Cheltenham Festival

The 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup produced one of the closest finishes in the history of the race, first run as a steeplechase in 1924, with the first four horses home were covered by less than two lengths. To add to the drama, the winner had to survive a 15-minute stewards’ enquiry before his place in history was confirmed.

That winner was, of course, Lord Windermere, trained by Jim Culloty – who, as a jockey, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Best Mate in 2002, 2003 and 2004 – and ridden by Davy Russell. The eight-year-old had failed to trouble the judge in three starts since winning the RSA Chase at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival and was consequently sent off at 20/1, behind the 6/4 favourite, and defending champion, Bobs Worth.

Detached from the other twelve runners before halfway, Lord Windermere nonetheless made relentless progress under pressure from the third-last fence and, despite hanging badly right close home, held on to win, all out, by a short head. On His Own and The Giant Bolster, who had been carried right by the winner, finished second and third, respectively, separated by three-quarters of a length. Second favourite Silviniano Conti, who also wandered right under pressure on the run-in, was fourth, just a length behind the front three, while Bobs Worth, who became momentarily unbalanced on the other side of the track, was fifth, 2¼ lengths further back.

Reflecting on what appeared, at one stage, an unlikely victory, Culloty said, “I cannot believe it. Halfway round I was going to sack the jockey! He’s not moved a muscle and he’s come from nowhere. It’s a dream; I’ll wake up a in minute.”

The 2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured just nine runners, the smallest field since 1992, and the race was overshadowed by serious injury to leading Irish amateur jockey John Thomas ‘J.T’ McNamara in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup the previous day. McNamara fractured two vertebrae in his neck when his mount, Galaxy Rock, fell at the first fence; he would be left paralysed from the neck down and died three years later, aged just 41.

In any event, for the second time in three years, the Cheltenham Gold Cup went the way of Seven Barrows trainer Nicky Henderson, on this occasion courtesy of Bobs Worth, ridden by Barry Geraghty. Winner of the RSA Chase at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, Bobs Worth had reappeared with a ready, 3¼-length win in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in December and was consequently sent off marginal favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 11/4, just ahead of stable companion, and previous winner, Long Run.

On going officially described as soft, good to soft in places, Bobs Worth was hampered by the fall of the well-fancied Cue Card at the third-last fence, but produced a strong run that carried him into the lead on the approach to the final fence and forged clear close home to win by 7 lengths. Sir Des Champs, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Tony McCoy, finished second and the aforementioned Long Run third, a further 2¾ lengths away. Bobs Worth brought up 50 Cheltenham winners for Henderson. Geraghty said of his victory, “It was brilliant. He is such a great little horse who just loves the job.”

The 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup, once again, featured three of the first four home in the 2011 renewal, Long Run, Kauto Star and What A Friend, with Denman having been retired, due to injury, the previous December. Defending champion Long Run was sent off 7/4 favourite, despite having been beaten by Kauto Star in both the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November and the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, with his old rival at 3/1 and 8/1 bar the front pair.

In any event, it was one of the 8/1 co-third favourites, the Lexus Chase winner, Synchronised, who upstaged his apparently more illustrious market rivals. Owned by J.P. McManus, trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by Tony McCoy, the nine-year-old was not foot perfect at his fences, but led early on the run-in and kept on gamely to beat 50/1 outsider The Giant Bolster by 2¼ lengths. Long Run finished third, a further three-quarters of a length away, having found just one pace in the closing stages. Kauto Star, running in his sixth consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup, failed to finish, having been pulled up before halfway.

Sadly, victory in one of the major steeplechases in Britain was to prove a swansong for Synchronised, who would lose his life in the other, the Grand National, less than a month later. Attempting to become the first horse since the legendary Golden Miller, in 1934, to win both races in the same season, Synchronised fell at Becher’s Brook on the first circuit at Aintree, but fractured a leg five fences later, when running loose, and was humanely euthanised. McManus said afterwards, “It remains difficult to understand how it happened, but regrettably it did.”

The late Alistair Down once wrote of the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup, “…never have I known a Gold Cup winners’ enclosure where connections of the second, third and fourth all behaved as if they had won the race. And so sincerely meant it.” Indeed, the second, third and fourth, Denman, Kauto Star and What A Friend, were all trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sam Thomas, Ruby Walsh and Daryl Jacob, respectively. Also present in the 13-strong field, in what was an outstanding renewal of the ‘Blue Riband’ event, were the defending champion Imperial Commander and the future Grand National winner Neptune Collonges, who completed the Nicholls-trained quartet.

Victory, though, went to a six-year-old – the first of his age group to prevail since Mill House in 1963 – in the form of Long Run, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Sam Waley-Cohen. A comfortable, 12-length winner of the rearranged King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, Long Run was sent off 7/2 favourite at Cheltenham, despite facing the winner of the last four Gold Cups.

Denman and Kauto Star, both 11-year-olds, led over the third-last, at which point Imperial Commnder weakened out of contention and was eventually pulled up, having gone lame. They continued to duel for the lead but, between the final two fences, were joined, and passed, by Long Run, who stayed on strongly to beat Denman by 7 lengths. Kauto Star just held third, 4 lengths further back, and just a nose ahead of his stable companion What A Friend. Thus, Waley-Cohen became the first amateur jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup since the late Jim Wilson, on Little Owl, in 1981

The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 11 runners, including Kauto Star and Denman, who, between them, had won the last three renewals, and the 2009 Grand National winner Mon Mome. Kauto Star was sent off 8/11 favourite, with Denman at 4/1 and Imperial Commander at 7/1, but it was the latter who came to the fore, taking the lead at the second-last fence and being driven clear on the run-in to win, going away by 7 lengths. In so doing, Imperial Commander became a first Cheltenham Gold Cup winner for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and jockey Paddy Brennan.

Few would begrudge Imperial Commander his victory, after he had been just touched off by Kauto Star, by the minimum margin, a nose, in the Betfair Chase at Haydock the previous November, having fought what the ‘Racing Post’ described as a ‘tremendous duel’ on the run-in. However, he had finished tailed off behind Kauto Star in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, hence what turned out to be a generous starting price.

Defending champion Kauto Star made an uncharacteristic blunder at the eighth fence and, although given time to recover by jockey Ruby Walsh, was never travelling particularly sweetly. Tony McCoy, aboard Denman, seized the initiative heading down the hill for the final time, but was stalked into the fourth-last fence by the strong-travelling Imperial Commander. At that obstacle, Kauto Star, who was already under pressure, took a crashing fall, leaving the front pair to fight out the finish.

Once Imperial Commander hit the front two out, the race was effectively over, although Denman still finished the proverbial country mile – or 23 lengths, to be precise – ahead of the third horse home, Mon Mome. The 2009 Grand National winner was all but tailed off at one stage, but stayed on strongly in the closing stages to fill the minor placing.