A cold, wet, windy morning in rural Somerset and Paddy was the only person attending David Pipe’s stable to view his two Paddy Power Gold Cup hopes not wearing a heavy overcoat over their grandma’s favourite pullover.

The reason for his bravery was that he doesn’t like wearing his company issue coat. Not because of any aversion to its colour or the quality. But because he doesn’t like wearing a coat with his name on it. He said that it was okay at school to have his mamma sew his name on his clothes on the inside, but it’s not cool on the outside at his age.

Pipe’s two candidates looked in better order than our intrepid hero, who also encountered an English hustler in a local boozer in the village of Middl O’Nowhere who relieved him of a few Euros. Fortunately Power’s cameraman Ross came to the rescue and returns to Ireland having actually lost money for two day’s hard graft after losing some encounters with Paddy that were surely worthy of Sky coverage. One frame lasted the best part of two hours and would have had viewers salivating in front of their screens.

Pipe’s two horses for Saturday are Piraya and Vodka Bleu and the trainer clearly fancies the former most. He’s a 14-1 chance and Paddy showed his generosity with the company’s money by providing a £500 charity bet for the trainer, who had £250 each-way on Piraya. Paddy even gave him some enhanced odds and any winnings at 20-1 will go to The Langford Trust, which furthers animal welfare.

David said Piraya has got some good form at Auteuil and Tom Scudamore has schooled him and will ride at the weekend. He jumps nicely, the softer the ground the better and he has been pleased with his work at home. All his form is over two and a half miles and the Paddy Power is the perfect starting point. He is rated 147, which is high enough, but come Sunday it might not be. Take note of that last sentence.

Vodka Bleu is a 20-1 shot as he attempts to make it third time lucky in the race, having previously finished second to Exotic Dancer in 2006. Pipe is less keen on the horse that he described as “a real star”. He added: “He wore blinkers last year and they seemed to do the trick. He retains his enthusiasm at home and is in great form. Unfortunately he is high in the handicap and off 143, he will need a career best to win. Two and a half miles around Cheltenham is ideal and he probably won’t mind the rain. He needs a few pounds off his back really and there might be a few better handicapped horses.”

The trainer could also run two – Ashkazar and Mamlook – in Sunday’s Greatwood Hurdle at the Paddy Power meeting.

Pipe said: “Mamlook disappointed at Cheltenham in the Fred Winter, but bounced back at Ascot on his next start. He has a nice weight in the Greatwood although he could run in a conditions race at Haydock the Saturday after. He probably wouldn’t want much more rain but he is sure to go on soft ground. I am hoping that the top-weights stay in the race and then he’ll have a nice weight. He goes there with a great chance.” Mamlook is 14-1 with Paddy Power.
“Ashkazar is the 7-2 favourite with Paddy Power and has progressed nicely during the summer. He is one we’re very excited about as he has a high-cruising speed but again probably wouldn’t want too much rain either but will go on it.

“There is a slight possibility that he could go to Haydock the following weekend. He has been doing some nice work at home and could improve with age and has the size and scope for fences.”

Paddy Power’s roving reporter, Horsehead, also attended the visit. He remembers the first encounter that he had with Martin Pipe, who used to enjoy a love/hate relationship with the press but since his retirement now treats the fourth estate as his best friends.

Horsehead was reporting at Cheltenham for Britain’s top (and only) racing agency and kept having to interview Pipe Snr. Finally Pipe grabbed hold of his press accreditation and said: “Horsehead [name has been changed] – never heard of you!” and walked off!

Having furthered his career by reaching the heady heights of blogging for Paddy Power, perhaps Pipe Snr knows who Horsehead is now – but we doubt it!

This entry was posted on 5:13pm Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Sportsbook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. By commenting on this site you agree to abide by our terms and conditions.

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