Cheltenham Festival 2019

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The 2019 Cheltenham Festival provided brief respite for British trainers from the Irish onslaught, with the Prestbury Cup, for once, ending in a 14-14 draw. County Carlow trainer Willie Mullins was, nonetheless, leading trainer for the sixth time in his career with four winners, but Hampshire-born Nico de Boinville, who rode three winners, became the first Englishman to win the leading jockey award since Robert Thornton, back in 2007.

De Boinville won the Coral Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Triumph Hurdle on William Henry, Altior and Pentland Hills, all trained by Nicky Henderson. Elsewhere, the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle stayed at home, courtesy of Frodon, trained by Paul Nicholls, and Paisley Park, trained by Emma Lavelle, respectively. The Champion Hurdle, though, was won in impressive style by the ill-fated Espoir D’Allen, trained by Gavin Cromwell in County Meath, on what proved to be his last racecourse appearance.

In an effort to break his hoodoo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he had previously saddled the runner-up on no fewer than six occasions, Willie Mullins saddled four of the 16 runners. However, his challenge started badly when Kemboy, the best-fancied of his quartet, landed awkwardedly and unseated jockey Danny Mullins at the very first fence. Indeed, events took further turns for the worse throughout the first circuit; Bellshill, ridden by Ruby Walsh, made an appalling blunder at the fifth fence and, following further mistakes, was soon pulled up, while stable companion Invitation Only fell, fatally, when disputing the lead at the tenth fence.

Thus, Al Boum Photo, in the black and yellow colours of Joe and Marie Donnelly, was the only Mullins-trained runner left in the race after halfway. Nevertheless, the seven-year-old led turning for home and stayed on strongly from the final fence to beat Anibale Fly by two and a half lengths. Mullins said afterwards, “I had probably resigned myself to never winning a Gold Cup, so I didn’t really obsess about it or get too disappointed about it.”

Cheltenham Festival 2018

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Rivalry between horses trained on either side of the Irish Sea at the Cheltenham Festival has long existed, but, in 2014, was formalised as a competition officially titled the ‘Prestbury Cup’, for which a trophy is awarded. With the exception of 2019, when the scores were tied at 14-14, the Irish have won the Prestbury Cup every year since and, in 2018, did so by a score of 17-11.

Irish-trained horses won nine of the 14 Grade 1 races, including two of the ‘feature’ races. Balko Des Flos, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Davy Russell, won the Ryanair Chase and, immediately afterwards, Penhill, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, won the Stayers’ Hurdle.

The Master of Seven Barrows, Nicky Henderson, struck a double blow for the home team, winning the Champion Hurdle with Buveur D’Air, ridden by Barry Geraghty, and the Queen Mother Champion with Altior, ridden by Nico de Boinville. Dorset-based Colin Tizzard also rowed in with two Grade 1 winners, Kilbricken, ridden by Harry Cobden, in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle and, more importantly, Native River, ridden by Richard Johnson, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Despite their best efforts, though, Irishmen Gordon Elliott and Davy Russell became leading trainer and jockey with eight and four winners respectively.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 15 runners and the market was headed by the talented, but quirky, Might Bite, trained by Nicky Henderson and the winner of the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day on his most recent start. Our Duke, trained by Jessica Harrington in Co. Kildare, was next best, marginally ahead of the aforementioned Native River, who had proved his well-being with a ready, 12-length win in the Denman Chase at Newbury the previous month.

As it was, Our Duke was never really travelling and was eventually pulled up, when in rear, four fences from home. The other two market leaders fought a ding-dong battle for most of the way, though, with Native River in the lead, but constantly harried by Might Bite. Indeed, the latter led, briefly, between the last two fences, but was outstayed on the run-in and eventually beaten four and a half lengths.

Who is the last person to have ridden, and trained, a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner?

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For aficianados of National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup represents the pinnacle of the sport and for any owner, jockey or trainer, winning the ‘Blue Riband’ event is a dream come true. However, in just over a century since the Cheltenham Gold Cup was established, as a steeplechase, in 1924, a select few men have managed to win the race as a jockey and as a trainer.

Fred Winter, for example, won back-to-back renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Saffron Tartan and Mandarin in 1961 and 1962 and, following his retirement from the saddle in 1964, later saddled Midnight Court, ridden by John Francome, to victory in 1978. Likewise, Pat Taaffe won the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a jockey, three times on the incomparable Arkle, in 1964, 1965 and 1996 and again on stable companion Fort Leney in 1968, also won as a trainer with Captain Christy in 1974.

The last person to achieve the notable double, though, was Killarney-born James ‘Jim’ Culloty who, as a jockey, completed in a hat-trick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Best Mate, trained by Henrietta Knight, in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Having retired from the saddle in 2005, he subsequently trained Lord Windermere, ridden by Davy Russell, to win a dramatic renewal in 2014. In so doing, he became just the fourth man, after Danny Morgan (who achieved the feat back in 1959), Winter and Taaffe to ride and train a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.

Which are the ‘feature’ races at the Cheltenham Festival?

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The Cheltenham Festival is, of course, the flagship week in British National Hunt racing and, since 2005, has been a four-day extravanganza, nowadays featuring 28 quintessential races across every discipline of the sport. Half of those races are Grade 1 races, in which horses compete off level weights, subject to allowances for age and gender, but at least one of the so-called ‘feature’ races forms the highlight of each day.

Traditionally, the four feature races are the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, but it would be fair to say that the Festival Trophy, or Ryanair Chase, which was introduced in 2005 and promoted to Grade 1 status in 2008, now rivals the Stayers’ Hurdle for top billing on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival.

The oldest, most valuable and, by far, most prestigious of the quintet is the Cheltenham Gold Cup, run over three miles and two and a half furlongs on the New Course on the final day. Nowadays worth £625,000 in prize money, the race has been won by some of the finest steeplechasers in history. Second billing goes to the two-mile hurdling championship, the Champion Hurdle, which was established just three years after the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in 1927, and is run on the Old Course on the opening day. Arguably slightly further down the pecking order come the two-mile chasing championship, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the three-mile hurdling championship, the Stayers’ Hurdle, and the aforementioned Ryanair Chase, which is run over the ‘intermediate’ distance of two miles and four and a half furlongs.

How many horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup more than once?

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First run as a steeplechase just over a century ago, in 1924, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most prestigious and second-most valuable race of its kind run in Britain. The ‘Blue Riband’ event has been abandoned or cancelled a handful of times in its history but, in 96 runnings so far, has been won more than once by a total of nine different horses.

The first of them was Easter Hero, who justified favouritism in 1929 and 1930, winning by 20 lengths on both occasions. By that stage, he was owned by American John Jay Whitney, following the mysterious disappearance of his previous owner, Alfred Loewenstein, in 1928, and trained by Jack Anthony. The Cheltenham Gold Cup was abandoned due to flooding in 1931, but then followed the era of Golden Miller, who would win five years running between 1932 and 1936, not to mention the Grand National, too, in 1934, making him the only horse ever to win both premier steeplechases in the same season.

Following World War II, the legendary Vincent O’Brien saddled Cottage Rake to three successive wins in 1948, 1949 and 1950 and the latter was followed by the equally legendary Arkle, who did likewise in 1964, 1965 and 1966. L’Escargot, who famously denied Red Rum a hat-trick in the Grand National in 1975 had, by that stage, already won back-to renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1970 and 1971. More recently, Best Mate won three times, in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and Kauto Star (2007, 2009), Al Boum Photo (2019, 2020) and Galopin Des Champs (2023, 2024) all won twice apiece.

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