Spring Meeting
Each year, usually over 4 days in mid-march, crowds numbering in the tens of thousands descend upon Cheltenham to watch the cream of steeplechasing compete over the famous 22 fence course.
The Cheltenham Festival is a festival of racing and features 7 races on each of the days, totalling 28 in all. The world-famous Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place on the last day and is seen as the blue riband event of the entire festival.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is listed as a Grade 1 National Hunt horserace that is run annually at the picturesque Prestbury Park course, set in the heart of the Cotswolds. Run over a distance of 3 miles, 2½ furlongs, the race has witnessed some of the greatest races between some of the greatest racehorses steeplechasing has to offer.
Prize Fund
This prestigious meeting is extremely well financed, sponsored as it is each year by major companies. Betting companies, Totesport and Betfred are amongst the list of previous sponsors, with Timico, a major IT company sponsoring the latest Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The winner of the Gold Cup sepcifically, will now pick up a prize in excess of £325,000. A prize that is certainly fitting for a race of this magnitude. The Gold Cup is the most lucrative non-handicap chase in Britain and that looks to continue for many years to come.
Roll of Honour
Horses aged 5 years and over are eligible to enter the steeplechase, which is the most celebrated of all National Hunt events and is aptly named the ‘Blue Riband’ event of jump-racing. Previous winners read like a ‘who’s who’ of jump racing, with Arkle, Best Mate, Kauto Star and Mill House just some of the amazing horses to have graced this course.
The History
The inaugural Cheltenham Gold Cup chase took place almost 200 years ago in July 1819 and at this stage, it was a flat race. The race only became a steeplechase in 1924, still run as it was over a 3 mile course over Cleeve Hill, a site adjacent to the current Prestbury Park course.
The first winner was Spectre and his owner, Mr Bodenham received 100 guineas, a princely sum at the time.
Prestbury Park
The Cheltenham Gold Cup found a new home in 1959 and has been there since. The race remained unsponsored until 1972, when the first commercial enterprise, Piper Champagne put it’s name to the Gold Cup. The Tote (or Totesport as it is now known) subsequently sponsored the event in 1980 and many times since.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the pinnacle of national hunt racing in the UK to this day and any attending the festival cannot help but get caught up in the majesty and fervour that it creates. For race enthusiasts and occasional punters alike, it just cannot be beaten as a sporting spectacle and will continue to be so for some time yet.