Horse Racing

Denman’s Downfall Makes Odds Tumble

The shock-loss of Cheltenham co-favourite horse-jockey team Denman and McCoy at the Newbury Aon Chase of Saturday 13th February is sending Denman’s Cheltenham odds into a tailspin.

Considered as a strong contender in the upcoming Cheltenham Gold Cup, Denman was seen as the greatest danger to two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Kauto Star. In fact, the Gold Cup was treated as a personal contest between the two horses, both of which have won the race before and have a title to defend.
However, when Denman unseated his rider, 14-times Champion Jockey Tony McCoy on Saturday’s Aon Chase, the loss of confidence in his ability to perform under pressure by bookmakers and punters was staggering. Although Denman’s trainer Paul Nicholls warned against writing off the odds on his charge, Denman is now being handled between 11-4 and 7-2; a far cry from the 4-7 favouritism he shared with rival Kauto Star before the weekend’s mishap.

Despite his unsuccessful first ride on Denman, there is no word of replacing McCoy as Denman’s partner for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The horse’s owners as well as trainer Nicholls have repeatedly expressed their faith in McCoy and are insisting he will be the one to ride Denman this March in Cheltenham regardless of the unpleasant recent result.

The following five weeks will surely see Nicholls stepping up Denman’s training routine, to prove the now doubtful racing community wrong when it comes to Gold Cup time. Nicholls also trained the winner of Saturday’s Aon Chase, Tricky Trickster, proving beyond a doubt that it was not the horse’s training that was at fault in the Denman scenario.