Thistlecrack foot-perfect but value lies with Native River

Even the harshest of critics would struggle to find fault with Thistlecrack’s third novice chase win as he sauntered around without putting a foot wrong and won with any amount in hand.

But in form terms, it is arguable that even an eased-down eight-length defeat of Bigbadjohn did not make his position at the head of the Timico Gold Cup betting any more credible.

Odds as short as 5-2 are hard to justify but nobody can say he will not win the Gold Cup. There is not a top staying hurdler in memory who has made a smoother transition to fences, and he was so much better than his contemporaries in his former career that it is entirely conceivable that he will go right to the top over fences.