The Coral Cup,
sponsored by Coral since its inauguration in 1993, is run over 2
miles 5 furlongs on the Old Course at Cheltenham. The race is open to
horse aged four years and upwards and is currently scheduled as the
third race on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival in March each
year. The Coral Cup is, in fact, the first handicap hurdle of the
week at the Cheltenham Festival and, along with Vincent O’Brien
County Hurdle run on the fourth and final day, is one of the most
popular betting races.
Of the current crop of
trainers, Philip Hobbs, Nicky Henderson and Gordon Elliot have all
won the Coral Cup twice, but none of them has yet matched the record
of the now-retired Martin Pipe, who saddled Olympian (1993), Big
Strand (1997) and Ilnamar (2002) for a total of three wins. More
recently, leading jockey Davy Russell rode Naiad de Misselot (2008),
Carlito Brigante (2011) and Diamond King (2016), also for a total of
three wins.
No favourite has won
the Coral Cup in the last ten years, but winners at 33/1 (twice),
16/1 (twice), 14/1, 12/1 and 10/1 in that period were accompanied by
three more at 9/1 (twice) and 7/1, so it’s by no means a race in
which fancied horses have a poor record.
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