2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup the winner, Kauto Star: 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup The 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Friday March 13, 2009. It was the 81st running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Kauto Star. The winner was ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Paul Nicholls. Kauto Star became the first horse to regain the Gold Cup in the event's history. He had previously won it in 2007, and he was runner-up in 2008. The winning margin of thirteen lengths was the widest in the race since
Cheltenham Gold Cup outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. A replacement for the Cheltenham Gold Cup – the Gold Trophy Chase – was contested at Sandown in late April, but the Racing Post stated that this ""lacked any strength in depth and was no substitute for the Gold Cup"". The next three runnings were all won by Best Mate, who is the most recent of the four horses to have won the race three or more times. In 2009, Kauto Star became the first horse to regain the Gold Cup. He overcame his stablemate and conqueror in 2008, Denman, who had recovered from a heart