TAKECONTROL
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2016
The 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Timico, featured just nine runners, but was nonetheless a dramatic contest, in which the market leaders came to the fore. The race was won by then 9-year-old Don Cossack, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, trained by Gordon Elliot in Co. Meath and ridden by Bryan Cooper. In fact,…
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Cheltenham Festival Tips: What are the Best Ante-Post Bets?
The 2019/20 National Hunt season is well underway and several exciting contenders have already emerged for the biggest prizes at the Cheltenham Festival in March. The Gold Cup, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle are all up for grabs at the most important and prestigious meeting of the year.…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2015
The 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Betfred, featured 16 runners and had the distinction of being the first to be won by a novice since Captain Christy in 1974. The novice in question, on this occasion, was Coneygree, an 8-year-old gelding bred by the late John Oaksey and trained by his son-in-law Mark Bradstock…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2014
The 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Betfred, featured 13 runners and was a dramatic race with an historic, if controversial, finish. After two false starts, five horses, headed by 11/4 second favourite Silviniaco Conti, still held a chance jumping the final fence. However, on the run to the line, Silviniaco Conti veered right towards…
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Most Competitive Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is, of course, a ‘conditions’ race, in which entire horses and geldings carry the same weight, regardless of their previous form. Consequently, while it would be unfair the ‘Blue Riband’ contest ‘uncompetitive’ on occasions – it is, after all, the most valuable steeplechase of its kind run in Britain – only…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2012
The 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored, for the first time, by Betfred, featured 13 runners and was won by Synchronised, trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by A.P. McCoy. The race also featured the final racecourse appearance by Kauto Star, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the King George VI Chase five times,…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2011
The 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Totesport, was a vintage renewal of the “Blue Riband” event, with three previous winners – Kauto Star, Denman and defending champion Imperial Commander – among the 13 runners. However, it was Long Run, winner of the rearranged King George VI Chase at Kempton in January, who started favourite at…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2010
The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Totesport, featured ten runners and produced a dramatic finish, with odds-on favourite Kauto Star taking a crashing fall at the fourth last fence. Trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh, Kauto Star had won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2007 and 2009 and started 8/11 in…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2009
The 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Totesport, featured 16 runners, but was billed as a rematch between stable companions Denman and Kauto, who had finished first and second in the race in 2008. On that occasion, Denman had fared better of the pair, staying on well in the closing stages to win by 7 lengths.…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2008
The 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Totesport, featured twelve runners, three of which were trained by Paul Nicholls, and a lopsided market, in which bookmakers offered 16/1 bar the first three in the betting at the off. The race was billed, quite rightly, as a match between the defending champion, Kauto Star, and stable…