FEATURE THE CENTENARY RESTAURANT
FEATURE THE CENTENARY RESTAURANT
100 YEARS OF THE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
GOLDEN MOMENTS FROM THE LAST CENTURY
The first running of this famous steeplechase was in 1924. Over the course of the last one hundred years, it has evolved to become the race that every owner, trainer and jockey wants to win. Every March on the final day of Cheltenham Festival, around 70,000 racing fans head to Cheltenham to watch the race live, whilst millions more watch the action unfold on TV. Winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup guarantees a place in the history books. It is the race that makes legends out of humans and horses and ensures they secure a place in racing folklore.
With so many legendary moments it’s hard to pick a favourite. Here’s five that got everyone talking…
best steeplechaser of all time and probably the greatest Gold Cup winner. He was ridden to all his wins by Pat Taaffe and trained by Tom Dreaper. His owner was the Duchess of Westminster who named her famous horse after a mountain in Scotland.
Kauto Star won a special bonus of £1 million when he won his first Gold Cup in 2007 because he had won all five of the biggest steeplechases in England that season. Defending his title in 2008, he took on his stablemate, an emerging star called Denman and there was sensation when Denman won. When they met again in 2009 the world was watching. The end result was Kauto Star became the first and only horse in over 35 attempts to regain the Gold Cup crown after losing it.
GOLD CUP FACTS
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14. Although the Gold Cup is a century old it has not been run 100 times! There was no race in 1931 due to frost. In 1937 it was lost to flooding and snow. There was no race in 1943 and 1944 because of World War 2. In 2001 there was no race because of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease.
Cheltenham Racecourse is a left-handed track. This means that the horses run anti-clockwise. Norton’s Coin caused the biggest Gold Cup surprise of all time when he won in 1990 at the odds of 100-1.
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The Gold Cup is run over 3 miles and 2 furlongs.
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1. GOLDEN MILLER – FIVE TIMES A CHAMPION
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Not every horse in the Gold Cup carries the same weight. 5-year-olds carry 11 stone 6 (73.6kg), horses that are six and over carry 11 stone and 10 pounds (74.5kg). Mares are given an allowance of 7lb (3kg), which means female horses are allowed to carry 3kg less than males.
10. Five people have both ridden and
trained the winner of the Gold Cup. Pat Taaffe rode Arkle (1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967) and trained Captain Christy (1974), Jonjo O’Neill rode both Alverton (1979) and Dawn Run (1986) and trained Synchronised (2012). Jim Culloty rode Best Mate (2002, 2003 and 2004) and trained Lord Windermere (2014). Fred Winter rode Saffron Tartan (1961) and Mandarin (1962) and trained Midnight Court (1978) and Danny Morgan rode Morse Code (1938) and trained Roddy Owen (1959). 11. The first woman to train a Gold Cup winner was Jenny Pitman. She trained Burrough Hill Lad to win in 1984 and secured a second victory with Garrison Savannah ridden by her son, Mark in 1991. Jenny was also the first woman to train a Grand National winner, when Corbiere won in 1993. 12. The most successful trainer in the Gold Cup is Tom Dreaper, who won the race on five occasions. He won his first in 1946 with Prince Regent and his last with Fort Leney in 1968. In between came the three time winner, legend Arkle who won in 1964, 1965 and 1966.
Golden Miller won the Gold Cup an incredible five times between 1932 and 1936 and remains the only horse to have won the Grand National and the Gold Cup in the same year. His wins came when England was in the middle of economic depression. Interestingly, horseracing was at its most popular during these years and Golden Miller became a household hero and had millions of fans adore him.
3. BEST MATE
Best Mate won three Gold Cups in succession (2002, 2003 and 2004) and became known as one of the best loved horses in the history of jump racing. He was trained by Henrietta Knight and owned by Jim Lewis. Jim Lewis was a chairman of Aston Villa Football Club and his jockey colours reflected this passion. His riders wore claret and blue like his football team. Best Mate was ridden to victory by Jim Culloty on all three occasions. Ten years after Best Mate’s final win, Jim trained Lord Windermere to win the 2014 Gold Cup.
5. RACHAEL BLACKMORE - HISTORYMAKER
15. Irish trainers have won 29 Gold Cups between them, whilst the British have landed 64. France has a solitary victory; The Fellow in 1994. No Scottish-based trainer has ever won the Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup has been won by some of the most famous jockeys of all time. Sir Anthony McCoy, Ruby Walsh and Richard Johnson are a few modern day heroes with their names on the Honours Roll but the success of Rachael Blackmore on A Plus Tard in 2022 created more excitement than all of them put together because she was the first female rider to win the race. The win came nearly a year after she was the first female to win the Grand National. The Festival of 2021 was an amazing one for Rachael as she won five Grade 1s including the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle.
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There are 22 fences in the Gold Cup.
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Horses running in the Gold Cup need to be 5-years-old or older.
2. MILL HOUSE AND THE LEGENDARY ARKLE
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The connections of the 2023 Gold Cup winner, Galopin Des Champs earned £351,687 as a result of their horse’s success. Prize money is paid out down to eighth place in the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup Trophy is made of 9 carat gold but is plated with 18 carat gold to make it shine. It is designed on a sugar bowl! Only four mares (female horses) have won the Gold Cup. Ballinode was the first in 1925, Kerstin in 1958, Glencaraig Lady in 1972 and Dawn Run in 1986.
Perhaps the most famous racecourse battle took place in the Gold Cup of 1964 when Mill House, the previous year’s winner and the recognised Champion of England lined up against the Irish-trained, Arkle, who arrived at Cheltenham with a huge reputation. The newspapers fuelled public excitement carrying pages of previews and predictions about who would win. After a terrific neck and neck battle Arkle pulled away to win causing huge Irish celebrations in the grandstand. He went on to win the next two Gold Cups and is now rated the
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INTERESTING FACT: The original race for a "Gold Cup" was run on a track on Cleeve Hill above the racecourse. Archaeologists have just discovered the footings of first grandstand.
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13. The longest winning margin for a
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4. KAUTO STAR V DENMAN
Gold Cup was achieved by Arkle. The Champions third victory was a massive 30-lengths. It wasn’t an unexpected victory. He was also the shortest priced ever winner as the 1-10 favourite. This means you would have had to bet £10 on him to win just £1!
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Trainer Paul Nicholls has had nearly 50 Festival winners but his favourite memories will no doubt be those associated with two amazing horses: Kauto Star and Denman.
16 THE FESTIVAL PREVIEW MAGAZINE
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