Warthog delivers in pulsating Caspian Caviar Gold Cup

Warthog (7-1) and David Noonan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a pulsating, slow motion, but thrilling finish to the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup to give David Pipe and connections a deserved victory.

Third behind Happy Diva in the Betvictor Gold Cup, Warthog was thrown into the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup under the feather weight of 10st 3lb, having not been raised for his mighty effort last month back at the track. Adopting his customary front-running style, Imperial Presence was his co-front runner, and the two went at a sensible gallop in the soft going, which had been changed just prior to the race (from soft, good to soft in places). Early on, backers of Keeper Hill would have been concerned; just before the race, his trainer, Warren Greatrex, had said to Oli Bell of ITV Racing that the ground had gone against him, but he was hopeful of a run if his jumping was accurate and rhythmic. This was not the case, as in front of the stands he again made a bad error, and was pulled up just after the first fence on the side of the course.

Heading onto the final circuit, Cepage moved up towards the front, but belted the first fence on the circuit and dropped back. Knocknanuss then took a very heavy fall at the 10th; it was very sadly confirmed by Ed Chamberlin of ITV Racing that the fall was a fatal fall. Our thoughts are with connections of him, he was a very popular horse and will be very sadly missed.

At the top of the hill, Good Man Pat and Brelan D'As started to struggle, with the latter making a shocking mistake. Down the hill, Not That Fuisse was pulling double, as were most of the field. Approaching the turn, there were still 7 or 8 horses in with a decent chase of winning. Warthog and David Noonan kicked for him and skipped 3 or 4 lengths clear. A slow jump at the second last let in Spiritofthegames to challenge, and over the last the petrol tank looked like it had emptied. It looked as if Bridget Andrews had delivered her challenge to perfection, and with a host of challengers behind her, disaster struck as Spiritofthegames ran out of petrol and Warthog found a second wind to stick his head out and win it on the line. David Noonan stated to Alice Plunkett of ITV Racing that Warthog had "been a weak finisher in the past", but there was certainly no evidence that had ever been the case.

Congratulations to David Noonan, David Pipe and owners Mrs Caroline Tisdall and Mr Bryan Drew.

Photos: ©Tom Williams / JTW Equine Images.