The Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place on Friday, 14th March 2025 and looks set to be a cracker of a renewal.
Entries have now been made for the 2025 edition of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with 19 runners in contention to run in the showpiece race of the meeting. They feature familiar names and top class superstars and can be viewed below.
| Number | Horse | Trainer |
| 1 | Ahoy Senor | Lucinda Russell |
| 2 | Banbridge | Joseph O’Brien |
| 3 | Conflated | Gordon Elliott |
| 4 | Corbetts Cross | Emmet Mullins |
| 5 | Embassy Gardens | Willie Mullins |
| 6 | Fact To File | Willie Mullins |
| 7 | Galopin Des Champs | Willie Mullins |
| 8 | Gentlemansgame | Mouse Morris |
| 9 | Gerri Colombe | Gordon Elliott |
| 10 | Grangeclare West | Willie Mullins |
| 11 | Grey Dawning | Dan Skelton |
| 12 | Hewick | Tara Lee Cogan |
| 13 | Il Est Francais | Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm |
| 14 | Jungle Boogie | Henry De Bromhead |
| 15 | L’Homme Presse | Venetia Williams |
| 16 | Minella Cocooner | Willie Mullins |
| 17 | Monty’s Star | Henry De Bromhead |
| 18 | Royale Pagaille | Venetia Williams |
| 19 | The Real Whacker | Patrick Neville |
This Year’s Favourite Runners and Riders
Galopin Des Champs
Emphatically charged clear for a second successive win in this last year and, despite two defeats in a pair of starts immediately after that success, he remains Cheltenham’s champion to beat. A repeat of either of his two stellar performances at the venue would make him extremely hard to beat once again, while he regained his position atop the Gold Cup market by demolishing his rivals at Leopardstown after Christmas once again.
Fact To File
Won last year’s Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in 2024 by a comfortable margin, but grew into his second season in style by gamely landing the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown. He beat all significant rivals in the Gold Cup ante-post market that day and is the potential star in the making of those new to this staying division despite his unbeaten run ending behind Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown.
Banbridge
Having not raced beyond 2m4f over fences, Joseph O’Brien’s charge dramatically hauled back French raider Il Est Francais to win the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. For a first start at 3m, he seemed to possess plentiful stamina and could be a dark horse if he does stat the extra two furlongs at Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Winners Since 2012
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Synchronised | AP McCoy | Jonjo O’Neill | 8/1 |
| 2013 | Bobs Worth | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | 11/4F |
| 2014 | Lord Windermere | Davy Russell | Jim Culloty | 20/1 |
| 2015 | Coneygree | Nico de Boinville | Mark Bradstock | 7/1 |
| 2016 | Don Cossack | Bryan Cooper | Gordon Elliott | 9/4F |
| 2017 | Sizing John | Robbie Power | Jessica Harrington | 7/1 |
| 2018 | Native River | Richard Johnson | Colin Tizzard | 5/1 |
| 2019 | Al Boum Photo | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 12/1 |
| 2020 | Al Boum Photo | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 100/30F |
| 2021 | Minella Indo | Jack Kennedy | Henry De Bromhead | 9/1 |
| 2022 | A Plus Tard | Rachael Blackmore | Henry De Bromhead | 3/1F |
| 2023 | Galopin Des Champs | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 7/5F |
| 2024 | Galopin Des Champs | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 10/11F |
What Can We Learn from the Cheltenham Gold Cup Past Trends?
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a tough puzzle to solve but trends can help you to narrow down the line-up and even identify the potential winner, we’ve listed some crucial stats and trends that it could pay to keep in mind when analysing the race:
- No winner this century aged ten or over.
- Only three winners this century failed to finish first or second last time out.
- 14 of the past 16 winners had run no more than three times that season. Four of the last ten had run only once that season; they all won that start.
- 20 of the winners this century (87%) had won or placed at a previous Festival
- 21 winners this century had 12 or fewer chase starts – Kauto Star (2009 – 21st chase start) and A Plus Tard (2022 – 14th chase start) the exceptions.
7yo, 8yo and 9yo horses have dominated in the Gold Cup in recent years, landing all but one renewal since the turn of the century, 6yo Long Run (2011) the exception. Horses 10yo or older have a particularly poor record and you have to go back to Cool Dawn (1998) to find the last winner aged in double figures.
Recent form is important, with only 3/23 winners (13%) arriving having finished out of the first two on their last start, albeit Minella Indo did buck that trend in 2021 – he was also making his fifth start of the season (13/15 had run no more than three times that campaign).
Festival form seems very important, with over 80% of winners since the turn of the century having won or placed at a previous Festival. Al Boum Photo was still in contention in third prior to falling two out on his only previous Festival appearance prior to his 2019 Gold Cup victory.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Time Around The World
- Melbourne – 2:30am (Saturday 15th March)
- London – 3:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- Munich – 4:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- New York – 11:30am (Friday 14th March)
- Singapore – 11:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- Dubai – 7:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- Cape Town – 5:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- Tokyo – 12:30am (Saturday 15th March)
- Buenos Aires – 12:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- Rio De Janeiro – 12:30pm (Friday 15th March)
- Moscow – 6:30pm (Friday 14th March)
- New Delhi – 9:00pm (Friday 14th March)
- Jakarta – 10:30pm (Friday 14th March)
FAQ’s
How many horses are in the 2025 Gold Cup?
19 runners have been provisionally entered for the 2025 Gold Cup, though it is unknown how many will run on the day.
Are there any GREY horses in the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
There was one grey horse, Gentlemansgame, who ran in the 2024 Gold Cup. It is not yet known whether any will run in this year’s renewal.
Which horse has won the most Cheltenham Gold Cups?
Golden Miller is the most successful horse in the history of the Gold Cup having taken FIVE straight renewals in the mid 30s (1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936).
How many mares have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?
FOUR mares have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the most recent of those being Dawn Run (1986) who also holds the claim of being the only horse to complete the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double.
Has any horse won the Gold Cup and Grand National?
L’Escargot and Golden Miller are the only two horses to have won both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National.
How much is the Gold Cup prize money?
Prize money for the Cheltenham Gold Cup totals £625,000, making it the second most valuable race in the National Hunt calendar, after the Grand National. The winner of the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup will pick up over £350,000 in prize money.
Is the Cheltenham Gold Cup real gold?
YES. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is made of solid gold and worth upwards of £10,000, a new trophy is given to winning connections each year.