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Evergreen Cue Card heads Gold Cup field after Ascot procession

Paddy Brennan on Cue Card (left) congratulates Thistlecrack's rider Tom Scudamore after chasing him home in the King George at Kempton
Cue Card (left): set to face Thistlecrack in the Gold Cup on the back of an easy Ascot Chase successCredit: Alan Crowhurst

There was plenty of quality racing either side of the Irish Sea over the weekend and the standout performance came from veteran Cue Card (177+), who trounced his rivals in the Grade 1 Betfair Ascot Chase.

It may be that he now needs plenty of cut to show his best as his two below-par runs this term have come on good ground. However, he has shown at both Haydock and again at Ascot that, on his day, he is as good as ever, and he looks set to head the RPRs for the Gold Cup.

In the absence of Faugheen and Annie Power, the Champion Hurdle looks very open and, while not needing to improve to confirm Christmas Hurdle superiority over Ch'Tibello (158), Kingwell Hurdle winner Yanworth (164) at least confirmed he remains firmly in the mix.

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Senior handicapper

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