Cheltenham Gold Cup races from 1932 to 1936 were won by Golden Miller, who also won the Grand National in 1934. During World War II the Gold Cup was cancelled twice, in 1943 and 1944. The first multiple winner of the post-war years was Cottage Rake, who won the three runnings from 1948 to 1950. Cottage Rake was trained in Ireland by Vincent O'Brien, and his successes helped to popularise the Gold Cup, and the Festival itself, with the Irish public. The Gold Cup was switched to the "New Course" in 1959, and this is now the regular track used for the event.
Barton (horse) 2002/2003 National Hunt season he was considered a serious contender for the Cheltenham Gold Cup but was well beaten in all of his four races. In November 2003 he showed signs of a return when he finished second by a neck to his stable companion Turgeonev when carrying top weight of 165 pounds in a handicap chase at Wetherby, but he never ran again. Barton was euthanised in June 2004 in the same week as fellow Cheltenham Festival winner La Landiere. Barton (horse) Barton (19 February 1993 – 2004) was a British racehorse of Thoroughbred and Anglo-Arabian ancestry who competed