Haiti Couleurs highlights Gold Cup credentials with Denman Chase victory

• Welsh Grand National winner shortens to 7-1 for Cheltenham

• Haiti Couleurs wins by seven lengths from L’Homme Presse

Eight years after Native River’s success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, hopes were on the rise here on Saturday that the next British-trained winner could now be imminent. Jango Baie, the shortest-priced runner from a British yard in the antepost betting, was steered around the Denman Chase due to concerns over the heavy ground, but in his absence Haiti Couleurs made all the running to confirm his place in the field on 13 March. The Welsh Grand National winner is now as short as 7-1 to take chasing’s most prestigious prize.

In terms of his physique and running style, there is a definite hint of Denman, the 2008 Gold Cup winner, about Rebecca Curtis’s chaser and while his jumping was not always foot-perfect he readily drew seven lengths clear of L’Homme Presse after the final fence. Continue reading...