This year’s festival was the last to be run over 3 days, since it extends to 4 days from 2005 onwards. It was also the last running of the Cathcart Challenge Cup Chase, which was discontinued. That particular race concluded with a rare win by a horse from New Zealand, called Our Armageddon.
In the Gold Cup, Best Mate entered the history books as only the fourth horse to win the race three times. He is the only horse to have done so in recent history too, the last being Arkle in the 1960s. The Henrietta C Knight trained horse was already a legend in the sport, but this third win put him on another level.
Best Mate was the favourite in the Gold Cup, but there were a lot of unexpected surprises on day one, when three very long priced horses won their respective races. Maximize took the Challenge Cup at 40/1, Hardy Eustace won the Champion Hurdle in dramatic fashion at 33/1, battling hard to beat the favourite Rooster Booster, before Creon ended the day winning the Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle priced at a massive 50/1.
At 13 years old, Earthmover was another surprising win, becoming the oldest horse to win the Foxhunter Challenge Cup since 1953.
Paul Nicholls and a young Ruby Walsh claimed their first top trainer and top jockey awards in 2004, marking the beginning of their period of dominance at the festival, and it was fairly balanced in terms of the battle between the punters and the bookies.
16th March 2004 – Day One
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | Supreme Novices' Hurdle | Brave Inca | 7/2 F |
J: B M Cash
T: Colm Murphy
|
| 14:40 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | Well Chief | 9/1 |
J: A P McCoy
T: D Pipe
|
| 14:40 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | Maximize | 40/1 |
J: Mr Darren Edwards
T: D Pipe
|
| 15:20 | The Champion Hurdle | Hardy Eustace | 33/1 |
J: Conor O'Dwyer
T: D T Hughes
|
| 16:00 | Festival Trophy Handicap Chase | Fork Lightning | 7/1 |
J: Robert Thornton
T: A King
|
| 17:20 | Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle | Creon | 50/1 |
J: Timmy Murphy
T: Jonjo O'Neill
|
17th March 2004 – Day Two
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | Ballymore Novices' Hurdle | Fundamentalist | 12/1 |
J: Carl Llewellyn
T: N Twiston-Davies
|
| 14:35 | Brown Advisory Novices' Chase | Rule Supreme | 25/1 |
J: D J Casey
T: W P Mullins
|
| 15:20 | Queen Mother Champion Chase | Azertyuiop | 15/8 |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 16:00 | BetMGM Cup | Monkerhostin | 13/2 |
J: Richard Johnson
T: Philip Hobbs
|
| 16:35 | National Hunt Chase | Native Emperor | 5/1 J |
J: Mr R Widger
T: Jonjo O'Neill
|
| 17:10 | Plate Handicap Chase | Tikram | 12/1 |
J: Timmy Murphy
T: Gary Moore
|
| 17:45 | Champion Bumper | Total Enjoyment | 7/1 |
J: Jim Culloty
T: Thomas Cooper
|
18th March 2004 – Day Three
| Time | Race | Winner | Odds | Jockey / Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | JCB Triumph Hurdle | Made In Japan | 20/1 |
J: Richard Johnson
T: Philip Hobbs
|
| 14:35 | The Stayers' Hurdle | Iris's Gift | 9/2 |
J: Barry Geraghty
T: Jonjo O'Neill
|
| 15:15 | The Cheltenham Gold Cup | Best Mate | 8/11 F |
J: Jim Culloty
T: Henrietta C Knight
|
| 16:00 | Foxhunter Challenge Cup | Earthmover | 14/1 |
J: Miss Amaryllis Goschen
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 16:35 | Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase | St Pirran | 4/1 F |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: P F Nicholls
|
| 17:10 | Cathcart Challenge Cup | Our Armageddon | 9/1 |
J: Larry McGrath
T: Richard Guest
|
| 17:45 | County Handicap Hurdle | Sporazene | 7/1 J |
J: Ruby Walsh
T: P F Nicholls
|