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.
Ballinode (horse) but failed to complete the course. In their book, "A Century of Champions", based on the Timeform rating system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ballinode a "poor" Gold Cup winner. She is remembered in the name of Ballinode Close, a residential street in Cheltenham. Ballinode (horse) Ballinode (foaled 1916) was an Irish racehorse who won the 1925 Cheltenham Gold Cup. She was the first mare and the first Irish-trained horse to win the race. She was known as "The Sligo Mare." Ballinode was a chestnut mare bred in Ireland. She was one of the few horses of any consequence