Inothewayurthinkin emerged unscathed from a tired fall at the last in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown, but the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner now faces a race against the calendar to justify a defence of his crown on March 13.
Gavin Cromwell confirmed the eight-year-old took no harm from the spill and returned home in good order, yet the trainer did not hide the damage the run has done to the Gold Cup picture. “We’re obviously not in a great position now with regard to going back to the Gold Cup, but at least he’s home safe and that’s the main thing,” he said to the Racing Post.
The incident itself carried the unmistakable look of a horse emptying late. “It was just a tired fall,” Cromwell explained. “Keith said he was staying on grand and then about four strides from the final fence he suddenly got tired and it was just too late to pull him up at that stage.”
Frank Berry, racing manager to JP McManus, echoed the relief inside the camp on the immediate aftermath. “He’s fine, he was just a bit winded for a few minutes but he got up afterwards,” Berry said, adding: “He went home and everything was all right. He ate up last night and he was fine this morning, Gavin was happy with him so that’s very good news.”
Jumping errors concern Cromwell with Gold Cup in mind
From a pure performance angle, Cromwell took some encouragement before the fall, noting his horse made ground after the second-last, only to tire late. The more troubling note came in the air. “He jumped quite big over a few of them, which was a bit frustrating as we thought we had that ironed out,” he said, a pointed admission given the fine margins of a Gold Cup defence.
The market reacted sharply, pushing him out to 16-1 from 5-1, and Cromwell’s closing line carried the weight of a man who knows what a championship campaign demands: “He’s home safe and sound and that’s the main thing. Beyond that I don’t know, it’s not very encouraging.”