Cheltenham Festival
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The brightest of all the many highlights of the Cheltenham Festival, the Gold Cup is the most prestigious National Hunt race in the UK calendar.
Now in its 100th year, the Gold Cup was first run in 1924 when the prize to the connections of the winning horse was just £685 – a far cry from today’s £351,688! It’s now the most valuable race of the Cheltenham Festival, only won by the very best of stayers and jumpers.
Originally run on the Old Course and switched to the New Course in 1959, competing horses must clear 22 fences in addition to staying the gruelling trip, so this is the stiffest of jumps tests. It seems to favour horses aged between seven and nine years old – experienced, but not quite veterans.
Usually quite an unpredictable race, only 11 favourites have won since 2000.
William Hill are Non-Runner Money Back on all Cheltenham Festival races
| Date | Friday, 15th March 2024 |
|---|---|
| Location | Cheltenham Racecourse |
| Inaugurated | 1924 |
| Grade | 1 National Hunt Race |
| Runners | 27 |
| Race Type | Steeplechase |
| Fences | 22 |
| Distance | 3 miles, 2 furlongs and 70 yards |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 5+ years old |
| Handicapped | Non-Handicapped |
Previous winners
No horse has won the Gold Cup more times than Golden Miller, who won the race five years running from 1932 to 1936. The best attempts at succeeding him so far have been the mighty Arkle (won 1964, 1965 and 1966) and Best Mate (2002, 2003 and 2004). Irish-trained horses have dominated this race for the last four years and are fancied by the market to do the same this year too.
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Galopin Des Champs | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2022 | A Plus Tard | Rachael Blackmore | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2021 | Minella Indo | Jack Kennedy | Henry de Bromhead |
| 2020 | Al Boum Photo | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2019 | Al Boum Photo | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 2018 | Native River | Richard Johnson | Colin Tizzard |
Gold Cup Runners
If last year’s winner, Galopin Des Champs, can win the Gold Cup again, it’ll be his trainer Willie Mullins’ fourth Cheltenham Gold Cup win. A hat-trick of Gold Cups has not been won by a horse since Henrietta Knight’s Best Mate won his third renewal in a row back in 2004.
Although Irish-trained horses are dominating the betting market currently, with six of the top-ten fancied horses being from Irish stables, the unpredictable nature of this race could well see British trainers reclaim the Gold Cup by winning it for the first time since 2018.
| Horse | Trainer | Gold Cup Races | Highest Gold Cup position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahoy Senor | Lucinda Russell | 1 | n/a |
| Bravemansgame | Paul Nicholls | 1 | 2nd |
| Conflated | Gordon Elliott | 1 | 3rd |
| Corach Rambler | Lucinda Russell | 0 | n/a |
| Datsalrightgino | Jamie Snowden | 0 | n/a |
| Envoi Allen | Henry de Bromhead | 0 | n/a |
| Fastorslow | Martin Brassil | 0 | n/a |
| Galopin Des Champs | Willie Mullins | 1 | 1st |
| Gentlemansgame | M F Morris | 0 | n/a |
| Gerri Colombe | Gordon Elliott | 0 | n/a |
| Hewick | John Joseph Hanlon | 1 | n/a |
| Jungle Boogie | Henry De Bromhead | 0 | n/a |
| LâHomme Presse | Venetia Williams | 0 | n/a |
| Monkfish | W P Mullins | 0 | n/a |
| Nassalam | Gary Moore | 0 | n/a |
| Protektorat | Dan Skelton | 2 | 3rd |
| Royale Pagaille | Venetia Williams | 3 | 5th |
| Shishkin | Nicky Henderson | 0 | n/a |
| Stay Away Fay | Paul Nicholls | 0 | n/a |
| The Real Whacker | Patrick Neville | 0 | n/a |
Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds
Willie Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs is hot-favourite to win the Gold Cup this year with odds of EVS. This is deservedly so on the back of an impressive Savills Chase win to put his loss behind him. There’s no reason why the 8-year-old can’t win the Gold Cup for the second time. Still being one of the younger runners in the field – he may have an edge on some of the older contenders aged nine and over.
Fastorslow makes his bid for a Cheltenham Gold Cup win at 7/2. This could turn out to be a nice price if the gelding comes to Cheltenham in the same form as he did in the Punchestown Gold Cup, which brought a shock result, finishing ahead of Gold Cup rivals Galopin Des Champs and Bravemansgame.
Shiskin could represent good value at 8/1, based on what turned out to be an unfortunate mishap in the King George, where jockey Nico De Boinville was unfortunately unseated, when looking to be in a winning position in the back in December. He’s run at Cheltenham plenty of times and has proven form in Grade 1 races in the Arkle and Supreme. If the race is run to plan, there is little reason why we wouldn’t see him in the placings again here or even in the winners’ enclosure.
Hewick has interesting odds of 14/1, and his win in the King George VI Chase in December was such a triumph that he must enter considerations and is a nice each-way price. He can happily stay the trip but must prove that he can handle the testing Cheltenham track after his unfortunate fall two out in this race last year.
William Hill are offering Non-Runner Money Back on all Cheltenham Festival races, so make sure you don’t miss out on these prices as Cheltenham gets closer!
Check here for all the latest Cheltenham Odds 2024
