The 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Friday 17 March 2006. It was the 78th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by War of Attrition. The winner was ridden by Conor O'Dwyer and trained by Mouse Morris. The pre-race favourite Beef Or Salmon finished eleventh.
For the first time in the race's history the first three finishers – War of Attrition, Hedgehunter and Forget the Past – were all trained in Ireland.
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter. nk = neck; PU = pulled-up; UR = unseated rider.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.
Note: Fence 20 was omitted due to the injured jockey Timmy Murphy, unseated at the fence on the first circuit.
Further details of the winner, War of Attrition :
Golden Miller (1927–1957) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the most successful Cheltenham Gold Cup horse ever, winning the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936. He also is the only horse to win both of the United Kingdom's premier steeplechase races - the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National - in the same year (1934).
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK, the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Hedgehunter is an Irish race horse, who won the 2005 Grand National steeplechase, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins. He had fallen at the final fence the previous year when well placed. He then finished second in 2006 to Numbersixvalverde. He also finished second in the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup to War of Attrition. The horse was owned by Lancashire billionaire Trevor Hemmings who also owned Blackpool Tower.
The 2000 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday 16 March 2000. It was the 73rd running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by Looks Like Trouble. The winner was ridden by Richard Johnson and trained by Noel Chance. The pre-race favourite See More Business finished fourth.
The 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday March 14, 1996. It was the 69th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by Imperial Call. The winner was ridden by Conor O'Dwyer and trained by Fergie Sutherland. The pre-race favourite One Man finished sixth. There was one fatality in the race when Monsieur Le Cure ridden by Jason Titley took a heavy fall at the 6th fence breaking his neck.
The 1995 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday March 16, 1995. It was the 68th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Master Oats. The winner was ridden by Norman Williamson and trained by Kim Bailey.
The 1992 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday 12 March 1992. It was the 65th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by Cool Ground. The winner was ridden by Adrian Maguire and trained by Toby Balding. The pre-race favourite Carvill's Hill finished fifth.
Beef Or Salmon is a multiple Grade 1 winning National Hunt racehorse. He was trained in Ireland by Michael Hourigan and owned by B J Craig And Dan McLarnon. He was most famous for defeating three Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in Best Mate, Kicking King, and War of Attrition and also for his defeat of the 2005 Grand National winner, Hedgehunter.
The 2003 Grand National was the 156th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree at 3:45pm BST, on 5 April 2003.
Davy Russell is an Irish retired National Hunt jockey. He was Irish jump racing Champion Jockey three times, and won the Grand National (twice), the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
Imperial Commander was a Cheltenham Gold Cup winning thoroughbred racehorse.
L’Escargot (1963–1984) was an Irish national hunt racehorse notable as being a Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National winner.
War of Attrition was a National Hunt racehorse and winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2006.
The 1996 Grand National was the 149th official renewal of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase that took place at Aintree on 30 March 1996.It was the first national to run since 3 time winner Red Rum was buried at the winning post following his death the previous October.
Synchronised was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist long-distance steeplechaser, he was best known for his performances in the 2011–2012 National Hunt season, when he won the Grade I Lexus Chase in Ireland before winning Britain's most prestigious steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, on 17 March. He was euthanized after incurring a leg fracture in the Grand National on 14 April 2012.
The 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup was the 84th annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on 16 March 2012.
Jodami was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist steeplechaser, he ran thirty-nine time and won eighteen races in a career which lasted from March 1990 until February 1997. After winning five races over hurdles, Jodami switched to racing over fences in the autumn of 1991. In early 1993 he won four consecutive races, culminating with a win in Britain's most prestigious steeplechase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He also won three editions of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown Racecourse. Jodami's racing career was ended by injury in 1997. He died in 2008.
Djakadam is a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races.
Linwell was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1957 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Originally named Floral Tribute he was imported to England in 1953 and was trained by the journalist Ivor Herbert for the businessman David Brown. After beginning his career in point-to-point races he made rapid progress when switched to professional steeplechasing winning the Mildmay Memorial Chase in 1956 and the Gold Cup in the following year. In two subsequent attempts at the Gold Cup he had little luck: he unseated his jockey when hampered by a falling rival in 1958 and finished second in 1959 after being badly baulked and almost brought down at the final fence.
The 2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup was the 89th annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and was held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday 17 March 2017. It was won by Sizing John, ridden by Robbie Power and trained by Jessica Harrington. It was the first time that Robbie Power had ridden in the race and also the first time Jessica Harrington had an entry in the race.