Gavin Cromwell is more hopeful than confident about the chances of Inothewayurthinkin successfully defending his crown in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The JP McManus-owned eight-year-old looked like the new star of the staying division after powering clear of dual Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs 12 months ago, but he has appeared a shadow of that horse in three subsequent appearances.
Tailed off in the John Durkan and the Savills Chase before the turn of the year, Inothewayurthinkin then suffered a heavy fall at the final fence in last month's Irish Gold Cup and his trainer admits he has a huge task on his hands.
"All the horses have run well so far (this week). On Tuesday we had a second and a fourth and I was going into the first (day) not really fancying our chances of having a winner, so I was happy with that," said Cromwell.
"I thought the Brown Advisory was a very good race on Wednesday and our horse (Now Is The Hour) ran a super race to finish fifth, then obviously we had a good result in the cross-country with three of the first four.
"We think he (Inothewayurthinkin) has turned a corner, but it’s such a gap to bridge from a month ago when he was lying at the back of the last after a tired fall.
"To go from that to winning a Gold Cup is a huge step to take, but we are happy with him and hopefully the cheekpieces will sharpen his jumping."
The McManus silks are also carried by Spillane's Tower, who provided his trainer Jimmy Mangan with a first Cheltenham success when landing January’s Cotswold Chase.
Mangan said: "He had a good sailing and arrived on Thursday morning in good shape.
"He was obviously good here a few weeks ago and he will improve for that I’m sure.
"We would like to see some of the forecast rain arrive for sure."
With Galopin Des Champs ruled out, Willie Mullins is this year pinning his Gold Cup hopes on Gaelic Warrior, who became a five-time Grade One winner when landing the John Durkan in the autumn.
He subsequently finished a close-up third in a thrilling King George before finding only his stablemate Fact To File too strong in the Irish Gold Cup.
Joe Chambers, racing manager to owners Rich and Susannah Ricci, said: "I think Paul (Townend) will have learned from the King George and then again from Leopardstown.
"I think it’s a belter of a Gold Cup. We’re pretty certain we stay and stay well and I think we need to make better use of that than we have historically.
"I also think we’re the most battle-hardened of those towards the top of the market and I think the fact we’ve been active and had more racing will stand to us in the last two and a half furlongs."
Envoi Allen is something of a Festival legend, with seven previous appearances at the showpiece meeting yielding three victories and he finally gets his shot at Gold Cup glory on what will be his swansong.
"I think he has a chance, I really do," said the 12-year-old’s trainer Henry de Bromhead.
"It’s sort of like Bob Olinger (Stayers’ Hurdle winner) last year – you look at all the horses he has beaten and they are single figures and then you look at him and he’s some crazy price!
"I thought he was better than ever when he won on his comeback."
The Irish contingent is completed by Gordon Elliott’s outsider Firefox.
Rebecca Curtis has long viewed Haiti Couleurs as a potential Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and she will soon find out if her "amazing journey" with her stable star leads to more Festival glory in the biggest race of all.
Since winning the National Hunt Chase at the meeting 12 months ago, Haiti Couleurs has added Irish and Welsh Grand National victories to his growing CV and further enhanced his claims for the blue riband in Newbury's Denman Chase.
He is now fully primed for his quest to become the first Welsh-trained Gold Cup winner since Norton’s Coin’s shock 100-1 success in 1990, with champion jockey Sean Bowen seeking his own defining moment in the saddle.
"We can’t do any more now and he’s fit and ready," said Curtis.
"It would be nice if a bit of rain comes. It’s not a worry as such as he’s versatile and has won plenty of times on goodish ground, but a bit of cut might bring a bit more stamina into the race which we know he has a lot of.
"It’s been quite hard for them to make up ground this week with the ground being as it is, which will suit his running style.
"We’re looking forward to it and we’ve been on an amazing journey with him. Whatever he does in this will be a bonus and we’ll find out if he is up to that class. It would be absolutely brilliant for everyone if it could happen."
While Curtis is searching for her first victory in the staying showpiece, Nicky Henderson goes for his third with Jango Baie, who bids to follow in the footsteps of previous Seven Barrows greats Long Run and Bobs Worth.
The winner of the Arkle here last year, he was excellent on his return at Ascot over the intermediate distance and has been kept fresh since being denied by a half a length in the King George at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.
"I wouldn’t say he’s certain to stay the trip, but I’m hopeful. We know he comes up the hill and he’s got the pace to win over two miles," said Henderson.
"In the King George, after he jumped the third-last there was an injection of pace and we were definitely caught on the back foot – we turned in fourth and finished fourth.
"We’re hopeful and it’s the natural place to go. We were going to run in the Denman, but it was bottomless ground.
"He’d have more speed than Bobs Worth – he wouldn’t have won an Arkle. But Long Run was a high-class horse. To be fair this lad didn’t really win an Arkle, he fell in at the end of the day, but it was great at the time. He’s not that quick, but he’s pretty talented.
"If you look at the King George form then there shouldn’t be much between three of them. Pick who you like, they’ve all got great chances and it’s sure to be a hell of a race.
"In some Gold Cups, by the time they come downhill there are only two or three still playing, but you could easily see six or seven still in play this time. Then when the cards are played it could be wacky – who is brave enough, who jumps well enough and who ultimately proves good enough."
Henderson’s former assistant Ben Pauling and The Jukebox Man claimed a memorable victory in that King George, with the scenes of joy involving owner Harry Redknapp lighting up the festive period.
Now having also stayed away from the racecourse since Christmas, Pauling is hoping his charge can prove he is number one in an open division.
He said: "Without Galopin Des Champs, there’s nothing in the field other than last year’s winner (Inothewayurthinkin) that has proved they are up to Gold Cup-winning standard and he hasn’t looked like the same horse this season.
"I’m expecting something to stick its head above the parapet this year and I hope it will be us. It’s an incredible Gold Cup and we’re very fortunate to have a horse like this.
"We won the King George by inches, but I’m sure this track will suit him better. I thought he looked tapped for speed at the back of three-out at Kempton but he somehow stuck on and I’ve got him in great order."
Also representing Britain will be Venetia Williams’ L’Homme Presse who was fourth to Galopin Des Champs in 2024 and has a fine record at Prestbury Park.
He finished ahead of Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning when they met in the Cotswold Chase, but the champion trainer elect has only ever had one day in mind since his Betfair Chase heroics in the autumn.
"He loves the course, he’s won at the course and he’s versatile on ground, as long as it’s not heavy," said Skelton.
"He stays, he showed that in the Betfair. People are entitled to ask the question and I’m entitled to say he’s done it!
"The improvement from the Cotswold Chase has arrived, we are really ready and I have no doubt we will be there turning in. Whether he’s good enough from there, I don’t know, I just have a feeling we’re going there the best we can be."
Gold Tweet is the rank outsider of the field for French trainer Gabriel Leenders.
