Cheltenham Gold Cup Runners & Odds
Find the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup odds, tip and racecard below.
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Cheltenham Gold Cup Tips
Ed Quigley thinks Eklat De Rire is the one to be on antepost for the Gold Cup.
What is the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
The pinnacle of the National Hunt season, the Gold Cup is the feature race on the fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival, which is traditionally held in the middle of March. The race, which is run over 3 miles, 2 furlongs and 70 yards, is seen as the blue riband of Jumps racing, and its roll of honour features some of the greats of the game, including Arkle, Golden Miller, Best Mate, Kauto Star and Denman. The race was first sponsored by Piper Champagne in 1972, and having changed ips sponsorship several times since, it is currently backed by Magners.
The history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Having started life as a 3-mile Flat race in 1819, the Gold Cup was first run over jumps in 1924, and it didn’t take long for a legend to grace the race in its current form, with Golden Miller winning five straight renewals between 1932 and 1936 (with one Grand National success in 1934 to boot). The race was dominated in a similar vein around 30 years later by the great Arkle, considered by many to be the greatest National Hunt horse of all time, who won three consecutive renewals from 1964-1966. The Gold Cup continued to dazzle during the eighties, with Michael Dickinson training an unprecedented one-two-three-four-five in 1983, while Dawn Run (1986) and Desert Orchid (1989) were two other greats who struck during this decade. After being cancelled in 2001 due to the foot and mouth crisis, the Gold Cup was won for each of the next three years by the Henreitta Knight-trained Best Mate, a memorable feat which was followed in quick succession by the immense rivalry between Kauto Star and Denman. Having suffered defeat as the reigning champion to Denman in 2008, Kauto Star regained his crown from his great rival in 2009, becoming the first horse to do so in the process - and he remains the most recent multiple winner of the race.
What happened in the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Henry de Bromhead trained the first two home in the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, as Minella Indo got the better of stablemate A Plus Tard in a memorable renewal of the blue riband event. That pair pulled comfortably of former dual winner Al Boum Photo, who was unable to reel in the first two, who shone brightest in a thriller.
Who is the most iconic winner of Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Naming the greatest Gold Cup winner of all-time is a particularly contentious topic, and it is a title which several horses can stake a claim to, including multiple winners of the race Golden Miller, Arkle and Best Mate. However, it is difficult to begrudge the claims of the great Kauto Star, who ran in the race on six occasions in total, winning twice. After switching to Paul Nicholls from France in 2004, Kauto Star quickly built a profile of a chaser to watch, and having fallen on his first visit to the Cheltenham Festival in the 2006 Champion Chase, he put together a stunning six-race win streak the following season, which included the Betfair Chase, the Tingle Creek and the King George VI Chase, and culminated in victory in the 2007 Gold Cup. Victories in the Betfair Chase, the King George and the Ascot Chase followed a year later, but Kauto Star was thwarted in his follow up bid in the Gold Cup by stablemate Denman, a result which forged one of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever seen. The pair would return to do battle a year later, and it was Kauto Star who came out on top this time around, defeating the admirable Denman - who had suffered a career-threatening heart murmur the previous season - and becoming the first horse to ever regain the Gold Cup. A fall in the 2010 Gold Cup meant that Kauto Star and Denman were very much considered the old guard by the time the 2011 renewal came around, but they served up one of the great moments in the race’s recent history around the final bend, when settling down to do battle one last time. The younger legs of the Nicky Henderson-trained Long Run would eventually prevail, though, with Denman finishing second and Kauto Star third. A below-par performance at Punchestown the following month prompted talks of retirement, though Kauto Star had one final season up his sleeve, sealing Grade 1 number 15 when striking in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, before winning a scarcely-believable fifth King George at Kempton a month later. Kauto Star would sign off on an anti-climax, being pulled-up on his swansong in the 2012 Gold Cup, but he bowed out as one of the greatest performers that National Hunt racing has ever seen.
Are there any trials for the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
There are several key indicators for the Gold Cup throughout the season, with the most important of those being the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the King George at Kempton and the Ascot Chase. Each of the Charlie Hall (Wetherby), the Ladbrokes Trophy (Newbury), the Cotswold Chase (Cheltenham) and the Denman Chase (Newbury) also hold great significance, while over in Ireland it’s worth keeping a close eye on the Jnwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal, the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown and the Savills Chase and the Irish Gold Cup, which are both held at Leopardstown.
Who is the most successful jockey in the Gold Cup?
The most successful jockey in the history of the Gold Cup is Pat Taaffe, who won the race on four occasions with Arkle (1964, 1965 and 1966) and Fort Leney (1968).
Who is the most successful trainer in the Gold Cup?
The most successful trainer in the history of the Gold Cup is Tom Dreaper, who won the race on five occasions, training Prince Regent (1946), Arkle (1964, 1965 and 1966) and Fort Leney (1968).
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