Why Clan Des Obeaux should not be underestimated in the Gold Cup

Unsurprisingly, the Gold Cup boasts the highest average winning Racing Post Rating of any race at the Cheltenham Festival, with all bar four of the last 15 winners having posted a figure of 175 or above.

Only four of those successful since the race moved to Friday took a figure below 170 into the race and on all four occasions the field lacked the strength of this year's line-up.

That sort of scenario looks unlikely this time around as no fewer than ten of the horses entered in the race have RPRs of 170 or above and it will be surprising if at least six or seven of them don't make the final line-up. Given the strength in depth of the potential field, it seems likely that the winner will need to run to a figure at least on a par with the average winning mark of 177.