Cheltenham Gold Cup 1998

Seventeen horses went to post for the 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup, including the second, third and fourth from the previous year, Barton Bank, Dorans Pride and Go Ballistic. Dorans Pride had won five of his six starts since, including an easy, 15-length victory in the Henessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown on his most recent outing. He was sent off favourite, at 9/4, ahead of the King Geoge VI Chase winner, See More Business, at 11/2, with Suny Bay at 9/1 amd 10/1 bar the front three.

In a bizarre incident approaching the seventh fence, Tony McCoy pulled up his mount, Cyborgo, who had gone lame, but, in doing so, carried out both See More Business and ramk outsider Indian Tracker. Meanwhile, former hunter chaser Cool Dawn, trained by Robert Alner and ridden by Andrew Thornton, continued to make the running, as he had done from flagfall. In fact, making just his second appearance at Grade 1 level, the 10-year-old was never headed. He had to be hard ridden on the run-in, but nonetheless ran on well to beat his nearest pursuer, Strong Promise, by 1¾ lengths, with Dorans Pride, who had been outpaced after making a mistake at the third-last, staying on well for third place, just a head further behind.

Cool Dawn was returned at 25/1 and never hit the same heights again, being pulled up on three of his final four starts, including when favourite for Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown the month after his Cheltenham triumph. At the time of his death in 2018, aged 30, Thornton reflected on his victory, saying, “He [Cool Dawn] absolutely flew five out for me and every fence from there. His jumping won it.”