No need for the hairdryer treatment - Harry Cobden delights Paul Nicholls with sublime Stage Star ride
It is one of sport's great truths.
No matter how certain an outcome might seem, everything can change in a moment. That is never truer than at Cheltenham, where the final jumping test of a race has so often turned victory into defeat. It almost happened once again, yet Stage Star survived his dalliance with danger and, in doing so, ensured that from one day to the next, everything changed for Harry Cobden.
He was sublime here, just as he had been when steering his most willing partner to festival glory in March. Like Cobden, Paul Nicholls had done his job to perfection, which would have made it smart all the more had the Paddy Power Gold Cup favourite exited stage left when all but coming down at the concluding fence. Stage Star deserved to win – and he deserves to be hailed one of this contest's finest winners.
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