The Greatest Cheltenham Gold Cup Winners

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is considered the pinnacle event of the National Hunt season. In short, it’s one of the most important dates in horse racing in the world. Some of the greatest horses have run the race and immortalised their names in the history books for eternity. The Grade I race is run on the New Course at the Cheltenham Racecourse and is 3 miles 2 furlongs and 70 yards long. It features 22 fences and is a steeplechase, which is one of the most popular distance horse race types in the world. In this article, we’ll mention some of the greatest Cheltenham Gold Cup winners. We’ll also include a couple of odds for this year’s favourites.

If we go back in time, the first Gold Cup took place in 1819. However, it was completely different from the race we know today. It was a flat race, the most ancient and basic form of horse racing. The racecourse was also shorter. The event was inaugurated in 1924 and became a jumps race in the same year. Meaning the 100th anniversary is almost here. During its early years, the Gold Cup wasn’t that popular with the festival-goers. It was even abandoned a couple of times in the 1930s. The “new” era began in 1959 as the race moved to the New Course. The popular Tote became the sponsor of the event only in 1980. During both eras of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, some of the greatest winners of all time emerged from the masses.

The Most Successful Winners in Gold Cup History

The most successful racehorse of the Gold Cup lived in the old era of the event. Enter Golden Miller from Ireland, who won the title five times. To make this an even more impressive feat, he did it all in consecutive years. He’s also the only horse in history to win both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same year. Golden Miller lived from 1927 until 1957. His owner, Dorothy Paget, was also the most successful owner of all time, mainly thanks to Golden Miller’s accomplishments.

The legendary horse made his steeplechase debut at four years old, in 1931. His record is 29 wins from 52 races. Golden Miller’s Gold Cup record will remain untouched for a long time. Tied for second place are Cottage Rake (48-50) and Arkle (63-65), both having won the race three times. 

While Arkle is not the most successful horse in Gold Cup history, his jockey was. Pat Taaffe won four titles as a jockey, three of those which came with Arkle. The two are often mentioned in the same sentence, as their racing career was truly remarkable. Both horse and rider hailed from Ireland, adding to the long list of champions from the island. The most successful trainer is also connected to Arkle. Tom Dreaper, also Irish, has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup five times as a trainer. Arkle is also responsible for three of those wins. His other two wins are thanks to Prince Regent in 1946 and Fort Leney in 1968. The Dreaper name has become a household name in horse racing since then. Brown Lad, Ten Up, Merry Gale, Harcon, Flying Bolt were also some of the more successful racehorses from the Dreapers.

This Year’s Odds For the Main Event Keep Changing

Online sportsbook sites in the UK will give more or less similar odds for this year’s favourites. Sure there will be some differences but nothing too serious. A Plus Tard has the favour of the experts with 4.00 odds. This will usually vary between 25%-29% on some sites.

Next in line is Galvin with odds varying between 5.00 and 4.50. Recent Gold Cup winners Minella Indo and Al Boum Photo are third and fourth, respectively. Minella Indo won the 2021 race with 9/1 starting odds which is 10.00 in decimals. This year his chances are a bit better at 6.50 or 5.5/1. Al Boum Photo is the only horse that won the race multiple times since Best Mate between 2002-2004. As the winner of the 2019 and 2020 Gold Cup, the odds for him this year are 9.00 or 8/1 on Bet365 Sportsbook.

Detailed odds and betting options are available for all 28 races at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. There will be hundreds of racers and even bigger prizes. If you want a bit more detail regarding the Gold Cup, check out our 2022 Cheltenham betting odds. Horse racing is amazing because of many things. The competition is also great because the odds for the favourites constantly change, which depends on recent performances as well. These types of races can present some great betting opportunities as you see even last year’s winner had 10.00 odds of winning. All you need is some luck, of which there will be plenty on Saint Patrick’s Day, we’re sure of it.

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