Cheltenham Gold Cup 2000

The last Cheltenham Gold Cup of the twentieth century – and, indeed, the last before the foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2001 stopped the country, including the Cheltenham Festival, in its tracks – was run on unseasonably fast going, officially described as good to firm. Twelve horses went to post and the combination of the underfoot conditions and a breakneck pace, set by Tony McCoy aboard Gloria Victis, produced a winning time of 6:30.3, just over half second faster than the previous best set by Norton’s Coin a decade earlier.

Defending champion See More Business, trained by Paul Nicholls, was sent off 9/4 favourite on his attempt to become the first horse since L’Escargot to win back-to-back Gold Cups. On ground faster than ideal, though, he lost his position at the third-last fence before rallying and staying on again on the run-in to finish fourth, 6 lengths behind the winner.

That winner was Looks Like Trouble, trained by Noel Chance and ridden by Richard Johnson, who had been pulled up behind See More Business, on unfavourably soft ground, in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, but proved an entirely different propsition this time around. Having survived a blunder just before halfway, the eight-year-old duelled with fellow joint-second favourite Florida Pearl from the penultimate fence before drawing away on the run-in to win by 5 lengths.

Johnson, who was riding Looks Like Trouble for the first time after regular jockey Norman Williamson fell out with owner Tim Collins, said afterwards, “I don’t really know the circumstances surrounding it, but I was very lucky to get the ride. Still, what the heck, it feels brilliant!”