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The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs, and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Burrough Hill Lad (1976–2004) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. Named after Leicestershire village Burrough-On-The-Hill, he competed in National Hunt races and won seventeen times from twenty-seven runs in steeplechases. His performances in 1984, when he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Hennessy Gold Cup and King George VI Chase saw him rated one of the best horses in the history of the sport.
Twilight Alley was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A series of physical problems restricted him to four races a track career which lasted from July 1962 to July 1963. On his third racecourse appearance he defeated a strong field to win Britain's most important long-distance race, the Ascot Gold Cup. He broke down injured on his only subsequent appearance and was retired to stud where he had some success as a sire of steeplechasers.
Talma, also known as Talma II, was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes. After winning his first two races in France he started second favourite for the St Leger and won by a margin conservatively recorded as ten lengths despite misbehaving before the race. He recorded his only other win of any consequence when he took the Cumberland Lodge Stakes. He raced until the age of five and was then exported to South America where he had moderate success as a breeding stallion.
Ballinode was an Irish racehorse who won the 1925 Cheltenham Gold Cup. She was the first mare and the first Irish-trained horse to win the race. She was known as "The Sligo Mare."
Koko was an Irish racehorse who won the 1926 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He finished third in the race in 1928 when odds-on favourite and fell in 1929. He also ran twice without success in the Grand National.
Patron Saint was a British racehorse who won the 1928 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Easter Hero (1920–1948) was an Irish-bred British-trained racehorse who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1929 and 1930 and made three unsuccessful attempts to win the Grand National. He showed little early promise and was passed from owner to owner before beginning to display ability in 1927. Wins in the Becher Chase and the Coventry Chase established him as a leading steeplechaser and he was bought by Alfred Loewenstein with the aim of winning the National. In his first attempt at the race he fell at the eighth and brought the field to a virtual halt after becoming trapped in the ditch in front of the fence.
Morse Code was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1938 Cheltenham Gold Cup. His Gold Cup victory was achieved at the expense of Golden Miller, who was attempting to win the race for the sixth time. He had previously won the Grand Annual Chase and went on to finish second when odds-on favourite for the Gold Cup in 1939.
Brendan's Cottage (1930–1940) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1939 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his career in flat racing he developed into a top-class steeplechaser and won the Gold Cup by defeating the odds-on favourite Morse Code. He never won again and died a year later at the age of 10.
Roman Hackle was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1940 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After winning several races over hurdles he was switched to steeplechasing in 1939 and made an immediate impact by winning the Broadway Novices' Chase. In the following year he won the Gold Cup as a seven-year-old but did not build on his early promise. In two subsequent bids for the Gold Cup he ran poorly when favourite in 1941 and fell in 1942. His British career ended when National Hunt racing in Britain was suspended in September 1942 but he went on to win races in Ireland.
Poet Prince was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1941 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He had earlier won the Stanley Chase at Aintree and went on to contest two more Gold Cups. He was unplaced when well-fancied in 1942 and finished fourth in 1945 at the age of thirteen.
Medoc II was a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1942 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1938, 1940 and 1941 before defeating a strong field in the Gold Cup but his later career was severely limited by wartime restrictions.
Red Rower was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1945 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He raced during the Second World War when opportunities for National Hunt horses were severely limited. After winning the Lilley Brook Chase in 1940 he finished third to stable companion Poet Prince in his first attempt at the Gold Cup in the following year. In 1942 he won the Grand Annual Chase and started favourite for the Gold Cup but was beaten into second place by Medoc II. On the resumption of National Hunt racing after a two-year break he finally won the Gold Cup at the age of eleven in 1945.
Prince Regent was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1946 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was the dominant steeplechaser in Ireland during World War II with his wins including the Irish Grand National in 1942. After the war he was able to compete in the major British chases and won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1946. He finished third when favourite for the 1946 Grand National and fourth in the race in 1947, carrying top weight on both occasions. He continued to race until the age of fourteen, retiring in 1949.
Fortina (1941–1968) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1947 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was and remains the only entire horse to win the race. After establishing himself as a top-class steeplechaser in France he was sent to England and won the Gold Cup on his second British start. He was then retired to become a breeding stallion and became a very successful sire of National Hunt horses.
Silver Fame was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1951 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After beginning his racing career in Ireland he moved to England and became one of the leading steeplechasers of his time. He won races at the Cheltenham Festival in 1948 and 1950 and ran twice in the Grand National, falling when favourite for the race in 1948. Despite running extremely well at Cheltenham he did not contest the Gold Cup until 1951 when he won the race in record time. He was also the oldest winner of the race up to that time, and remains one of only two horses to win the race at the age of twelve. He spent his retirement as a hunter.
Gay Donald was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1955 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Bred and trained in Wiltshire he made steady progress through the steeplechaseing ranks in the 1953/54 National Hunt season and developed into a top-class performer in the following year. He started a 33/1 outsider for the 1955 Gold Cup but won easily from a strong field. His later career was hampered by injury but he won several more races and finished third in the 1958 Gold Cup before being retired from racing at the age of thirteen.
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.
Roddy Owen was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1959 Cheltenham Gold Cup. After winning several good steeplechases in Ireland he was aimed at the major British races in the 1958/59 National Hunt season. He finished a close second in the King George VI Chase and then started second favourite for the Gold Cup in March. He relished the heavy ground came from a seemingly impossible position at the second last to defeat a strong field which included Linwell, Kerstin and Pas Seul. He finished fourth to Pas Seul in the following year's Gold Cup at the age of eleven.
References
- 1 2 "Red Splash pedigree". Pedigree Online. 2016-03-19. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
- ↑ Red Splash image
- 1 2 "Flight – Family 11-d". Thoroughbred Bloodlines. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
- ↑ "Person Profile : Frederick Withington". Horseracing History Online.
- 1 2 3 Harman, Bob (2000). The Ultimate Dream: The History of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-381-0.
- ↑ Robin Oakley (2014). The Cheltenham Festival: A Centenary History. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 9781781313909.
- ↑ Abelson, Edward; Tyrrel, John (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 978-1-873626-15-3.
- 1 2 Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN 9781901570151.
- ↑ "A head victory for Red Splash". Western Morning News. 13 March 1924. Retrieved 14 November 2015.(Subscription required.)
- ↑ "Racing". New Zealand Herald. 7 May 1924.
