Can Protektorat ensure the Gold Cup stays on British soil?

Ireland’s recent dominance at the Cheltenham Festival has been well documented in the last few years and it is a real cause for concern for the hosts. The Prestbury Cup proved to be a walk in the park for those that made their way across the Irish Sea for last year’s behind-closed-doors renewal of the meeting, with a 23-5 victory perhaps the most damning result yet for British jumps racing — with many claiming that more needs to be done to enhance the quality in the United Kingdom.

Next month’s Festival will mark four years since a British-trained horse last won the Gold Cup, Cheltenham’s showpiece race, with Native River winning the prestigious trophy for Dorset-based Colin Tizzard.

However, the Irish have had the edge in the highlight since, with the first three horses over the line last year all coming from Irish stables for the first time in 15 years as Minella Indo and A Plus Tard secured a one-two for Henry de Bromhead, while Al Boum Photo came home in third for Willie Mullins.

The betting at Cheltenham this year looks set to once again favour those from the Emerald Isles, with the likes of A Plus Tard and Minella Indo leading the way in the ante-post market again, while the other top Irish trainers, Gordon Elliott and Mullins, have horses in the mix as well, of course.

But Protektorat, Britain’s best chance of glory — according to the bookmakers, anyway — is certainly in the mix at odds of around 9/1 and trainer Dan Skelton claims he isn’t scared by the Irish powerhouses ahead of the meeting after watching them at the recent Dublin Racing Festival.

“Does watching them in Ireland change anything? Not really. I feel it’s a very open Gold Cup,” the Lodge Hill handler said. “Every time a Gold Cup contender has raced in a Gold Cup trial, there’s been a different winner and Conflated chucked his hat into the ring at the weekend.

“I feel it’s a high-quality Gold Cup, but quite an open one and I’m delighted to have my horse in the form that’s he in at the moment to go there.”

But can the seven-year-old break the British duck and keep the iconic Gold Cup on this side of the Irish Sea? Well, Skelton is right when he says it’s a wide-open race. None of the major contenders in the Cheltenham Gold Cup tips have really managed to put together a winning run this season, with A Plus Tard being beaten on his seasonal reappearance and Minella Indo heading to Cheltenham without a win in three outings, while questions will asked of Al Boum Photo now he is 10 years old.

Protektorat was narrowly beaten at Cheltenham during the traditional curtain-raising November Meeting, being held by Midnight Shadow after a rather poor run in the Gold Cup Handicap Chase, but he bounced back with a mammoth win at Aintree the following month — easing around the iconic Merseyside track to win the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase by a huge 25 lengths clear of the aforementioned Native River.

Interestingly though, the seven-year-old’s record isn’t that impressive at Prestbury Park. While he’s yet to race at the Festival itself, he has had his fair share of outings at the racecourse. However, he has won just two of those seven contests — which leaves a bit to be desired, especially ahead of a race like the Gold Cup. It seems unlikely that he will have what it takes to compete with the frontrunner, but like Minella Indo proved last, you can never rule a horse out!