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Denman delivers Hennessy glory
18:45, Nov 28 2009
Racegoers at Newbury were treated to a welcome case of 'deja vu' as Denman powered his way to victory under top weight to become the first horse since the mighty Arkle in the 1960s to land a second Hennessy Gold Cup.
Two years on from his first rout under 11st 12lb and the nine-year-old was back to give weight and a beating to a field packed full of quality and promise.
Ruby Walsh's mount did not let his supporters down, the heavily-backed 11-4 favourite leading down the home run to pull three and a half lengths clear of stablemate What A Friend.
Trainer Paul Nicholls said: "I never thought he would come back like that and to see a run like that from Denman is very, very special. It is one of those great moments we will never forget.
"I feel mighty proud of the horse. I knew we had him somewhere near his best in himself, but to go and do that and beat the horses who kept challenging him is awesome. That is probably as good a run as he has ever had.
"I said to Ruby going out that he had one horse to beat if everything went to plan - that one horse was What A Friend, and it has turned out exactly like that. What A Friend has run a blinder."
Sam Thomas was aboard for Denman's previous Hennessy win with Walsh ruled out due to injury, and the Irishman was delighted to be back in the plate, with the former ironically on What A Friend this time.
Walsh said: "It was great to be riding him rather than watching him and he really stuck his head down. I didn't think this could be done, I thought he would be third or fourth and would run the race of his life to do that.
"For him to come back and do what he has done and for Kauto to win last week - they are two wonderful horses to keep racing on the pages for the right reasons and it is great to be riding the two of them."
Denman's part-owner, Harry Findlay, added: "Whenever he has come down the straight at Newbury he has come down it like a missile and when he turned for home I screamed at him 'come on Denman, one more time'. I saw the race as I would as a teenager - it is something we will all remember."
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