A
truly magnificent flat season is drawing to a close and it is time
once again to turn our focus to the National Hunt. All eyes will be
on Sizing John as we go into the new season, with fans keen to see if
he can maintain his superb form. Earlier this year he became the
first horse ever to win all three of jump racing’s Gold Cups –
the Irish, Cheltenham and Punchestown. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the
jewel in the crown and it will once again be the standout event of
the season as it has delivered all manner of thrills over the years.
Sizing John is a classy champion, but for all his pizzazz he does not
trouble the list of the top five heroes ever to grace the Cheltenham
turf. Here we run through the record books to present you with the
five greatest horses in Cheltenham history:
5.
Dawn Run
Dawn
Run is the only horse ever to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the
Champion Hurdle, and her achievement is all the more remarkable when
you consider she was a relative novice when she won at the Gold Cup
in 1986. In perhaps the most thrilling battle in the race’s history
went hell for leather against defending champion Forgive ’N Forget
and triple King George winner Wayward Lad, and it was nail-biting
stuff as she rallied to come from well behind and seize a win on the
line. Dawn Run went on to become the most successful mare in National
Hunt history.
4.
Kauto Star
Kauto
Star is an absolute legend among punters following his Cheltenham
heroics. He went off as 5/4 favourite in the 2007 Gold Cup and
overcame a poor jump on the last fence to secure a comfortable
victory. The following year he was 10/11 favourite but looked out of
sorts throughout, succumbing to a seven-length defeat to stablemate
Denman. He was written off as a has-been by many going into the 2009
Gold Cup, but turned the tables on Denman to pull off a remarkable
13-length victory, making him the
only horse to ever regain the Gold Cup.
He could not add to his Gold Cup triumphs, but he won the King George
five times, was the best steeplechase horse of the 2006/07, 2007/08,
2009/10 and 2011/12 seasons, ranked joint third in the all-time
Timeform ratings and achieved the highest Racing Post rating of all
time.
3.
Best Mate
Best
Mate was another favourite among gamblers after he achieved a
sensational hat-trick of Cheltenham Gold Cup wins between 2002 and
2004, costing the bookies a massive amount of money. It was believed
such a feat was impossible in the modern era, but he pulled it off in
style. He was sublime in 2002 and 2003, but in 2004 he put in a
dogged, scrappy performance to hold off a spirited challenge from
25/1 shot Sir Rembrandt and win by half a length, causing the crowd
to erupt with joy.
2.
Golden Miller
The
legendary Golden Miller won the Gold Cup five times in a row between
1932 and 1936 and enjoyed an astonishing career. In 1932 he was just
five years old when he secured his maiden Gold Cup victory, and in
1934 he followed it up by winning the Grand National – a feat never
matched throughout history. He would have been the favourite to win
the 1937 race but it was cancelled due to heavy snowfall, so he
retired with a fantastic record.
1.
Arkle
It
takes a special horse to knock Golden Miller into second place, but
Arkle is the greatest of all time. This brilliant bay gelding ran
with phenomenal power but also jumped with astonishing grace, and he
was unstoppable. In 1964 he went off at 7/4 second favourite in the
Gold Cup, while defending champion Mill House was 8/13, but Arkle
made a mockery of that by securing a five-length victory. In 1965 he
trounced Mill House by 20 lengths, establishing his dominance over
the sport. The following year he was the shortest priced favourite
this race has ever seen and he justified odds of just 1/10 as he won
by 30 lengths, the most emphatic victory Cheltenham has ever seen.
Later that year he was injured and never raced again, but he went
down as officially the greatest steeplechaser in history with a
Timeform rating of 112.
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