Bill Baxter To Strike In Greatwood Gold Cup
The ground will be heavy and very testing at Newbury this afternoon. All that rain is postiive news regarding the chances of Bill Baxter who relishes heavy ground.
Bill Baxter should enjoy the testing conditions at Newbury tomorrow. There is further rain forecast overnight which will suit him better than most in this race. Bill Baxter is a super jumper but didn’t handle Cheltenham last time out. He won the Topham handicap chase at Aintree last season off a 2lb higher mark when jumping the national fences like a stag!
He ran well at the start of this season in the Colin Parker chase at Carlisle when rated 141. We can forgive him his two defeats thereafter when tried over long trips of 3m2f in the Coral Gold Cup here and Tommy Whittle Chase on heavy at Haydock. This premier handicap chase is too valuable to not give it 100% before heading to Aintree for the Topham Chase again.
Newbury 1:55
1 point each way Bill Baxter 9/2 Skybet 4 places else 5/1 generally, 3 places.
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Past Results
Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results
The Greatwood Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs (2 miles 3 furlongs and 187 yards, or 3,993 metres), and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late February or early March.
The event was introduced in 2004, and for its first three runnings it was sponsored by Vodafone. Since then it has had several different sponsors, and for each of these its title changed accordingly. The race was promoted to Grade 3 level in 2007, and it was given its present name in 2010. It is now sponsored by BetVictor on behalf of Greatwood, a charity for the welfare of retired racehorses. The race was reclassified as a Premier Handicap from the 2023 running when Grade 3 status was renamed by the British Horseracing Authority.
Winners over past 10 years
| Year | Winner | Age | Weight | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Big Bite | 10 | 10-05 | Jonathan Burke | Henry Oliver |
| 2022 | Paint The Dream | 8 | 11-11 | Conor Brace | Fergal O'Brien |
| 2021 | Umbrigado | 7 | 11-03 | David Noonan | David Pipe |
| 2020 | No race[b][2] | ||||
| 2019 | San Benedeto | 8 | 11-05 | Nick Scholfield | Paul Nicholls |
| 2018 | Abandoned due to snow | ||||
| 2017 | Thomas Crapper | 10 | 10-02 | Charlie Poste | Robin Dickin |
| 2016 | Sametegal | 7 | 11-03 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Paul Nicholls |
| 2015 | Sound Investment | 7 | 11–12 | Sam Twiston-Davies | Paul Nicholls |
| 2014 | Shangani | 8 | 10–12 | Tom Scudamore | Venetia Williams |
Best of Luck,
Nicky