#Gold Cup Day

7 February 2022 By Roger Kennedy [email protected] Starting on Tuesday, 15 March and continuing till Friday, 18 March, the Cheltenham Festival is almost upon us. If you want to get your ante post bets in, now is likely the best time to start picking your horses for each race. Of course, you will need some information on the favourites to win major…

Sheikh Mohammed winning the Champion Hurdle with a horse who'd been first past the post in the Gold Cup at Ascot... Barry Hills and Robert Sangster combining to land the Stayers' Hurdle... Saeed Manana's silks carried to victory in the Sun Alliance Hurdle and a Gold Cup that caused such a rumpus it ended with a Jockey Club Enquiry at Portman Square…

After a week of action, elation, tears and turmoil, the Cheltenham Festival concluded with the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is one of the richest races in Britain, and this year's crown went to A Plus Tard as Rachael Blackmore created history. Blackmore had a dream 2021 though she made the decision to go with A Plus Tard last year when stablemate Minella…

It's the big day of Royal Ascot week and Frankie Dettori's mount Stradivarius bids to win a third Gold Cup at 3.35pm. Follow for live updates, tips and reaction History could be made at Royal Ascot, when Stradivarius races for a third Gold Cup. Only two horses have managed it before, Sagaro the first to complete the hat-trick from 1975 to…

All eyes were on the course as Day Three of Cheltenham Festival got underway. That wet course has had more rain overnight, and the going already described as tacky by some jockeys yesterday. After a fourth Coronavirus case was confirmed in Gloucestershire yesterday, racegoers can can expect increased hygiene measures, including extra hand sanitizer…

Twice early in its history the Cheltenham Gold Cup fell foul of the weather, both times in the 1930s. The atrocious winter of 1962/63 abated just in time for Cheltenham to go ahead as normal that March but snow on the final day of the 1978 Festival resulted in that year's Gold Cup, won by Midnight Court, being postponed four weeks until…

After finishing second on the card 12 months ago in the Grade Two Ballymore Leamington Novices' Hurdle, the gelded son of Reliable Man is now in contention for a return to the track at the same level for a tilt at the £55000 prize. Any success at Pattern-race level comes with an added significance. However, victory for Gentleman At Arms would be…

What a week it has been! The racing has been phenomenal, the weather largely clear and most crucially of all, fans were back where they belong on the terraces. Cheltenham felt like it was truly back this week as a result. See you in 2023! It's the seventh Irish-trained winner from seven races on Friday! Mark McDonagh did an excellent job steering…

Racing expert Kevin Blake was the toast of many punters yesterday when his three selections won at the Cheltenham Festival. Blake picked Mrs Milner (12/1) in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle, Telmesomethinggirl (6/1) in the Mares' Novice Hurdle and Mount Ida (9/2) in the Kim Muir Handicap Chase. One punter from Waterford wagered a €20 each-way treble…

The most anticipated meeting of the Flat racing season gets underway on Tuesday for the first of five days of Royal Ascot 2014. Quality races are guaranteed as the Queen Anne Stakes starts things off, before the Queen Alexandra Stakes eventually closes out proceedings on Saturday afternoon. There is at least one Group 1 race on each day of the…

The Cheltenham Festival is back this month and here's everything you need to know about the major horse racing event One of Britain's favourite showpiece horse racing events is just around the corner as the Cheltenham Festival is back to provide four days of enthralling jump racing. Cheltenham Racecourse will welcome the UK and Ireland's most…

Coronavirus fears have not dampened spirits when it comes to Cheltenham Festival and as Day Two gets underway it is all about the outfits as much as the action on the course. It is Ladies' Day in Cheltenham and the racecourse will match the catwalks when it comes to fashion, from tweed to feathers and everything in between. On the course all eyes…

Reach For The Moon: favourite for the Hampton Court Stakes Bookmakers are bracing themselves for a royal victory on day three at Royal Ascot, with success for the Queen's Reach For The Moon in the Hampton Court Stakes (5.35) set to trigger a £50000 ante-post payout for Star Sports. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Reach For The Moon is a general…

Tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to return to the Cheltenham Festival, after no crowds in 2021. Willie Mullins and Rachael Blackmore are two of the big names chasing winners Chris Hughes takes a tour of Dan Skelton's racing stables before Cheltenham Fans are counting down the days to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. One of the biggest weeks…

Baaeed completed his preparation for his bid to go out undefeated at Ascot - just as his predecessor Frankel did ten years ago - with one easy canter behind his lead horse on Warren Hill on Friday morning. His rider and groom Ricky Hall reported the four-year-old to be "really good" on walking back to the yard where three or four photographers…

The French racing community collectively love Ascot like no other fixture outside their own borders and will be on the royal racecourse in force to prove it this week. In fact the powers that be at France Galop are so enamoured of the meeting that they schedule nothing above Listed status on the Flat in opposition, allowing everyone to focus on the…

Wednesday was one of the wettest days seen at a festival and, after watering on Tuesday night, the ground was in a near unraceable state by the time they ran the bumper. We had a drying day on Thursday and the switch to the New course also helped, but it still seems fair to assume the going will be testing for the traditional Gold Cup day…

Ladies' Day this year will better resemble what Royal Ascot is world famous for: fashion, pomp and pageantry as the crowd - despite limited in number - make up for lost time in terms of putting on their finery to match the best flat racing in the world. This is also the moment of the week when Her Majesty The Queen, if she does decide to go to the…

Well, time to round up our live coverage from an epic four days. From the moment Constitution Hill romped home to huge cheers in the opening race on Tuesday, the action and atmosphere have both been electric. It's been a pleasure keeping you all updated and thank you so much for following. It has been a Festival for the ages. Last year, crowds…

John Gosden and Frankie Dettori: the pair joined forces in 2015 They were only together for seven years, but the Frankie Dettori-John Gosden partnership became a part of racing furniture. However, it was announced late on Friday that their high-profile relationship "is on sabbatical" . Here is a look at their time together. . . March 2015 Frankie…

Sky-rocketing hotel prices during Cheltenham Festival week are up as much as 1185 per cent from standard rates with a four-night stay costing at least £2810 with leading hotel chains during jump racing's biggest event. The chairman of the Horseracing Bettors Forum (HBF), a body representing the interests of punters, criticised hotels for taking…

ROYAL ASCOT is finally here - and it's a huge event for many reasons. The style and pageantry put it amongst the top sporting days out for Brits - topped off by the opportunity to see the Queen. Last year was just the second time Her Majesty missed the event in her 70-year reign, with the pandemic ruling her out of 2020 too. With the world just…

Gold Cup day at Ayr saw one of the most valuable sprint handicaps in Europe take place in Scotland. Khanjar was sent off a hot favourite for honours but neither he nor 2021 winner Bielsa were to fire this afternoon and off a fast pace that he truly loves, it was Summerghand that was to add another big prize to his impressive roll of honour at odds…

SIR ALEX FERGUSON, the legendary Manchester United manager, will again be present at the Cheltenham Festival this year. And Fergie is being tipped to land a whopping £250000 windfall at Prestbury Park! The Manchester United great is one of the co-owners of superstar chaser Protektorat, his sole charge this year. Trained by Dan Skelton, the…

Reigning champion Minella Indo will be hoping to make it successive Gold Cup wins toward the end of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, but will face plenty of competition from the likes of last year's National Hunt Chase winner Galvin and previous two-time winner of this race Al Boum Photo. That all comes after four full days of racing though, with…

There was a remarkable winner at Ayr on Tuesday when Lisloran gave trainer Russell Ross his first winner under rules in the 2m4½f handicap chase (2.40), having been backed from 66-1 to 100-30. The six-year-old, who ran in his trainer's blue quartered silks and red cap, had been 66-1 as late as 9.17am on Tuesday morning according to Paddy Power. He…

RACHAEL BLACKMORE has cemented her place as Queen of Cheltenham with victory in the Gold Cup. Grand National winner Blackmore was second in the prestigious race last year in the Gold Cup and has gone one better in front of the returning punters this year. All eyes were on Prestbury Park for one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. The…

Constitution Hill: clears the last on the way to an impressive return win Constitution Hill produced everything you would want to see in a potential Champion Hurdle winner, 20-time champion jump jockey Sir Anthony McCoy said on Saturday. Making his seasonal reappearance and having his first outing in open company after an outstanding novice season,…

Saturday's Coral Gold Cup (3.05), formerly known as the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Ladbrokes Trophy in recent years, is the flagship event of Newbury's jumps calendar - but who is the likeliest winner of the £250000 handicap based on previous trends? High-class horses such as Denman, Bobs Worth and Native River have won this race en route to…

channel to stay up to date on the latest in marketing Nico de Boinville Cheltenham rides are once again about quality over quantity at the Festival this year. That has been something of a hallmark of his career, so here we look at six of the best hopes he gets the leg up on. No British jockey apart from De Boinville is really in the hunt for the…

This race has provided the launchpad to Champion Hurdle-winning campaigns for Brave Inca and Hurricane Fly. State Man - according to the market - is the likeliest candidate to follow the same path from this year's Morgiana Hurdle. Just five go to post for Ireland's opening Grade 1 hurdle of the season, but it still presents an opportunity for us to…

Its been a pretty hectic month for Paddy what with his Pick 5 giveaways and pay out on Jonbon to win the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival - but is he finished? No he's not. Because the big man is front-and-centre again at Cheltenham on Saturday as the main sponsor of the feature race, the Paddy Power Gold Cup. Woof! And a card of such…

We have four bets for Saturday's racing at Cheltenham. It's Paddy Power Gold Cup day at Cheltenham racecourse on Saturday afternoon and four races will take place in front of the ITV racing cameras with the feature contest going off at 14:20. Our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the four live races and picks out his best bet for each race…

Go for GALVIN in the Cheltenham Gold Cup as the Festival reaches its grand finale. Gordon Elliott, already with a winner of the feature on his CV, looks to have an ideal candidate. The son of Gold Well has stamina in abundance - and scooped the National Hunt Chase prize at last year's meeting. A narrow verdict over A Plus Tard at Leopardstown over…

This year's Royal Ascot is set to be the most cosmopolitan in the meeting's history, with a record number of overseas challengers set to be on show. As always, the quality is staggering this year, with at least one Group 1 race on each of the five days of action. There are three Group 1 races on the opening day alone, with Tuesday's Queen Anne…

CHELTENHAM Festival - horse racing's biggest meeting - will remain over four days after bosses scrapped plans for a controversial fifth. An extensive consultation has been held on the benefit of adding an extra day's racing from 2024. But, citing the'uncertain economic' times and fears of the impact more races would have on the track, the Festival…

Rachael Blackmore can make history and win her first Cheltenham Gold Cup riding A Plus Tard. Henry De Bromhead's chaser, second last year, was extremely impressive in the Betfair Chase at the start of the season. He was then pipped by Galvin, when Blackmore probably hit the front a little sooner than ideal against a strong stayer, at…

CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL week is one of the biggest betting events of the entire year. Around £500 million is staked across the four days, meaning it can be a make-or-break week for the bookies. No other race meeting has the same sort of lively antepost market like the Festival - some of next year's races will be priced up within minutes of the runners…

The Cheltenham Festival accounted for 25 of the top 40 betting races with Ladbrokes Coral It is the week that dwarfs all others in jump racing and, according to the turnover leaderboard for 2018 revealed by Ladbrokes and Coral, the Cheltenham Festival is growing ever-more dominant in the minds of betting shop customers too. In the first list of top…

Teddy Blue (right): could head to the Greatwood Hurdle next Friday: Fontwell Teddy Blue was trimmed by bookmakers for next Sunday's Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle after a commanding success in the 2m1½f maiden hurdle for father-and-son combination Gary and Jamie Moore. The headstrong four-year-old was no match for Vauban when tenth in the Triumph…

THE bookies fear the Queen's star horse Reach For The Moon could end up costing them the crown jewels at Royal Ascot. The exciting three-year-old colt, trained by John Gosden, has been hammered in the betting for the Hampton Court Stakes on Thursday. He was as big as 11-4 a little over a week ago but is now a red-hot 4-5 favourite with…

Galvin: quality chaser bids to build on a solid return to action at Punchestown last month Saturday's feature race at Down Royal is the Ladbrokes Champion Chase (2.32), in which Galvin heads the betting. Can the Gordon Elliott-trained chaser win a second Grade 1 or will one of his high-class rivals, including stablemate Conflated, spoil the party?…

Those big black eyes set on the white face, ears pricked, first planted themselves in the public imagination 30 midwinters ago, when Desert Orchid turned Boxing Day at Kempton Park into his own Christmas parade. There was a huge roar as the front-running silver blade carrying Simon Sherwood cleared the final fence. Victory in the King George VI…

Two of the crown jewels in the West Country racing calendar are combining for the first time this weekend - with a star-studded equine line-up helping the region take centre stage. The idea of creating the "double" was a Jockey Club initiative that has seen Exeter's Haldon Cup Day move from its traditional Tuesday slot to a Friday, joining it onto…

Royal Ascot week is upon us, with thousands of people descending on the Ascot racecourse to witness Europe's oldest and most storied horse racing event. Sometimes considered to be more of a social event, the Royal Ascot brings the finest horses in British flat horse racing together for a week of non-stop action in the shadow of Windsor Castle. With…

Gordon Elliott's domination of Down Royal's two-day festival looks almost guaranteed to continue after the trainer declared a host of his most talented troops for battle at the track on Friday. Among them are leading Cheltenham contenders American Mike and Mighty Potter. Some 15 of the 28 races staged at the meeting over the last two years have…

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest meetings in the National Hunt calendar and the 2022 edition has been another thriller. Henry de Bromhead's Minella Indo and jockey Jack Kennedy claimed glory in Cheltenham's showpiece race, The Gold Cup, last year. The 9/1 runner beat A Plus Tard, who had Rachael Blackmore on board, to clinch the title…

Harry Allwood shares his verdict on each contender in Saturday's bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, live on Racing TV, plus reveals who he is siding with. Vote for your favourite renewal of the Charlie Hall Chase from the three options above for your chance to win a pair of tickets to Cheltenham Gold Cup Day! We are in for a treat on Saturday with Grade…

LEGENDARY racehorse Rock of Gibraltar - central to the Glazers' takeover of Manchester United - has died aged 23. The 2002 European Horse of the Year passed away with heart failure, Coolmore Stud revealed earlier today. Rock of Gibraltar will be remembered on the track for his record-breaking seven consecutive Group 1 wins in the Northern…