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