Groom Lucinda Gould tells H&H about the Gold Cup winner known by fans as ‘The Tank’.
Fact file
Name: Denman
Stable name: Den or Big D
Age: 12
Height: 17.2hh
Breed: thoroughbred
Sire: Presenting
Dam: Polly Puttens
Discipline: National Hunt racing
Owner: Paul Barber
Trainer: Paul Nicholls
Groom: Lucinda Gould
Best ever result: winner of the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup
Five things you didn’t know
1 He was successful on the Irish point-to-pointing scene before coming over to Britain.
2 Ruby Walsh has won on him the most – six races – but he was ridden to victory in the 2008 Gold Cup by Sam Thomas.
3 He had surgery for an irregular heartbeat in September 2008 and was back in winning form the next season, when he took the 2009 Hennessy Gold Cup carrying 11st 12lb.
4 Boxer David Haye once said of the horse: “I looked into Denman’s
eyes and saw the steely determination of a champion, and he reminded me of me.”
5 In March 2008 two million people tuned in to Channel 4 to see the Cheltenham showdown between Denman and Kauto Star – more than double the number who watched Kauto win in 2007.
To read the full interview with Lucinda Gould see the 31 May issue of H&H
