Cheltenham Festival

Run on soft going, the 1995 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 15 runners, including the second, third and fourth from the 1994 renewal, Jodami, Young Hustler and Flashing Steel. Victory, though, went to the favourite, Master Oats, trained by Kim Bailey and ridden by Norman Williamson, who was not entirely foot perfect at his fences, but was, nevertheless, ridden clear approaching the final fence and stayed on strongly to win by 15 lengths. Dubacilla, trained by David Nicholson and ridden by Dean Gallagher finished second, a similar distance ahead of the 1994 Grand National winner Miinnehoma, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Richard Dunwoody.

Master Oats became the first winning favourite since Desert Orchid in 1989 and his winning margin was the widest since Alveston beat Royal Mail by 25 lengths in 1979. Moreover, he completed a rare Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double for Bailey and Williamson who, two days earlier, had teamed up to win the two-mile hurdling championship with the former high-class Flat performer Alderbrook, who was having just his second start for the yard. In fact, the last trainer and jockey to achieve the feat were Vincent O’Brien and Aubrey Brabazon who, in 1950, won the Champion Hurdle with Hatton’s Grace and the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Cottage Rake, both of whom started favourite.

Reflecting on his finest hour at Prestbury Park some years later, Bailey said, “Alderbrook was my first Cheltenham winner and you never forget the first and last of anything you do.” However, he was affectionately ambivalent towards Master Oats, saying, “He would run through a brick wall for you and he was not a good jumper; his brain wasn’t quite quick enough for his feet.”

The 1994 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 15 runners, including the reigning champion, Jodami, the 1991 winner, Garrison Savannah, by now an 11-year-old, and the subsequent Grand National winner, Miinnehoma. Jodami was, understandably, sent off favourite at 6/4 after hacking up in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown, with the Mackeson Gold Cup winner, Bradbury Star, at 5/1, The Fellow, who had finished second, second and fourth in the last three renewals of the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 7/1, and 10/1 bar that trio.

When push came to shove, it was The Fellow, who, at the fourth time of asking, lifted the spoils and, in so doing, became the first French-trained winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Ridden, as in previous years, by Adam Kondrat and racing on slightly slower, good going, The Fellow turned around his 1993 form with Jodami to the tune of 11 lengths, running on well to win by 1½ lengths. Young Hustler, the winner of the Sun Alliance Chase at the 1993 Cheltenham Festival, led on the approach to the final fence, but could find no extra in the closing stages and eventually finished third, beaten 5½ lengths by the winner.

Reflecting on his success, winning trainer Francois Doumen said later, “I learnt that you needed to put a lot of work into the horses if you were going to take on the English because the trainers there are not idiots.”

Three weeks later, The Fellow tried his luck in the hugely eventful Grand National won by Miinnehoma. On heavy going, only six of the 36 runners finished and, sadly, The Fellow was among those that did not. Sent off 9/1 co-third favourite, he was in fourth place when falling at the Canal Turn on the second circuit.

After being agonisingly beaten a short-head in the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the last two seasons running, by Garrison Savannah in 1991 and Cool Ground in 1992, The Fellow was sent off 5/4 favourite for the 1993 renewal, as he attempted to make it third time lucky in the ‘Blue Riband’ event. It was not to be for the French-trained eight-year-old, who, never having previously raced on the prevailing good to firm going, was outpaced when the race began in earnest before staying on again for fourth place, beaten 9½ lengths by the winner.

Victory went, for once, to the North of England, courtesy of Jodami, trained by Peter Beaumont in Stearsby, North Yorkshire and ridden by Mark Dwyer. Having justified favouritism in the Mandarin Handicap Chase at Newbury, the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock and the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown on his last three starts, was sent off 8/1 second-favourite to make it four in a row at Cheltenham and did so in gutsy fashion.

Patiently ridden early, the eight-year-old drew alongside the long-time leader Rushing Willd, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Richard Dunwoody, at the second-last fence, led over the last fence and was driven clear on the run-in to win by 2 lengths. Rushing Wild kept on to hold second place, 7 lengths ahead of future Grand National winner Royal Athlete, who, in turn, finished just half a length ahead of The Fellow. As a sombre footnote, Cherrykino, who was fatally injured in a fall before halfway, was the last living descendant of the legendary Arkle.

The 1992 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured just eight runners, the smallest field since 1975, but was still a controversial renewal, in which the even-money favourite, Carvill’s Hill, finished an exhausted last of five finishers and never saw a racecourse again.

A prolific winner in his native Ireland, when trained by Jim Dreaper, Carvill’s Hill had carried all before him since joining Martin Pipe the previous June. He had won the Rehearsal Chase at Chepstow by 10 lengths, the Welsh Grand National at the same venue by 20 lengths – conceding 19lb to subsequent Grand National winner Party Politics in the process – and the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown by 15 lengths.

In the Cheltenham Gold Cup, he was taken off for the lead by rank outsider Golden Freeze, trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by Mark Bowlby. After blundering at the first fence, again at the ninth and making another significant mistake at the second-last, when still in contention, he was virtually pulled up on the run-in. Outcry over the supposed ‘spoiling’ tactics employed by Bowlby eventually led to a Jockey Club disciplinary hearing, at which trainer and jockey were cleared of any wrongdoing.

At the business end of the race, victory went to 25/1 chance Cool Ground, trained by Toby Balding and ridden by Adrian Maguire, who headed the luckless French raider The Fellow (who had finished second, by the same margin, in 1991) in the final strides to win by a short-head. Docklands Express, trained by Kim Bailey and ridden by Mark Perret, who had led over the final fence, ran on to finish third, beaten just a length by the winner.

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.