Paul Jacobs / 02 February 2010 Free Bet View Market

"Cooldine looks likely to come on a bundle for the race, but such is the ease with which he moves on better ground I am not sure he would relish a real slog in the Leopardstown mud."

The Lexus Chase featured the second tier of the best staying chasers on either side of the Irish Sea when What A Friend got up in the closing stages to edge out Money Trix and Joncol.

And Sunday's renewal of the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown over the same C&D looks a mirror image of the Christmas contest minus the winner.

The second and third are set to go head-to-head again plus five of those rivals that finished well beaten that day to the tune of 14 lengths or more.

Cooldine looked in need of the run that day but still ran well below expectations (very strong in the market place) while Notre Pere ran too freely and In Compliance was never travelling.

The open nature of the race is reflected in the latest betting with RSA winner Cooldine the market leader on [3.05] just ahead of Joncol (3.6) and Money Trix (4.9).

Cooldine compromised his chances that afternoon by pulling too hard through the first mile before tamely dropping away from the fifth last. Sure, he looks likely to come on a bundle for the race, but such is the ease with which he moves on better ground I am not sure he would relish a real slog in the mud here and to my mind anything around the [3.0] marker is a telescope view away from being labelled as value.

Willie Mullins will need to see an awful lot more from his charge if he is to be cited as a genuine Cheltenham Gold Cup player, but to my mind he now has a bundle to prove.

Money Trix did absolutely nothing wrong in the Lexus and to my mind should be favourite. He jumped and galloped all the way to the line and if over that severe physical test he must be a player with conditions to suit.

Notre Pere still seems out of sorts, but maybe raced too prominently that day. I would rather see him held off the pace, but he has too much to find here and Joncol is favoured.

It is harsh to say Paul Nolan's charge didn't stay as he was only headed 100 yards out and had it not been for a mistake three out he may well have won. Yet the pivotal point was the tactics employed on him. I firmly believe he was given the office too far from home and if held on to for a bit longer I fancy the seven-year-old to reverse Lexus form with his rivals.