• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cheltenham Betting Offers

  • Home
  • Free Bets
  • Meetings
    • New Year’s Day Meeting
    • Festival Trials Day
    • Cheltenham Festival
    • April Meeting
    • Race Night
    • Showcase Meeting
    • November Meeting
    • International Meeting
  • News
  • Articles
    • Stats & Trends

The Cheltenham Gold Cup – Gold Cup Day

3-30pmThe Cheltenham Festival is one of the most exciting days in the National Hunt calendar. Through a combination of prestigious races during the week through to the Irish invasion that takes place every year, anyone who knows anything about horse racing looks forward to the Festival from the moment the clock strikes twelve to usher in the new year. We’ve looked at the three big races that take place over the preceding three days, but now we’re going to explore the big one.

As you’ll know if you’ve had a look at our pages on the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle, the Cheltenham Festival is full of races that deserve respect. None of them seize the imagination in the same way as the Gold Cup, however. Along with the Grand National, it is one of the most thrilling and prestigious jump races in the world of horse racing. Here’s a look at all of the important things you need to know about the Grade 1 race called the Gold Cup and how it’s changed over the years.

Race Facts

Course
New Course
Grade
Grade 1
Fences
22
Distance (m)
3m 2f 70y (5295m)
Winner / Purse
£351,688 / £614,813

rachael blackmore and henry de bromhead pciking up the gold cupThere’s a reason that the Gold Cup is seen as a real challenge for the best horses in the business. It is a relentless, challenging race that lasts for over 5,331 metres or three miles and two and a half furlongs. The distance alone would be hard work, but what makes it particularly challenging are the jumps, of which there are twenty-two to be completed.

This obviously isn’t a race for young, inexperienced horses. For that reason it’s open to five-year-olds and older with a weight of eleven stone eight pounds or eleven stone ten pounds for horses that are older than six. There’s a seven pound allowance for mares. The left-handed race is run on the New Course and has been ever since 1959, as we mentioned earlier.

100 Guineas was the prize given to Spectre when he won the flat race on Cleeve Hill way back in 1819. Sufficed to say that has changed a wee bit over the years. When it was re-inaugurated, if you will, in 1924 as a jump-race it had grown to become £685.

From there it has shot-up year on year and by 2022 and had £615,000 in the pot, making it Britain and Ireland’s most valuable non-handicap chase.

Records For Most Wins

Record Type No of Wins Record Holder
Horse 5 Golden Miller
Trainer 5 Tom Dreaper
Jockey 4 Pat Taaffe

Race Trends: Winners Since 2000

Average Odds
6.47
Average Age
7.86
Percent Mares
0%
Percent Favourite
45%

Race Trivia

Cup Called Off 3 Times

Excluding two years during the Second World War when it the meeting was cancelled in its entirety, the Gold Cup has been called off three times since its re-invention as a jump race in 1924. The first time this happened was when there was a severe frost in 1931. The second time was due to terrible flooding six years later, and the third time was when foot-and-mouth disease spread throughout the United Kingdom and it was decided that it would be wise to call off the Festival completely.

Gold Trophy Chase

When the Cheltenham Festival was abandoned because of that foot-and-mouth outbreak in 1924 ir was decided that a replacement set of races would be held at Sandown instead. The Gold Cup equivalent, named the ‘Gold Trophy Chase’, was won by Marlborough. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t receive the respect that the Gold Cup garners.

Linwell Was Unique

There was something unique about Linwell, the winner of the trophy in 1957. He had been trained by man named Ivor Herbert. ‘What’s unique about that?’, you may well ask. Well Herbert was actually not allowed to hold a trainer’s licence owing to the fact that he was also a journalist.

Controversy in 1980

Controversy reigned at the 1980 running of the Gold Cup. Tied Cottage won the race and punters that had backed him celebrated all over the land, only to have their celebrations curtailed when he was disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance in the aftermath of the race.

Golden Miller Was Just 5

When Golden Miller won the Gold Cup for the first time in 1932 he was just five years old. That was somewhat appropriate, considering that Red Splash was also five when he won the first ever Gold Cup jump race in 1924. The only other horse to win the trophy at such a young age was Patron Saint, who did so in 1928.

Two 12 Year Old Winners

The oldest age at which a horse has picked up the small but significant trophy is twelve. That has happened twice, with Silver Fame achieving it in 1951 and What A Myth doing so in in 1969. No horse over the age of nine has won it since ten-year-old Cool Dawn did in 1998.

Mullins Completes The Set

Willie Mullins finally won the Gold Cup in 2019 with Al Boum Photo, completing the set for the trainer that has saddled more Cheltenham Festival winners than anyone else.  Prior to this he had come second in the blue riband race no less than 6 times.

He backed this up by winning again in 2020 with Al Boum Photo and Paul Townsend for consecutive victories, the first time a horse won back-to-back Gold Cup’s since the Best Made treble in 2002, 2003 and 2004.  Mullins was hoping to match that in 2021 but the race was won by a Henry de Bromhead trained horse – although as consolation Mullins won the top trainer title again.

Henry de Bromhead Trains Winners Of The Big 3 2021

When Jack Kennedy rode home Minella Indo to win the Cup in 2021 for Henry de Bromhead it also completed an historic treble for the trainer.  De Bromhead became the first trainer to win the Gold Cup, the Champion Chase and the Champion Hurdle in the same year.

Rachael Blackmore Makes History As First Female Winner

When Rachael Blackmore became the first woman to win a Championship race at Cheltenham when she won the Champion Hurdle in 2021, a feat she repeated in 2022, it made headlines around the world.  She had a fantastic 2021 season and few imagined she would go even better in 2022 by winning the Gold Cup.  She turned down the ride on Minella Indo in 2021 but chose the right mount this time as favourite A Plus Tard, again trained by Henry de Bromhead, romped home by 15 lengths.  Well done Rachael, who also won the Grand National in 2021.

Cheltenham Gold Cup History

cheltenham gold cup newAnyone with a good knowledge about the history of the Cheltenham Festival will know that the Gold Cup in its current format isn’t the race that used to bear that name. In actual fact, a flat race by the name of the Gold Cup took place on Cleeve Hill, close to the current venue, in July of 1819. It was a three mile race that was won by a horse named Spectre; a somewhat appropriate name considering that the word means ‘ghost’ or ‘phantom’ and the flat race version of the Gold Cup is nothing more than a memory nowadays.

It’s strange to think of the Gold Cup in its current format as being something of an ‘also ran’, but that’s essentially what it was when it was run for the first time as a jump race on the 12th of March in 1924. It took place on the Old Course, though at the time it was simply the racecourse, obviously. The winner was given £685 in prize winnings, but that was nothing compared to the £1000 that was awarded to the winner of the County Handicap Hurdle. There was also a race known as the National Hunt Chase that was seen as the most prestigious event to take place on Cheltenham Racecourse at the time.

It wasn’t until 1959 that the Gold Cup moved over to the New Course and started to take on the importance that it holds today. From that moment on it grew in importance and prestige, eventually gaining a commercial sponsor when Piper Champagne took on the honour in 1972. In 1980 sponsorship of the race was taken over by The Tote and it continued its sponsorship until The Tote was bought out by Betfred in 2011.

horses running up the hill at cheltenham racecourse

In 2014 the bookmakers themselves began to sponsor the race, but the following year the Jockey Club and Arena Racing introduced a rule that said a betting company could only sponsor a race on one of its tracks if they also contributed to the racing community from their offshore businesses, something that Betfred didn’t do. Consequently Timico then sponsored it and more recently the cider brand Magners.  Due to the global pandemic in 2021 and with the meeting held behind closed doors organisers struggled to find a sponsor and so the branding was given to the children’s charity WellChild.  Even in 2022 it was difficult to find a sponsor with Boodles coming up with the goods late on.

Different companies may have sponsored it over the years but that information will have largely passed the average punter by. To the majority of people it is simply ‘the Gold Cup’ and to an extent that is a large part of the reason it’s remained so popular. Some races change their names and the way they’re run, but the Gold Cup has stayed reliably identifiable. Add to that the fact that the name contains a precious metal and you get the sense that people from all over the world associate with the romance and excitement of imagining what it would mean to win it. No wonder the most famous owners, trainers and jockeys in horse racing take the event so seriously.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Famous Winners

best mate statue at cheltenham racecourseYou may well be wondering what happened between 1924, when the race was run in its jumping format for the first time, and 1959 when it was moved over to the New Course. It’s entirely fair of you to ask and the answer also provides some of the reasoning for why the Gold Cup became the world famous event that it did. For no matter what a race is called or where it is held, it needs to do something special to capture the imagination of the race-going crowd.

Step forward Golden Miller. There was a fear that the race might lose people’s interest before it had really even grabbed it when it was abandoned due to frost in 1931. In 1932 the race went ahead ok and was won by the aforementioned Golden Miller. That wouldn’t be enough to grab the attention in and of itself, but Golden Miller also won the Gold Cup the following year. And the year after that. And the year after that. And the year after that. Golden Miller won the Gold Cup five years in a row, something that has not been repeated since. It may even have won it in 1937 had that year’s racing not been abandoned due to flooding.

The Gold Cup was again cancelled in both 1943 and 1944, though on those occasions it was nothing to do with the weather. Instead the continuation of the Second World War meant that it was decided that it would be unwise and unsafe to run the event. Another remarkable feat was achieved from 1948 to 1950 when the Gold Cup was won on three consecutive years by a horse named Cottage Rake. Incidentally, Cottage Rake’s victory is believed to have been the catalyst for the immense interest in the race that the Irish public have, given that the horse was trained by Vincent O’Brien over on the Emerald Isle.

gold cup race board at cheltenham on gold cup day

Of all the horses that have won the Gold Cup on multiple occasions it’s unlikely that any have taken the public’s heart in the way that Arkle did. Between 1964 and 1966 he won three back-to-back Gold Cups and was such a favourite that by the time he ran in the race in 1966 his starting price was 1/10. To this day he remains the shortest odds winner ever to triumph in the big race on the Festival’s final day. Arkle was given a Timeform rating of 212, which remains the best score ever given to a steeplechaser.

gold cup winners presented trophyOther horses have repeated Arkle’s trick of winning three consecutive races. the most recent was Best Mate, who won all three meetings in the years that followed the cancellation of the Festival in 2001 because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. A feat that could perhaps be described as equally impressive was achieved by Kauto Star in the same decade. Having won the Gold Cup in 2007 he was beaten in the 2008 outing, failing to defend his title. He bounced back in 2009, however, becoming the first horse in Gold Cup history to regain the trophy. Whether or not that’s as impressive as Dawn Run’s achievement in 1986, when she became the only horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup is a matter of opinion.

Another moment of note in Cheltenham Gold Cup history occurred in 1983. Silver Buck was out to defend his title, coming out of the Harewood stables under his trainer Michael Dickinson. He was under par, as was his stablemate Wayward Lad, but Dickinson, the son of trainers Monica and Tony, felt some pressure to race them anyway. Combs Ditch was also in the race for trainer David Elsworth, so the Dickonson’s needed every edge they could get. It made a difference, with his horse Bregawn, ridden by Graham Bradley, winning the race. That was impressive enough considering the level of horses in the race, but what really made 1983 stand out was the fact that Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House were the first five horses in the race and they were all trained by Dickinson.

CBO Rating 10/10

rachael blackmore surges to the front in the gold cup on a plus tard

A long race on an unforgiving course and with 22 jumps to get over, it’s little wonder that the Gold Cup is considered to be one of the toughest steeplechases in the world. A suitable way to round of one of British and Irish racings most fascinating meetings.

Primary Sidebar

Cheltenham Free Bets

Races on This Day

  • 13:30
    JCB Triumph Hurdle
  • 14:10
    County Handicap Hurdle
  • 14:50
    Spa Novices' Hurdle
  • 15:30
    The Cheltenham Gold Cup
  • 16:10
    Foxhunter Challenge Cup
  • 16:50
    Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase
  • 17:30
    Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle

Meetings at Cheltenham

  • Cheltenham Festival
    • Champion Day
    • Ladies Day
    • St Patrick’s Thursday
    • Gold Cup Day
  • Festival Trials Day
  • New Year’s Day
  • November Meeting
    • Countryside Day
    • Gold Cup Day
    • November Meeting Sunday
  • Race Night
  • Showcase Meeting
    • The Showcase Friday
    • The Showcase Saturday
  • The April Meeting
    • April Meeting Day One
    • April Meeting Day Two
  • The International Meeting
    • International Friday
    • International Saturday

Race Types

  • Amateur Races
  • Championship Races
  • Conditions Races
  • Cross Country Races
  • Cup Races
  • Fillies' Races
  • Grade 1 Races
  • Grade 2 Races
  • Grade 3 Races
  • Handicap Races
  • Hurdle Races
  • Juvenile Races
  • Listed Races
  • Maiden Races
  • Mares' Races
  • Novices' Races
  • Premier Handicap Races
  • Standard Open Flat Races
  • Steeplechase Races
  • Trial Races
  • Trophy Races
  • Discontinued Races

Latest News

  • Aintree & Cheltenham Amongst Jockey Club Courses To Drop Dress Code
  • What Can Be Done To Combat Race Fixing In Horse Racing?
  • Jockeys Are Struggling With The New Whip Rules
  • Cheltenham Festival Trials Day Likely To Go Ahead As Temperatures Rise This Week
  • BHA Whips Rules Changed At The Last Minute Following A Jockey Backlash

Articles

  • Who Are The BHA?
  • Origins Of Steeplechasing
  • Is Horse Racing Too Traditional? Why Is It So Confusing?
  • Robot Horse Racing
  • Are There More Fatalities On Hard Ground In Horse Racing?
  • Types Of Jump Racing Fences
  • Biggest Comebacks In Horse Racing
  • Difference Between A Hurdle & A Fence In Jump Racing
  • What Are Hurdles & Fences Made From?
  • Why Are Race Distances Measured In Miles, Furlongs & Yards
  • Stag And Hen Do's At Cheltenham
  • Each-Way vs Place Betting: Which Is Better?
  • What Are Final Declarations
  • Does Illegal Horse Racing Still Happen?
  • What Is Pony Racing? How Is It Different To Horse Racing?
  • Ladies At The Races
  • What Do Nose, Head, Neck and Length Mean?
  • What Is A Furlong?
  • When Is A Race Declared Void?
  • False Starts In Horse Racing
  • What Are Official Ratings in Horse Racing?
  • Can You Run A Race With Only One Horse?
  • What Is Point To Point Racing
  • Best Day Of The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Train a Racehorse?
  • Cheltenham Festival Ticket Types
  • How Much Does Racing Make From The Betting Levy?
  • Are There Less Horse Deaths In Racing Today?
  • Origins Of Jockey Silks In Horse Racing & Rules
  • Can A Jockey Remount A Horse?
  • What Happens If No Horse Wins A Race?
  • Why Do Horses Jump Fences?
  • How High and Far Can A Horse Jump?
  • Use Of The Whip In Horse Racing
  • What Are The Different Types Of Racehorses?
  • Who Sponsors Cheltenham Races
  • How Do Racehorse Owner Syndicates Work?
  • How Much Do Racehorses Weigh?
  • How Does Travelling Affect Racehorse Performance?
  • What PPE Do Jockeys Wear And Why?
  • Can Racehorses Overheat?
  • Benefits Of Owning Race Horses
  • What Is The Top Speed Of A Racehorse?
  • Do Racehorses Have Special Diets & Nutrition?
  • How Are Racehorses Transported & What Are The Rules
  • What Happened To All-Weather Jumps Racing?
  • What Was Tic Tac? The Sign Language For On-Course Bookmakers
  • The Road To Cheltenham
  • Retraining of Racehorses
  • What Happens To Retired Racehorses?
  • Horse Racing Mix-Ups
  • Youngest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • What Are Blinkers & Why Do Race Horses Wear Them?
  • How Long Do You Have To Claim A Winning Bet At A Racecourse?
  • Female Jockey Pioneers
  • Oldest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Record Jockey Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Record Trainer Wins For Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Races Record Horse Wins
  • Biggest Prize Money Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • The Life Of A Racing Jockey
  • Races With The Most Fences At The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Often Do Mares' Win At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Average Winner Age Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Longest Races At The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Newest Races
  • How Often Does the Favourite Win at the Cheltenham Festival?
  • Average Winner Odds Cheltenham Festival Races
  • Cheltenham Festival Stats & Trends
  • Veganism & Horse Racing
  • Horse Doping In Horse Racing
  • Most Feared Fences In Horse Racing
  • Jockey Injuries
  • How To Become A Jockey
  • Horse Injuries
  • What Is Going In Horse Racing
  • Richest Races In Horse Racing
  • What Is The Starting Price In Racing
  • When Is The Best Time To Bet Ante-Post
  • Impact Of Wetter Winters On UK Jump Racing
  • How Long Do Racehorses Live For?
  • How Much Do Jockeys Weigh?
  • Rules For Naming Race Horses
  • What Is A Dead Heat In Horse Racing?
  • Who Would Win A Race Between A Horse And A Dog?
  • What Makes A Good Jump Stayer?
  • What Is A Stewards Enquiry?
  • Why Are Horses Disqualified and Who Decides?
  • Courses At Cheltenham: Old, New and Cross Country
  • How Are Jump Horses Trained Differently To Flat Horses?
  • Longest Odds Winners In Horse Racing History
  • How Much Money Is Bet At Cheltenham?
  • How Much Is Cheltenham Worth To The Economy?
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Owners
  • Accessibility At Cheltenham The Cheltenham Festival
  • Cheltenham Festival's Oldest Race Still Running
  • Biggest Female Trainers
  • Celebrity Race Horse Owners
  • Can Jockeys, Trainers & Owners Bet?
  • British vs Irish Trainers And Stables At Cheltenham
  • Things To Do & Places To Visit In Cheltenham
  • The Royal Family And The Cheltenham Festival
  • How Much Does It Cost To Be An On-Course Bookmaker?
  • How Much Money Do Race Horse Owners Make?
  • How Much Money Do Trainers Make?
  • Cheltenham Race Types
  • Cheltenham Hotels & Cheltenham Festival Accommodation
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Trainers
  • Top 5 Cheltenham Festival Jockeys
  • Top 10 Cheltenham Festival Horses
  • How Much Money Do Jockeys Make?
  • Richest Jockeys In Horse Racing History
  • Getting To Cheltenham Racecourse
  • Cheltenham Festival vs Grand National, Which Is Better?
  • Cheltenham Racecourse History
  • Why Is The Cheltenham Festival So Big?
  • Cheltenham Festival History
  • The Prestbury Cup
  • Cheltenham Festival Quiz
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Trainer
  • Cheltenham Festival Top Jockey
  • Cheltenham Racecourse During The War
  • Ante-Post Betting - Risk vs Reward
  • Jump Racing Distances
  • How to Read a Race Card
  • How To Bet On Horse Racing
  • Disqualification, Non-Runners and Rule 4
  • Age, Sex and Weight in Horse Racing
  • History And About National Hunt Racing
  • A-Z Glossary Of Horse Racing Terms
  • Horse Racing News, Statistics & Blogs
  • Live Streaming of Horse Racing
  • Live Betting In Play On Horse Racing
  • Cash Out And Partial Cash Out On Horse Racing
  • Grades and Classes In National Hunt Jump Racing

Offers

  • Acca Offers For Horse Racing
  • Extra Places Each-Way & Enhanced Each Way Terms Cheltenham Festival 2023
  • Horse Racing Loyalty Free Bet Clubs
  • Horse Racing Money Back
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For The Cheltenham Festival
  • Tote and Totepool Betting
  • Lucky Bets and Bonuses For Horse Racing
  • Non-Runner No Bet
  • Free Bets And Bonuses For Winners
  • Best Odds Guaranteed For Horse Racing
  • Faller & Fail To Finish Insurance For Horse Racing

Copyright © 2023 CheltenhamBettingOffers.com | 18+ Gamble Aware | Privacy & Cookie Policy