Home / Sports / McCoy: Fact To File Eyes Ryanair Over Open Gold Cup
McCoy: Fact To File Eyes Ryanair Over Open Gold Cup
6 Mar
Summary
- Sir Anthony McCoy favors Fact To File for Ryanair Chase over Gold Cup.
- McCoy calls the Gold Cup the most open he's seen in years.
- Fact To File won the Ryanair Chase impressively last year.
Sir Anthony McCoy, a 20-time champion jockey, is advocating for Fact To File to defend his Ryanair Chase title at the Cheltenham Festival. He expressed that the Gold Cup this year appears exceptionally open, with many potential winners. McCoy believes Fact To File, the impressive Irish Gold Cup winner, has a stronger chance of success in the Ryanair, a race he won convincingly 12 months prior.
McCoy suggested that Fact To File would be a significant favorite in the Ryanair, whereas the Gold Cup presents a more unpredictable field. He indicated that if he were riding, he would prefer to have a short-priced contender in the Ryanair and then select another horse for the more open Gold Cup. The trainer Barry Geraghty echoed McCoy's sentiments, questioning if Fact To File's racing style would suit the Gold Cup's demanding trip.
Geraghty highlighted Fact To File's previous impressive performance in the Ryanair and pointed to other strong contenders like Spillane's Tower and Inothewayurthinkin in the Gold Cup. He reasoned that given the horse's proven success in the Ryanair and the existing strong contenders for the Gold Cup, it makes strategic sense to target the Ryanair again. Geraghty also cautioned about the intense pace of the Gold Cup, which could prove challenging for many contenders.
