{"id":2667,"date":"2018-12-31T20:39:43","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T19:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.confirmbets.com\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2019-01-16T19:28:53","modified_gmt":"2019-01-16T18:28:53","slug":"can-native-right-win-a-second-gold-cup-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.confirmbets.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/31\/can-native-right-win-a-second-gold-cup-in-a-row\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Native Right win a second Gold Cup in a row?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At the 2018 Cheltenham Festival Native River managed to\novercome the Gold Cup favourite, Might Bite, who was priced at 4\/1. Native\nRiver ran at a starting price of 5\/1, making him the third favourite to win.\nFor jockey Richard Johnson, this wasn\u2019t his first Gold Cup win, as 18 years previous,\nhe won the race while riding Looks Like Trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the upcoming Cheltenham\nFestival<\/a>, Native River runs as the second favourite, currently at a\nprice of 6\/1. He is ahead of the 2018 favourite Might Bite, who is currently\npriced at 8\/1. The bookies\u2019 favourite for the 2019 Gold Cup race is Presenting\nPercy, who the bookies have at 9\/2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to his 2018 Gold Cup victory, Native River had\nprevious form in the race, finishing third in 2017\u2019s race. His third and first\nplace finishes in the Gold Cup suggests that he can handle the pressures of the\nbig race, which explains why he is one of the favourites for the race in 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His most recent run was in the Lancashire Chase at Haydock\nin which the Irish horse finished in second place, behind Bristol De Mai. This\nwas his first race since his victory in the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival\nin March 2018. This race also saw Might Bite race, running as the favourite at\nevens, but again he came up short, finish in fifth place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finishing second after not racing for eight months is the\nsign of a true champion and will certainly provide jockey Richard Johnson and\ntrainer Colin Tizzard with confidence that the Irish thoroughbred can win a second\nconsecutive Gold Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presenting Percy will provide a stiff challenge for Native\nRiver, having won the 2018 RSA Insurance Novices\u2019 Chace at the Cheltenham\nFestival. Although he hasn\u2019t raced since his victory at Cheltenham, there are\nplans afoot for him to return to racing in the Grade\n1 Savills Chase<\/a> on December 28th<\/sup> at Leopardstown\nracecourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be three days of racing before Native River\ndefends his Gold Cup title on the final day of the festival. Champion Day kicks\noff the festival on the Tuesday, before the Ladies Day and St Patrick\u2019s\nThursday racing. While there are several races that people will keep a keen eye\nout for, the Gold Cup is the highlight of the Cheltenham Festival on Gold Cup\nDay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect Native River to run a few more races prior to the\n2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup and should he continue to run impressively with\nfurther finishes in the top two or three places, then expect his odds to\nshorten as we near race day. Also keep an eye out for Might Bite\u2019s and\nPresenting Percy\u2019s race results as they currently present the biggest challenge\nto Native River\u2019s chances of successfully defending the Gold Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also several horses who are currently considered\nas outsiders who may be worth a look at, in particular, Bristol De Mai, who\npipped Native River to first place in the Lancashire Chase at Haydock\nracecourse. His price is currently 20\/1.<\/p>\n

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