Cheltenham Gold Cup 1996

At the time of writing, nine of the last 10 renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, including the last seven in a row, have been won by horses trained in Ireland. However, believe it or not, there was a time, not so long ago, when the concept of an Irish ‘drought’ in the steeplechasing showpiece was a real possibility. Indeed, such a paucity of Irish-trained winners had existed for the decade prior to the 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Nevertheless, that all changed on March 14, 1996, when Imperial Call, trained by Fergus ‘Fergie’ Sutherland in Co. Cork and ridden by Conor O’Dwyer, saw off the British-trained hotpot, One Man, and eight other rivals to win the ‘Blue Riband’ event. Trained by Gordon Richards in Cumbria, One Man was sent off 11/8 favourite to follow up his easy, 14-length win in the rearranged King George VI at Sandown Park in January, but stopped as if shot approaching the final fence and eventually trailed in a tired sixth of the seven finishers.

Imperial Call, though, took over from the weakening Couldnt Be Better at the fourth-last fence and, thereafter, never really looked in danger of defeat. Indeed, Sutherland said later, “In the last mile, I must confess I had a feeling of inevitability about it. I just knew he was going to win.” Rough Quest, trained by Terry Casey and ridden, stealthily, by Mick Fitzgerald, chased the winner from two out, but could only find one pace in the closing stages and eventually finished second, beaten 4 lengths. The first two pulled 19 lengths clear of the third horse home, Couldnt Be Better.