The Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury is one of the best races in the calendar and Cappa Bleu can add his name to the proud roll call of previous winners on Saturday.
Trained by Evan Williams, who won this race with State Of Play three years ago, the seven-year-old looks like he could be thrown in off his current handicap mark just like his stablemate was in 2006.
An impressive winner of the Foxhunters at the Cheltenham Festival, he received quotes of 25/1 for the Gold Cup in the aftermath of that victory and he can go some way to proving they weren't folly this weekend.
He jumps well, stays well and gets in here bang on bottom weight and in the handicap off a mark of 148.
That could be the most generous rating he'll ever run off as he's a really exciting young chaser on the up with the promise of plenty of improvement to come.
His reappearance at Aintree was initially disappointing but on reflection it was over a much shorter than ideal trip, on ground a shade fast, giving weight to some good horses.
He'll come on for that run and is the most appealing of the market leaders at a double-figure price.
Denman would be a hugely popular winner but he has it all to do after an interrupted campaign last season.
A good third or fourth would be no disgrace for him at the weights and it would set him well on the road to, hopefully, a Gold Cup showdown with Kauto Star in March.
Barbers Shop looks well weighted and should go close, but he looks about the right price at 6/1, while What A Friend could be overrated and drift to an even bigger price on the day.
Killyglen's impressive Aintree win was franked by Shining Gale who has won off a handicap mark of 145 since and that gives Howard Johnson's horse every chance here.
However, he also looks about right in the market at 8/1 and there could be a couple of better handicapped horses towards the bottom of the weights.
They include headline selection Cappa Bleu and Nigel Twiston-Davies' Ballyfitz who we'll take a chance on at 20/1.
He was punted into 6/1 for the Paddy Power Gold Cup and although he didn't quite have the pace of the front three at Cheltenham he ran on well into fourth.
The 2m5f trip was against him at Prestbury Park and he is a real player stepped back up to over three miles.
The rain came for him at Cheltenham, prompting the plunge, and the forecast suggests it might again at Newbury. He loves a test and he will relish the extended three and a quarter miles in Berkshire.
Off a light weight he looks likely to stay-on through beaten horses and is well worth adding to the staking plan at 20s.
Preview posted at 1440 GMT on 26/11/2009.
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