Few horses arrive at Cheltenham this weekend with a profile as tidy as Meetmebythesea‘s. The Festival winner heads the betting for Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup and was among the 19 confirmed on Monday, so he looks a likely runner in the 2.20pm.
Ben Pauling’s six-year-old has won six of his eight starts, and his owner JP McManus is chasing a race that has kept eluding him. These are the numbers that matter before the season’s first big handicap chase.
Six wins from eight and barely a backward step
Meetmebythesea won his first three races over hurdles, starting with a maiden hurdle at Ludlow in November 2024, before following up there and at Doncaster. His only defeat in that spell came in the EBF Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final at Sandown, where he was beaten just half a length into third.
He has been just as effective over fences, winning on his chasing debut at Wetherby last November and again at Ayr in January. His only blip over fences came on heavy ground in the Grade 2 Game Spirit Chase at Newbury, where he never got competitive, but that was a far stronger race, over an inadequately short trip, than he had ever previously encountered.
Festival glory in the Jack Richards
He put that run behind him at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Ridden by Ben Jones in the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap, he defeated Willie Mullins’ Gold Dancer by staying on powerfully from the last.
His connections then skipped the Manifesto at Aintree to keep him fresh for the following season, meaning this race has been his target for months. Pauling has said he has “done plenty of work for the race”, while describing him as “a very, very laidback individual who doesn’t do anything flash at home”.
Can he end the McManus hoodoo?
McManus has had more Cheltenham Festival winners than any other owner, but his famous green and gold silks have not been carried to victory in any of the last 16 Paddy Power Gold Cups. He has gone close, though. Dancing Tornado and Quantitativeeasing were runners-up in 2010 and 2011, Colour Squadron was beaten three-quarters of a length in 2013 and Brelan D’As went down by just a neck in 2019.
He also has the Jonjo and AJ O’Neill-trained Johnnywho among the 19, but Meetmebythesea is clearly his best chance of breaking his duck.
Bigger days could lie ahead
There are trends to overcome. Dave Young’s Paddy Power Gold Cup trends show that only one six-year-old has won in the last ten years, and none of the last 12 winners had won on their previous start.
Even so, he is unexposed after only four runs over fences, and a big run here would open plenty of doors for Pauling. With his age on his side and a Festival win already in the bag, a step up into Graded company and a return to Cheltenham in March would be the natural next steps if he takes this.
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