French Dynamite heads the field for Saturday's Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Cheltenham, but who did the Racing Weekly panel back for glory?
Paddy Power Gold Cup
The biggest rivals to French Dynamite in the Paddy Power Gold Cup are likely to be Ga Law (6/1) - 3rd in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree - and Stolen Silver (7/1), who was last seen winning a Grade 2 handicap chase at Prestbury Park in April.
Il Ridoto, meanwhile, is the fourth favourite (17/2) for Paul Nicholls, who trained the last five-year-old to win the race in Caid Du Berlais eight years ago.
Paddy Power Gold Cup 2022 Runners & Riders
| Runner | Rider | Best Price | Worst Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| French Dynamite | Darragh O'Keeffe | 9/2 | 4/1 |
| Ga Law | Jonathan Burke | 6/1 | 5/1 |
| Stolen Silver | Sam Twiston-Davies | 7/1 | 6/1 |
| Il Ridoto | Harry Cobden | 17/2 | 7/1 |
| Happygolucky | David Bass | 14/1 | 11/1 |
| Midnight River | Harry Skelton | 12/1 | 10/1 |
| Galahad Quest | David Noonan | 11/1 | 9/1 |
| Coole Cody | Adam Wedge | 16/1 | 12/1 |
| Editeur Du Gite | Niall Houlihan | 20/1 | 16/1 |
| Mister Fisher | James Bowen | 16/1 | 14/1 |
| Simply The Betts | David Maxwell | 20/1 | 12/1 |
| Umbrigado | Tom Scudamore | 16/1 | 14/1 |
| Nassalam | Jamie Moore | 20/1 | 10/1 |
| Deyrann De Carjac | Harry Kimber | 28/1 | 22/1 |
| Slate House | Brendan Powell | 40/1 | 25/1 |
| Storm Control | Richard Patrick | 40/1 | 25/1 |
*Odds accurate as of 13:00 on 10/11/2022.
Paddy Power Gold Cup 2022 Tips & Prediction
For the first episode of Racing Weekly for the 2022/23 Jump Season, show hosts Rishi Persad and Sam Turner were joined by Paul Ferguson - author of Jumpers To Follow & the Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide. Here’s what each of them said about the Paddy Power Gold Cup:
Paul Ferguson
“Normally for these early season handicaps I like to look at second season chasers and proven types quite lightly raced. Jamie Snowden's been in flying form at the start of the season and GA LAW is still only a six-year old who made his comeback in the Old Roan Chase where he wasn't beaten too far by Riders Onthe Storm and Hitman.
“That was his first start in 603 days, so it remains to be seen if he can replicate that kind of form 20 days later after a long lay-off. My slight concern would be that the pick of his form has been on flatter tracks so there is a little bit of an unknown.”
Sam Turner
“STOLEN SILVER for me. Sam Thomas (trainer) has made a very good start with first time out horses this year. The yard seems very forward. His (Stolen Silver) best performances have come at Cheltenham, not least last time when he ran over 2 1/2 in the Silver Trophy.
“He strode really nicely to beat Simply The Betts by 11L having gone head to head over the last two, so to put good distance between the two was encouraging.
“I think his Cheltenham record in completed starts is 2nd, 2nd, 4th, 1st. It's obviously a race Thomas has targeted having finished second in a handicap chase at this meeting last year behind Editeur Du Gite who is also one for the shortlist after his eye-catching comeback at the Showcase Meeting.”
Rishi Persad
“HAPPYGOLUCKY is a horse I've always liked. He ran an absolute blinder at Cheltenham in March 2021, won at Aintree and then we haven't seen him since. Kim Bailey's horses are running pretty well at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how he gets on as he was a very forward going individual, but his best might be over slightly longer.”
