History of the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the National Hunt calendar and one of the most prestigious National Hunt events. Filled with top quality racing which attracts the best trainers, horses and jockeys in the business, it never disappoints in providing top quality racing entertainment.

The thrill of professional quality horse racing is almost impossible to convey in words, especially to someone who has not been fortunate enough to experience the thrill of the racing festival but is certainly one to be experienced first-hand. 

Best Moments

There are so many moments of the Cheltenham Festival every year that provide some of the best memoirs of racing history.

As past Cheltenham Festival winners go, Best Mate is one of the most famous, he even has an enclosure at Cheltenham Racecourse named in his honour.

Best Mate’s Cheltenham Festival story started in 2002 (although he had won at the November Cheltenham meeting in 1999). At the Cheltenham Races in 2002, he stormed home to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup by over a length. The following year, Best Mate proved his class when he took the title of the Gold Cup for the second year in a row by over ten lengths. 2004 witnessed his hat-trick of Gold Cup wins, making Best Mate only the fourth ever horse to win the prestigious race three times. He was steered to victory each time by ex-jockey Jim Culloty.

Michael Dickinson is regarded as a genius and in 1983 he trained the first five horses’ home in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was Bregawn, and a fresh-faced Graham Bradley, that won the race for the then Harewood trainer, with stablemates Captain John, Wayward Lad, the 1982 hero Silver Buck and Ashley House completing the next four places.

Istabraq is another past Cheltenham winning legend. Now retired, the famous hurdler won the Champion Hurdle on three occasions, from 1998, 1999 and 2000. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and owned by J.P McManus, Charlie Swan rode him to victory on all three occasions.

In 2012 trainer Nicky Henderson had the most successful week of his career when he trained seven winners to victory at the Cheltenham Festival. The trainer commented post-Festival that the ride Barry Geraghty gave Riverside Theatre to win the Ryanair Chase in outstanding style was one of his favourites.

It was also a fantastic Cheltenham Festival for one of Henderson’s Irish stable lads named as Conor Murphy. A couple of months previous to the 2012 Cheltenham Races he placed an accumulator bet for 5 horses from his employers yard to win and when the long shot bet paid off he received a life changing sum of money, rumoured to have been worth the value of £1 million!

Arkle’s 1964 Gold Cup is another past winner at the Cheltenham Races that deserves a mention. He won the prestigious Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival consecutively from 1964, 1965 and 1966. With many other wins to his name, Arkle became a national legend in Ireland. His skeleton still stands at the National Stud in Kildare, Ireland.

Big Buck made his mark as a famous past Cheltenham winner in 2012. Now retired, Big Buck was trained by Paul Nicholls and at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival Big Buck made Cheltenham history by winning four consecutive world hurdles, confirming his status as the greatest stayer in hurdler in history.

As past Cheltenham winners go, we cannot forget to mention Kauto Star. The Cheltenham Festival of 2009 witnessed the Paul Nicholls trained Kauto Star, win the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the second time. He is the only horse to ever regain the Gold Cup (he first won in 2007), lost out at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival to Denman but came back in style in 2009 to win under Ruby Walsh.

Shocks of the Cheltenham Festival

As one of the biggest National Hunt stages in the world, the Cheltenham Festival is no stranger to big shocks. A winner at 100/1 is rarely heard of at any race meeting however in 1990 Norton’s Coin did just that. Trained by Sirrell Griffiths, the Welsh dairy farmer had just two horses that he trained himself, however against all the odds he timed his run to the perfect finish to beat the famous Desert Orchard.

The 2013 RSA Chase winner Lord Windermere is another celebratory Cheltenham story. Trained by ex-jockey, turned trainer, Jim Culloty, who partnered Best Mate on all three occasions to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Lord Windermere became the county Cork based trainer’s fourth and final Gold Cup win. It was a three way race and although a steward’s enquiry followed, the victory was awarded to Davy Russell and Lord Windermere who set off at 33/1.

The 2015 shock of the Festival had to be Annie Power and Ruby Walsh’s tumble at the last fence in the OLBG Mares Hurdle. The 5/2 favourite was well clear and heading for victory when she took a hard fall but fortunately both horse and jockey were okay afterward. The fall saved the bookmakers roughly a £40 million pay-out.

The 2018 Ryanair Chase saw the shocking result of favourite Un De Sceaux beaten by Balko Des Flos. The Galway Plate winner breezed home to win his first Grade 1 for trainer Henry de Bromhead and overall was a famous upset the Cheltenham public winning with such ease and style.   

The Cheltenham Festival 2019

The Cheltenham Races 2019 turned out to be Ruby Walsh’s last Festival. Although the media speculated, it was still a shock to the race goers once announced at Punchestown.

Paisley Park returning to the winners’ enclosure was the highlight of the 2019 Cheltenham Races for so many. Owner Andrew Gemmell has been blind since birth, so although unable to see the race he was able to still feel the magic surround him at Cheltenham Racecourse when his very own Paisley Park saw off Sam Spinner to win the Stayers hurdle. Trained by Emma Lavelle and ridden by Aidan Coleman gave both their first Grade 1 win after years of trying.

Frodon and Bryony Frost winning the Ryanair Chase was one of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival highlights. The young jockey truly deserved her Cheltenham glory with a horse she loves so dearly.

Grand National hero Tiger Roll has had great success at the Cheltenham Races. The Gordon Elliot trained gelding stands at just 16 hands, but has won the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2017 and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase two years running, in 2017 and 2018.

The talented chaser that is Altior put on a performance once more at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival to storm home in the Champion Chase and continue his fabulous record. He has now won at four consecutive Cheltenham Festivals and matched Big Buck’s record of 18 wins in a row.

Espoir D’Allen won the 2019 Champion Hurdle at Chetlenham Racecourse, at odds of 16/1, coming home fifteen lengths clear of his nine opponents. He was joint owned by J.P. McManus and Walter Connors. Sadly the owners lost the talented five year old last August after he injured his shoulder while exercising at home, making his Cheltenham victory all the more special the spring previous.

After years of trying, Willie Mullins finally claimed his first Gold Cup victory in 2019 when Al Boum Photo was steered to Cheltenham victory by Paul Towend.

For more racing entertainment, don’t miss out on any of the action from the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, which takes place from March 10th to March 13th.