Thomas still on cloud nine after Denman's triumph

Published on Sunday 16 March 2008 22:10

SAM Thomas admits the fact he has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup is yet to sink in.

Thomas was handed the ride on Denman after Ruby Walsh decided to stick with former champion Kauto Star before the Festival.

"It is a bit overwhelming at the minute," said Thomas.

He's a brilliant jumper and an absolute pleasure to ride. I haven't seen any videos yet and I'm looking forward to sitting down and watching it.

"Once he lands after one fence he is looking for the next one and he absolutely loves his racing."

Denman's part-owner Paul Barber was quick to pay tribute to trainer Paul Nicholls, who handled the build-up to the race superbly throughout.

Barber is Nicholls' landlord at Ditcheat and spotted his potential at an early stage.

"When he came along I thought, as everybody knows now, 'here is a man full of enthusiasm and full of what is going to happen tomorrow', and that infectiousness rubs off on you," he said.

Barber is quick to scotch any notion that Kauto Star did not run to his best, however, and put the result down to the ground. "I'm not sure if Kauto didn't run up to scratch, I always thought that if we had our ground we could beat him," Barber continued.

"In those conditions, Kauto couldn't run up to his form because he can't handle that ground as well as Denman can."