Coral Gold Cup 2024

The Coral Gold Cup, established in 1957, is a prestigious Premier Handicap race for horses aged four and older. Held at Newbury Racecourse, it covers approximately three and a quarter miles and features twenty-one fences. This annual event typically takes place in late November or early December.

Coral Gold Cup Overview

The Coral Gold Cup is a fiercely contested handicap race at Newbury racecourse, nearly three and a quarter miles long, attracting fields of over a dozen competitors—twenty horses lined up in 2023. With a prize pot exceeding £140,000 for the winner, it highlights significant competition.

Last season, Mahler Mission attempted to lead most of the way but was ultimately overtaken by Datsalrightgino in the final stretch. The race is considered a crucial trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it has seen triumphs from notable champions like Carruthers, Bob’s Worth, and Denman. Historically, lighter-weight runners have had the advantage, as only four of the last ten winners carried more than eleven stone.

Coral Gold Cup Betting Trends and Statistics

In the last two decades, Nicky Henderson has been the most successful trainer in the Coral Gold Cup, securing three victories with Trabolgan (2005), Bobs Worth (2012), and Triolo D’Alene (2013). Paul Nicholls is the only other trainer with multiple wins (two). Conversely, trainers such as Nigel Twiston-Davies, Philip Hobbs, and Neil Mulholland have struggled, failing to produce a single winner in twenty renewals, making their runners less desirable bets.

Several jockeys are aiming for their second win in this race, including Daryl Jacob, Paul Townend, Charlie Deutsch, and Ben Jones. Sam Twiston-Davies has the poorest current record, having not won in seven attempts. Notably, Arkle is the only horse to have won back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965, while Mandarin (1957 and 1961) and Denman (2007 and 2009) also won and reclaimed their titles in subsequent seasons.

Coral Gold Cup History

The event was founded in 1957 as the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup and was initially held at Cheltenham Racecourse. The inaugural winner, Mandarin, was owned by Peggy Hennessy, a member of the family behind Hennessy, the race’s sponsor.

In 1960, the race moved to Newbury, where Mandarin triumphed again in 1961. Taxidermist, ridden by amateur jockey John Lawrence, later known as Lord Oaksey, who also bred and co-owned the 2011 winner, Carruthers, claimed the second edition.

Hennessy’s sponsorship continued until the 60th running in 2016, making it the longest-running commercial sponsorship in British racing at that time. In February 2017, Ladbrokes became the new sponsor, and the race was known as the Ladbrokes Trophy until 2021. In 2022, Coral took over as the title sponsor, giving the race its current name.

Nine horses that have also won the Cheltenham Gold Cup have previously won this race, with the most recent being Native River, who claimed the Gold Cup in 2018. Additionally, Many Clouds made history by becoming the first horse to win both the Hennessy Gold Cup and the Grand National, achieving victory in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Coral Gold Cup Winners