Cheltenham Gold Cup 1991

Run on good going, the 1991 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 14 runners, including the last winners, Norton’s Coin and Desert Orchid, two future winners, Cool Dawn and The Fellow, and a future Grand National winner, Party Politics. Favourite, though, was Celtic Shot, trained by Charlie Brooks, who had made all to beat the first two home in the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup, Toby Tobias and Norton’s Coin, in the Charterhouse Mercantile Chase, also run on the New Course at Cheltenham, the previous January.

In the hands of Peter Scudamore, Celtic Shot lost his place before halfway, but recovered to lead until a mistake at the third-last fence effectively put paid to his chances. At that point, the eventual winner, Garrison Savannah, trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by her son, Mark, took over at the head of affairs. Halfway up the run-in, the eight-year-old still held a 3-length lead over his nearest pursuer, The Fellow, but jockey Adam Kondrat conjured a withering run from the latter, which carried him almost, but not quite, to victory.

In a rare error of judgement, commentator Sir Peter O’Sullevan was calling The Fellow the winner as he closed down the tiring leader in the last hundred yards, but Garrison Savannah just held on to win by a short-head, with Desert Orchid, by now a 12-year-old, 15 lengths further back in third place. Three weeks later, Garrison Savannah came as close as any horse has to emulating the legendary Golden Miller by winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same season; sent off narrow second-favourite at Aintree, he held a clear lead over the final fence, only to weaken in the closing stages to finish second, beaten 5 lengths, behind Seagram.