Cheltenham Gold Cup was responsible for all of the first five horses to finish – Bregawn, Captain John, Wayward Lad, Silver Buck and Ashley House. The 1986 winner, Dawn Run, is the only horse to have ever won both this race and the leading hurdle event, the Champion Hurdle. One of the most popular horses to win the Gold Cup was Desert Orchid, a grey who won the event in 1989. The following year's running was won by Norton's Coin, whose starting price of 100/1 represents the race's longest ever winning price. The entire Cheltenham Festival was cancelled in 2001 because of an
Bula (horse) lengths. Having proven that he could stay three miles, Bula was entered into the Cheltenham Gold Cup in an attempt to be the first horse to win that race after winning the Champion Hurdle. The heavy going took its toll on the field, and as Captain Christy and former Gold Cup winner The Dikler were pulled up, Bula made a vital mistake at the last and finished third by six lengths to Ten Up and Soothsayer. Some felt that without the jumping error and on better ground, Bula may well have won the race. That effort may have left a