"I wouldn't ride another over him" - Cobden excited ahead of Paddy Power Gold Cup

Ante-post favourite Saint Sonnet is among 17 five-day confirmations in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday.

The five-year-old joined the Paul Nicholls stable from France last season and has had runs to date for the Ditcheat trainer.

After getting off the mark first time when long odds-on at Catterick, Saint Sonnet was thrown in at the deep end in the Marsh Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He shaped promisingly when seventh to Samcro after stumbling at the final fence.

Saint Sonnet was ridden by Harry Cobden on both occasions, and the title-chasing jockey is looking forward to continuing the partnership.

“I wouldn’t ride another one over him,” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“That (Cheltenham) was a great run. Obviously, he’s had a much better preparation this year.

“Fingers crossed he’ll run a tidy race.”

One of his main market rivals is Harry Whittington’s Simply The Betts, winner of the Brown Advisory & Merribelle Stable Plate Handicap Chase at the Festival. Happy Diva, runner-up that day and winner of this race 12 months ago, is also in the mix.

Brelan D’As was beaten a neck by Happy Diva in the 2019 renewal and gives Nicholls a decent second string.

The weights are headed by the Venetia Williams-trained Aso, while other hopefuls include Mister Fisher, Slate House and Spiritofthegames.

The most successful current trainer in the Paddy Power Gold Cup is Nigel Twiston-Davies, who is based close to Cheltenham at Guiting Power. His four Paddy Power Gold Cup wins were provided by Tipping Tim (1992), Imperial Commander (2008), Little Josh (2010) and Splash Of Ginge (2017). His representative in 2020 is set to be Al Dancer. A Grade Three winner over hurdles, the seven-year-old was fifth in the Arkle at The Festival and made a winning reappearance in an intermediate chase at Newton Abbot on 11 October.

Twiston-Davies said: “Al Dancer is in good form and heads for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday.

“He has come out of his win at Newton Abbot in good form and we were pleased with that performance.

“We are looking forward to running him.”

The Paddy Power Gold Cup is not the greatest race for favourites, only winning 14 of the 60 runnings, most recently Tranquil Sea in 2009. Trainer Sean Curran is hoping outsider Domaine de L’Isle can make the line-up on Saturday. The seven-year-old won three of his five outings over fences last season, including a valuable handicap chase at Ascot in January. He reappeared this season at Cheltenham on 23 October, when he kept on to finish fourth in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.

Upper Lambourn-based Curran said: “Domaine de L’Isle is in fine fettle at home and the Paddy Power Gold Cup is the plan, rain permitting.

“There is rain forecast for Cheltenham and hopefully it gets there as we are looking forward to running.

“I was really pleased with his run at Cheltenham last time out when fourth over hurdles. He was making ground up all the time and we were delighted with that as a comeback effort.

“I think he would have finished much closer if a horse hadn’t fallen in front of him three hurdles from home.

“He just needs more testing ground to be seen at his best and so we are hoping for plenty of rain before Saturday.

“It’s great to have a runner in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and he has been a real stable star for us.”

Similarly, trainer Alexandra Dunn is hoping that Pinson du Rheu can defy his odds. The nine-year-old has yet to start for Somerset-based Dunn but is a three-time winner at Auteuil in France.

Dunn said: “Pinson du Rheu will run in Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup.

“It is his first run for us having come from France, but we have been really pleased with what we’ve seen from him at home.

“He is owned by Stephen Bean who is a new owner to the sport and it is fantastic to have a new owner in the yard who can see his horse run in a big race on a Saturday, particularly at Cheltenham.

“Saturday is just a starting point for Pinson du Rheu. He is a horse who we really like and we are hopeful that there is plenty to come from him this season.

“The Paddy Power is a nice place to start him off and after that there are loads of options for him. He has run over three miles in Auteuil, but we may even drop him back in trip after the Paddy Power – he is just a horse to look forward to.”