The Cheltenham Gold Cup is, without question, the race of the Festival, and at three miles and two furlongs, asks for a combination of speed, stamina and accurate jumping upon one of the most grueling of all National Hunt courses.
The list of past winners features horses which did more than simply win this prestigious prize once; Golden Miller remains the yardstick, having achieved five consecutive Gold Cup victories between 1932 and 1936; Arkle dominated through 1964 and 1966, while Best Mate claimed three successive wins through 2002-2004, and Kauto Star achieved the unique distinction of winning in 2007, before coming back and regaining his crown at this meeting in 2009.
Other performances can be championed, for reasons in addition to success. In 1986, Dawn Run became the first horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, while in 1989, desert Orchid overcame adverse ground conditions, and doubts over his left-handedness when beating Yahoo in a thriller, with Norton’s Coin shocking to land the prize at 100-1 in 1990, the greatest ever shock in Gold Cup history.
These winners have now been joined, too by horses from recent renewals; In 2025, on the back of an expensive £25k supplement to the race entry just six days before; seven-year-old Inothewayurthinkin, trained by Gavin Cromwell, ridden by Mark Walsh and owned by Ritchie McLarty made all the running from the front to beat the dual winner Galopin des Champs by six and a half lengths; he became the first supplemented entry to capture the Gold Cup.
In 2026 it was the turn of Gaelic Warrior. Willlie Mullins’ five-year-old travelling like, and jumping, a dream and pulled clear after the third last fence, beating Jango Baie by a comprehensive eight lengths. Inothewayurthinkin grabbed third, and as such, meant Paul Townend recorded his fifth win in the race, and moved Mullins level with Tom Dreaper in the trainers’ championship with five wins.
Now attention begins to turn to the 2027 Cheltenham Gold Cup; there can be no obvious other candidate if Gaelic Warrior lines up at this meeting in the same order of form, the three mile distance suiting him perfectly if he had the stamina, Jango Baie still a massive rival after his second last year and Inothewayurthinkin proving that the distance is not a problem with his excellent Cheltenham performance in 2025 under soft ground, but the race is rarely won on reputation alone, and stamina and accurate jumping remain key factors in finding the ultimate champion, or alternatively, a surprise winner at this year’s Premier National Hunt meeting.