Cheltenham Festival 2020 Results

The 2020 Cheltenham Festival will be remembered for more than just the racing, because the decision was taken for the festival to go ahead despite the worrying rate of infection regarding covid 19 at the time. In fact, just 4 days after the festival, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced nationwide lockdowns.

Many of the 250,000+ spectators reported symptoms soon after, and the story hit the news to much outrage, despite the government confirming that race organisers had followed the guidance available at the time.

It was a busy festival despite not breaking the attendance record set the year before, and a busy festival for Irish trained horses too, with 17 of the 28 races won by horses trained on the emerald isle. Willie Mullins was responsible for 41% of those wins, with 7 of his horses passing the finish line first making Mullins the top trainer of the festival; plus, Gordon Elliott came in second place with 5 wins, bolstering the Irish position.

Irish jockeys Paul Townend and Barry Geraghty shared the top jockey position, with 5 wins apiece, so it really was a festival dominated by Irish success.

There were a few surprises in amongst those results, as Lisnagar Oscar won the Stayer’s Hurdle at 50/1, and It Came To Pass held off the favourite, Billaway, to claim first place in the Foxhunter Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase, at 66/1. Meanwhile, El Boum Photo cemented his place as one of the greatest steeplechasers of a generation by winning his second Gold Cup in a row.

10th March 2020 – Day One (Champion Day)

11th March 2020 – Day Two (Ladies’ Day)

12th March 2020 – Day Three (St. Patrick’s Day)

13th March 2020 – Day Four (Gold Cup Day)