After the win in the Irish Hennessy, he was never going to choose anything else
In a few weeks, AP McCoy will ride in the Cheltenham Festival for the final time. The showpiece, on the final day, is of course the Gold Cup and today the 19-time Champion announced which horse he would be aboard.
“I couldn’t be happier to say that Carlingford Lough will be my ride in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup,” McCoy said on his Cheltenham Festival blog.
“He gave me a great feel winning the Irish Hennessy and I am very much looking forward to riding him in the Gold Cup, if he lines up. Gold Cup day is probably the most important day of the whole jumping year and I am hoping he has got a live chance.”
Of course, the other option was Holywell and McCoy was complimentary about Jonjo O’Neill’s charge: “He was right back to form at Kelso last Thursday. It wasn’t much of a race but he travelled well and jumped better as the race went on. The way the horse improves through this time of year he is definitely a Gold Cup contender.”
That McCoy has chosen to ride the JP McManus owned Carlingford Lough shouldn’t be any real surprise though and since the news was confirmed, the horse’s odds have shortened to 9/1 with some bookies, shorter than Holywell in some places.
The power of AP…
