Gold cup Its a trappy Gold Cup if you want to take the fav on. If you like the fav then I think you are not bothered by anything else, but 9 of 11 runs below 3m does bother me. He might just be too classy for them, but I'm looking for a horse that needs 3m+ to be seen to best effect.
Im going with NOBLE YEATS ew @ 12/1 (4 places). A horse getting little coverage on the preview circuit but hes a proper staying chaser, jumps for fun and has a turn of foot. The last run was slightly disappointing behind Ahoy Senor but he was staying on well and the extra furlong is to his advantage. He could be a horse that saves his best for Aintree as he showed in December when he beat Ahoy Senor and Dashel Drasher over 3m, showing a blinding turn of foot between the last 2 fences to win impressively and if he is in that sort of form I think he is a serious player.
The other out and out stayer is Stattler, but I think he is very one paced and I think the race would have to completely fall apart for him to win. A Plus Tard has an obvious chance if back to his best and the team are having a good week. Bravemansgame has been impressive this season but I think he could be brilliant or blow out so does not appeal as an ew bet over Noble Yeats. Sounds Russian is a strong fancy of Andy Holdings and at 33/1 if you can get 4 or 5 places its a solid bet.