy will be bidding to repeat last year’s victory in the Coral Sir Peter O’Sullevan Memorial Handicap Chase.

Nicky Henderson’s horse was good in winning the race last year. He relinquished the lead at the final fence with an inefficient jump, which seemed to be more down to a lack of concentration after he had hit the front than it was down to anything else, but he proved that he had plenty of energy in reserve when he got going again on the run-in and won nicely, with his ears pricked.

He was raised by 6lb for that win to a mark of 131, but he is back down to a mark of 127 now, just 2lb higher than he was when he won the race last year.

He was well beaten in each of his three subsequent runs last season, but it appears that he is better when he is fresh than when he is not, and his handicap mark has dropped on the back of his runs when he has not been fresh.

His record after a break of 100 days or more reads 132511, and today could be the day to catch him.

Recommeneded:

Wiseguy, 12.30 Newbury, 10/1 (generally), 1 point win,

Katate Dori, 2.55 Newbury, 11/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes, BetVictor, William Hill) or 10/1 (generally), 1 point each-way