2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup The 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Friday 18 March 2005. It was the 77th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Kicking King. The winner was ridden by Barry Geraghty and trained by Tom Taaffe. Kicking King was the first winner of the Gold Cup to be trained in Ireland since Imperial Call in 1996. The three-time winner Best Mate was withdrawn from the race a week earlier after bursting a blood vessel. A fourth day was added to the
Horse racing in Great Britain Admiral Rous laid the foundations of the handicapping system for horse racing, including the weight-for-age scale. Britain is also home to some of the world's iconic racecourses including Newmarket, Ascot and Cheltenham and many of the world's iconic races including The Derby at Epsom, The Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup. The UK has also produced some of the greatest jockeys, including Fred Archer, Sir Gordon Richards and Lester Piggott. Britain has also historically been a hugely important centre for thoroughbred racehorse breeding. In fact all racehorses are called English Thoroughbred, the breed having been created in England. All modern