Cheltenham Gold Cup Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of 3 miles 2½ furlongs (5,331 m), and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March. The steeplechase, which is open to horses aged five years and over, is the most prestigious of all National Hunt events and it is sometimes referred to as the "Blue Riband" of jump-racing. Its roll of honour features the names of such
Cheltenham Festival the season, the Foxhunters', which is run on the Friday over the same course as the Gold Cup, and is sometimes referred to as the "amateurs' Gold Cup". Unlike Royal Ascot and many other top flat racing events in Britain and Ireland, the Cheltenham Festival does not have a history of attracting many international contenders, though French-trained horses have done well – Baracouda being perhaps the most well-known, having landed the World Hurdle twice. For several years there have been concerns about the number of equine injuries and fatalities. In 2006, 11 horses died and in response the racecourse decreased