A History of the Cheltenham Festival

For many horse racing fans, the Cheltenham Festival is the highlight of the calendar, taking place in mid-March each year, it’s become world-renowned, with multiple Grade One races, alongside the lucrative and infamous Gold Cup.

The Cheltenham Festival has a long and illustrious history, with fans flocking to Cheltenham Racecourse for over 160 years.

 

The Origins Of The Cheltenham Festival

Since 1860 horse racing fans up and down the country have stopped for a few days to get all the latest racing tips across the festival.

The festival itself actually originates in Market Harborough, over 80 miles east of Cheltenham, with the National Hunt Chase the main event in a festival known as the Grand National Hunt Meeting.

Over the early years, it took place at a number of different locations before settling down at Warwick Racecourse at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1904 and the following year, it was held at Cheltenham’s Prestbury Park, before moving back to Warwick. As the Cheltenham racecourse began to expand though, with new stands and paddock improvements, in 1911 the festival returned to Cheltenham and it has remained there ever since.

The Stayers’ Hurdle was first run in 1912, and is the oldest championship race that still remains at the festival to this day.

The famous Gold Cup didn’t emerge until 1924, initially as a race to support the County Hurdle. However, it wasn’t long before it became a championship race in its own race, first used as preparation for the Grand National, before becoming one of the star attractions of the season.

Over the years, there have been many notable events at the festival. In 1983, Caroline Beasley became the first female jockey to win at Cheltenham, in the Foxhunter Chase.

As the years went on, further records were broken, while in 2001 the event was completely cancelled due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, while the festival became the centre of attention in 2020 at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Notable Cheltenham Festival Races

Today there are many notable Cheltenham Festival races and the schedule is now full of Grade One races each and every day of it.

Among the most notable races across the Cheltenham Festival are:

Tuesday:

• Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
• Arkle Challenge Trophy
• Champion Hurdle
• David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle

Wednesday:

• Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle
• Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase
• Queen Mother Champion Chase
• Champion Bumper

Thursday:

• Golden Miller Novices’ Chase
• Festival Trophy
• Stayers’ Hurdle

Friday:

• Triumph Hurdle
• Spa Novices’ Hurdle
• Cheltenham Gold Cup

 

Previous Cheltenham Gold Cup Winners

There have been some terrific runs in the Gold Cup over the years, with the 2022 run seeing Rachael Blackmore become the first female to ever lift the trophy aloft on A Plus Tard, securing two successive winners for trainer Henry De Bromhead.

Golden Miller will forever go down as a legendary racehorse, and is the most successful in the Gold Cup’s long history, winning the race in five consecutive years between 1932 and 1936.

In the last few decades, Best Mate is the only horse that has come close to that, winning three consecutive races in the early 2000s, while Kauto Star and Al Boum Photo both have two titles in recent years, the latter winning consecutively in 2019 and 2020.

Below you’ll find the most recent winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, alongside the rider and trainer…

Year	Horse	Odds	Jockey	Trainer
2022	A Plus Tard	3/1 F	Rachael Blackmore	Henry De Bromhead
2021	Minella Indo	9/1	Jack Kennedy	Henry De Bromhead
2020	Al Boum Photo	10/3 F	Paul Townend	Willie Mullins
2019	Al Boum Photo	12/1	Paul Townend	Willie Mullins
2018	Native River	5/1	Richard Johnson	Colin Tizzard
2017	Sizing John	7/1	Robbie Power	Jessica Harrington
2016	Don Cossack	9/4 F	Bryan Cooper	Gordon Elliott
2015	Coneygree	7/1	Nico De Boinville	Mark Bradstock
2014	Lord Windermere	20/1	Davy Russell	Jim Culloty
2013	Bobs Worth	11/4 F	Barry Geraghty	Nicky Henderson

 

Top Jockeys At Cheltenham

Wins at Cheltenham don’t come easy, but a number of jockeys have made a habit of it, most notably Ruby Walsh, who has a total of 59 Cheltenham winners across his career, more than any other jockey in history.

He’s finished top jockey at the festival a total of 11 times, with no rider really coming close to that.

Below you’ll find the top jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival over the last 10 years…

Year	Jockey	No. of Wins
2022	Paul Townend	5
2021	Rachael Blackmore	6
2020	Paul Townend	5
2019	Nico De Boinville	3
2018	Davy Russell	4
2017	Ruby Walsh	4
2016	Ruby Walsh	7
2015	Ruby Walsh	4
2014	Ruby Walsh	3
2013	Ruby Walsh	4

 

Leading Trainers At Cheltenham

Of course, plenty goes into making a winner, and some trainers have a real knack for it. Willie Mullins is the most successful trainer in the festival’s history, with a total of 88 winners across it.

He’s won the Gold Cup twice, with Al Boum Photo, while it’s the Champion Bumper that’s his favourite race, winning it 12 times between 1996 and 2022.

Mullins consistently picks up top trainer at Cheltenham, with only Gordon Elliott breaking that monopoly over the last decade…

Year	Trainer	No. of Wins
2022	Willie Mullins	10
2021	Willie Mullins	6
2020	Willie Mullins	7
2019	Willie Mullins	4
2018	Gordon Elliott	8
2017	Gordon Elliott	6
2016	Willie Mullins	7
2015	Willie Mullins	8
2014	Willie Mullins	4
2013	Willie Mullins	5

 

Where To Bet On The Cheltenham Festival 2023

The Cheltenham Festival is forever evolving and once again we expect a fantastic year in 2023, with the likes of Rachael Blackmore, Willie Mullins and Henry De Bromhead looking to pick up further wins across the week.

Here at That’s A Goal we pride ourselves on bringing you all the very best odds, pundit picks and free bets, with our dedicated Cheltenham Festival Betting page, the perfect place for you to get all the information you need.

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