Beef Or Salmon - eased in the Gold Cup betting.

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Rule Supreme has been slashed for the Cheltenham Gold Cup after he pulled off a surprise victory in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown, shocking odds-on favourite Beef Or Salmon.

The duo were well clear of Murphy's Cardinal turning for home but David Casey always looked to be cruising on the Willie Mullins-trained Rule Supreme as Beef Or Salmon came up his inside.

The pair settled down to battle it out but a brilliant leap at the last from Rule Supreme sealed matters and the 11/2 shot romped away to win by 14 lengths.

Beef Or Salmon, the 8/15 market leader, plugged on for second under Paul Carberry with 20/1 shot Cloudy Bays back in third.

And the result caused a real shake-up in the Gold Cup market - Hills now going a top-priced 12/1 from 40/1 about Rule Supreme while Ladbrokes have doubled Beef Or Salmon's odds from 6/1 to 12/1.

Connections are apparently undecided as to which race to aim Rule Supreme at for the Festival and Ladbrokes have left him unchanged at 6/1 for the World Hurdle.

"Whichever race he goes for he'll have to beat a true Festival legend in Best Mate or Baracouda – it just depends which of the two Willie Mullins feels is most fallible," said Ladbrokes spokesman Balthazar Fabricius.

Coral spokesman Simon Clare, whose firm are shortest at 9/1 about Rule Supreme's Gold Cup chances, is in little doubt about the route he'll take.

He said: "Rule Supreme has already won at the Festival and after this brilliant win, surely connections will now go for Gold at Cheltenham."

Reigning champion Best Mate remains the 3/1 market leader with both Coral and Ladbrokes.