Novice chaser Coneygree saw off a clutch of the classiest horses in racing when landing today’s Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup.
From the front
The eight-year-old was 7/1 for the race, with Silviniaco Conti sent off as favourite. But Coneygree set the pace from the off, making all under jockey Nico de Boinville and jumping superbly throughout.
“He’s done it the easy way. It couldn’t have gone any better – he was very easy to ride. I rode him as we planned and, as you saw yesterday, all the horses were winning from the front so we thought we’d keep it simple. We did just that and he jumped and travelled away superbly,” said Nico afterwards.
Djakadam (eventual second under Ruby Walsh) and Road To Riches (Bryan Cooper) attempted to challenge up the Cheltenham hill but Coneygree could not be caught, landing the valuable prize for trainer Mark Bradstock.
Good decision
There had been questions in the run up to the race as to whether Coneygree would even line up for the Gold Cup. He’s finished in the top three in all but one of his nine starts, and he’d landed the Denman Chase in impressive fashion last month, but he’s still classed as a novice and was eligible to race in Tuesday’s RSA Chase instead.
But his connections made the decision to go for the big one paid off. “They knew the weather gods were looking down on us – the rain came at the right time,” added de Boinville.
The horse is schooled at home by the trainer’s son Alfie Bradstock, a talented rider who has competed at the Junior Europeans in eventing before switching to concentrate on showjumping.
“He is just amazing. He is the most pleasant horse to work with – he does everything you ask him and just tries so hard with everything,” said Alfie.
Girl power
The Foxhunter Chase – a race for amateurs over the same course and distance as the Gold Cup – was won in dominant fashion by Nina Carberry and On The Fringe.
Willie Mullins had two further winners, taking the Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle with 25/1 shot Wicklow Brave and theMartin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle withKillultagh Vic. Meanwhile, Willie’s former sister-in-law Mags Mullins had her first Cheltenham Festival winner with Martello Tower in the Albert Bartlett.
Nicky Henderson landed the JCB Triumph Hurdle with favourite Peace And Co.
Final ride
AP McCoy’s ride Ned Buntline was sent off favourite for theAP McCoy Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup, the last race of the meeting.
But the champion’s final Cheltenham ride was not to have a fairytale ending, with the win going to Next Sensation, trained by Michael Scudamore and ridden by his brother Tom.
Nearly 250,000 racing fans attended this year’s Festival, a record-breaking total.