Promise too strong for either Man

One Man, one surprise and one conundrum were available here yesterday. Gordon Richards's grey was beaten behind the 10-1 chance Strong Promise in the Comet Chase and the path he will take for the rest of the season was further shrouded.

It now seems there are equal odds about him running in either the Queen Mother Champion Chase or Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, or missing the meeting altogether. By running their horse over this abbreviated distance it appeared connections wanted One Man to make a decision for them. He chose to abstain. "Nobody's helping me," complained Richards as his favourite returned to be unsaddled.

This day arrived with a simple billing of a match between One Man and Ireland's Sound Man. As the main athletes were prepared, large numbers gathered outside their boxes. Either side, the gloving up of Big Matt and Strong Promise went ignored. As Sound Man left these quarters his lad combed the nine-year-old's forelock forward like a mother sending her little boy off to primary school. One Man was sent on his way with a gentle tickle on his muzzle from owner John Hales and an almighty great slap on the rump from Richards. If this was meant to wake him up it failed.

His trainer has long suggested One Man would leap extravagantly if allowed to compete from the front. In the event he was sloppy and apprehensive in similar measures, but nothing as alarming as Sound Man, who seemed to believe he could crash through each obstacle as if it was made of raffia paper.

Strong Promise was thus promoted to the best vaulter by default, and his measured leaps took him upsides One Man at the fifth last. By the turn into the straight, the tyro was in front and though One Man was never shaken off he also never looked likely to rally.

The process of reaching exhaustion does not come gradually to One Man, like sand trickling through a timer. He is separated from his energy in one dramatic moment in the manner of a cleaver going through a chop on the butcher's board. Over the last two fences his face seemed to change, the ears flattening and a melancholy look spreading over his features. In human terms, he appears as though he is going to cry. Norman Williamson, who rode the winner, observed: "For me, the horse is a great traveller but he doesn't find a lot off the bridle."

Some went even further and suggested One Man may be a high-class fake, a horse not overburdened with gallantry. This is neither fair on an animal who has won 16 races or, tellingly, the opinion of his rider, Richard Dunwoody. "Richard said he was happy with the horse and it must have been a good one that beat us," Richards said. "I've seen my horse ping them a bit better than that, and I thought he would have gone on a bit more than that once he'd got into his stride.

"But I think the winner is a pretty good horse and he'll prove that in the future. He's a lovely stamp of a horse and I'd like to have him all right."

Williamson will tell owner-trainer Geoff Hubbard, who is on holiday in Barbados, that he is unsure of Strong Promise's exact merit. "It's difficult to say whether he can win a Queen Mother because he'd be dropping back three furlongs and Viking Flagship is difficult to beat around Cheltenham," he reported. "I'm not sure we found out a lot today because Sound Man was never going."

Charlie Swan was so embarrassed by Sound Man's display that he apologised to his camp. The humility ended there as Edward O'Grady conducted an unrevealing press briefing which he obviously found thunderously amusing. The one worthwhile snippet to emerge seemed to be that the trainer thought his horse would be better for the race. It would be nice to see improvement elsewhere.

GOLD CUP latest odds: Coral: 4-1 Imperial Call, 5-1 Dorans Pride, 6-1 Coome Hill, Danoli, 10-1 Dublin Flyer, One Man. Ladbrokes: 7-2 Imperial Call,4-1 Dorans Pride, 6-1 Danoli & Dublin Flyer, 8-1 Coome Hill, 10-1 (with a run) One Man. William Hill: 4-1 Imperial Call, 9-2 Dorans Pride, 7-1 Danoli, 8-1 Coome Hill, Dublin Flyer & One Man.

CHAMPION CHASE: Coral: 100-30 Klairon Davis, 7-2 Viking Flagship, 5-1 Ask Tom & Strong Promise, 7-1 Sound Man. William Hill: 11-4 Klairon Davis, 3-1 Viking Flagship, 9-2 Ask Tom, 6-1 Strong Promise, 8-1 Sound Man. Tote: 11-4 Viking Flagship, 7-2 Klairon Davis, 9-2 Strong Promise, 5-1 Ask Tom, 6-1 Sound Man.

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