Author Archives: G C

History

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the highlight and culmination of the Cheltenham Festival in March every year. The blue ribald event is sponsored by Timico and attracts the finest in horse steeplechase sporting. It is run over a distance of 5331 meters where 22 fences have to be jumped. Participating horses have to be 5 years old.

Course

The classic horse race takes place in the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse, England.

Past winners

In 1934 the Golden Miller set the pace by being the first to emerge victorious in both the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, all in the same season. All the winners over the past 18 years have been nine years
old and under. Cool Dawn was the last 10 year old to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1996 as there race did not take place in 2001.

In morethan half a century, Long Run hasbeen the only winner aged 6. The last before him was Mill House in 1953. Nine of the last 15 winners of this Gold Cup have had a BHA rating of 170+ while the previous 16 winners when going into the race were already Grade One winners. In the Cup’s storied past, just 7 animals have aced the race twice. The two time winner was Kauto Star between 2007 and 2009. Sizing John is bidding to win back to back Gold Cups. Other horses that received the cup twice or  more are L’Escargot between 1970 and 1971, Arkle in 1964, 1965 and 1966, Cottage Rake in 1948, 1949 and 1950, Golden Miller in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 and 1936 as well as Easter Hero in 1929 and 1930.

Prize Fund

In Britain, the Randox Health Grand National is the only non-handicap race that is worth more than the Cheltenham Gold Cup, whose prize fund is valued at £625,000. The Grade 1 races at this festival run are especially very rewarding. The Cheltenham festival fetches £100,000,000 for Gloucestershire annually. In 2018, the record headline prize money on offer at the Festival is £4,590,000

St Leger Stakes is regarded as one of the world’s oldest classic races. It was founded by Anthony St Leger, who was a politician and an army officer in the 18th century. St Leger is a grade 1 race, and is strictly meant for horses aged three years and above. While racing, the horses cover a total distance of 2,921 meters. The flat race was first run way back in 1776, and is sponsored by William Hill. It is scheduled for every September and run on the left-handed track of Doncaster racecourse. It was widely known as a Sweepstake of 25 Guineas in the past.

The race was first recorded in 1776, and among the five Britain’s classic races it is run the last with it covering the longest distance as compared to the rest. It was first run at Cantley Common, and the winner was a racehorse that was owned by the event’s organizer. In 1777, the race became officially known as St Leger after a meeting held in the same year to discuss the next year’s race. The first horse to win was Champion, being ridden by Frank Buckle. In 1813, its distance was cut down to 1 mile and 6 furlongs. In 1989, the race was moved to Ayr racecourse, then to York in 2006. It was later brought back to Doncaster. It has developed a number of its clones over the past years, Irish St Lager and St Lager Italiano being examples.

Last year, Capri emerged the winner, followed by Crystal Ocean and Stradivarius in the second and third positions respectively. The leading jockey of all times is Bill Scott, with a total of 9 wins. The first prize money to be won amounted to 396,970 Euros. This has been increasing significantly over the years, and last year, the prize money for St Leger Stakes was 700,000 Euros.

About

This is biggest horse racing event in France and among the most prominent ones in Europe. The Group 1 race features thoroughbreds aged 3 years and overs. The annual event takes place at Longchamp and covers 2,400 meters (about 1 miles). In 2016 and 2017, the event was held at Chantilly as Longchamp underwent renovation and is expected to return this year.

History

Under the Société d’Encouragement, races in France were only open to the fames thorroughbreds born as well as bred in the country and proceeded to inaugurate Grand Prix in 1863. Three decades later, the body introduced Prix Conseil and allowed international participation.

In January 1920, the country’s horseracing proposed the establishment of a race that would lay a level playing ground for all the horses. Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was born. In October the same year, the first race was run and Comrade, ridden by Frank Bullock, won and pocketed 150,000 francs.

Records

The most successful horses at Prix debl’Arc de Triomphe have won the race twice. Ksar was the first one to do it in
1921 and 1922 while the most recent to do so was Treve in 2013 and 2014.

Frankie Dettori remains the mostnsuccessful jockey at the event with five wins. He has finished at the top
position in 1995, 2001, 2002, 2015, and 2017. In his first win, he was riding Lammtarra.

Past winners

On October 1, 2017, Frankie Dettori won ‎€5,000,000 in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly. Dettori rode the British-trained Enable to record his fifth win at the race. It was a magical performance that surely writes the jockey and his horse to folklore.

The world’s richest race ran on turf has been held every year since 1920 except during the WWII in 1939 and 1940. Other winners in this race include Found in 2016, ridden by Ryan Moore. Thierry Jarnet recorded two wins in 2013 and 2014 riding Treve.

About

Dubai World Cup is a yearly Thoroughbred horse race held at Meydan Racecourse, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 2000-meter Group 1 flat race is run on a dirt surface and takes place on the last Saturday of every March.

History

In 1981, Shaikh Muhammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum organized the first thoroughbred race in Dubai. Only the splint, one mile, and one and a half mile races were run. Dubai World Cup officially started in 1996 with jockey Jelly Bailey winning the first race while riding Cigar.

In the early years, the competition had prize money of $4 million. In 2010, it was raised to $10 million, making it the world’s richest horse race. However, in 2017, the tournament lost the prestigious title to Pegasus World Cup.

 

Between 2010 and 2014, the Dubai World Cup was held on an all-weather surface called Tapeta. However, it was
expensive to maintain and was not popular among American racers. In 2015 however, the race reverted to the dirt
surface.

The 2006 live broadcast of the event by TVG Network and HRTV was the first time it showed on American national television.

Record

Jelly Bailey is the most successful jockey at the event, winning four times. He won with four different horses namely
Cigar (1996), Singspiel (1997), Captain Steve (2001), and Street Cry (2002).

African Story has the speed record on a synthetic surface when he took 2:01.61 minutes at Meydan Racecourse in
2014. The 2018 winner, Thunder Snow, has the speed record on a dirt surface after taking 2:01.38 minutes.

Past Winners

Given that Dubai World Cup is a young race compared to other tournaments such as the Melbourne Cup and Kentucky Derby, there is a good explanation as to why no horse has ever won it twice. Christophe Soumillon won this year’s event riding while riding Thunder Snow. The most recent winners at the competition are Arrogate (2017), California Chrome (2016), Prince Bishop (2015), and African Story (2014) by jockeys Mike E. Smith, Victor Espinoza, William Buick, and Silvestre de Sousa respectively.