Robbie Power reflects on fondest memory with Sizing John winning Gold Cup

Robbie Power looks back with pride on the day he won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Jessica Harrington’s Sizing John.

Back in 2017 all the hard yards Power had put in through his early days in the saddle paid off when a link up with powerful owner Alan Potts, reaped plentiful rewards.

Splitting his time between the UK and Ireland, riding principally for Colin Tizzard and Jessica Harrington respectively, he rode a plethora of big race winners, with three at the Cheltenham Festival.

While Coral Cup success on Supasundae and Grand Annual glory on Rock The World boosted his tally, winning the biggest prize of all can never be taken away from him.

“Out of all the winners I rode it meant the most, not just because it was the Gold Cup, but it was Jessie Harrington’s first Gold Cup as well and Jessie had been so loyal to me throughout my career. To repay her with a Gold Cup meant an awful lot,” said Boylesports ambassador Power.

“Any jockey who wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup, it is always going to be the highlight of their career no matter how many winners they have ridden. That year 2017 was fantastic for me with three winners at the Festival and Sizing John being the definite highlight.

“He’s the best I have ridden I would say. I was lucky to ride some very good two-mile chasers, but Sizing John was very good over two miles and he could stay three-and-a-quarter-miles as well – he just ticked all the boxes.

“He was second in an Arkle, placed in a Supreme and then showed his class when stepped up in trip.”

He continued: “I was actually disappointed with him in the Irish Gold Cup that year as I thought he’d win more impressively than he did but the ground was really heavy that day.

“But then on better ground at Cheltenham he travelled and his big forte was his jumping, he was an unbelievable jumper and a quick jumper. Going Gold Cup pace at Cheltenham he was just doing a half-speed and jumping fence to fence.

“I was confident from a long way out and turning towards the fourth last I’m just thinking I need to get out of here as I’m stuck down the inside and I want out to be following the right horses.

“I went for a gap that Paddy Brennan went for on Cue Card and I had so much horse underneath me I could just nudge Cue Card out of the way.

“He pinged four out and then going downhill he came alight underneath me and then it was just a case of not playing my hand too soon. I was following Native River and Djakadam and always going well and always felt I had the pace to pick them off when I wanted.

“The way he jumped the last gave me no doubt he would get up the hill and he stood off outside the wings of the last and gave it two-foot and landed running – it would have been very surprising and I would have been very disappointed if he was beat after that.”

This year’s feature has an open look to it, with several young pretenders coming through including The Jukebox Man and Jango Baie to take on previous old Cup heroes in Galopin Des Champs and Inothewayurthinkin.

“It will be very interesting and is wide open. You can make a case for a lot of horses and what Willie Mullins will run in the race is the biggest question mark,” said Power.

“Galopin Des Champs is definitely going to go and it will be interesting to see what Willie does. I would imagine Fact To File will be supplemented because Inothewayurthinkin has been disappointing this year and I think last year’s Gold Cup has left a mark on him. It would be an amazing training performance from Gavin Cromwell to get him back.

“However, the one horse we know who is definitely going there and I think will stay is The Jukebox Man. He was very unlucky not to win an Albert Bartlett and has a bit of course form and whenever I watch back the King George I think if he had just jumped the last he would have won a length.

“They say the King George wasn’t run to suit some of the beaten horses, but I don’t think it was run to suit The Jukebox Man either. Out of the first four home in that race, I think he’s the one guaranteed to stay further and I think if they had gone around the bend at Kempton he’d have beaten them two or three lengths.”