How many times has Kemboy run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

At the time of writing, Kemboy is, once again, among the entries for the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, for which he is a top-priced 25/1 ante post. Now a nine-year-old, the Voix Du Nord gelding has been a regular visitor to the Cheltenham Festival in recent seasons, finishing fifth in the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle in 2017 and fourth in the JLT Novices’ Chase in 2018, before contesting the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2019 and 2020.

Indeed, on his first attempt in the ‘Blue Riband’ event, Kemboy was sent off at shorter odds than his stable companion, and eventual winner, Al Boum Photo, but his effort was disastrously short-lived. On the run to the first fence, he was tightened for room, took a false step on landing and unseated jockey David Mullins. He gained some compensation for that early exit when winning the Betway Bowl Chase at Aintree and the Punchestown Gold Cup on his next two starts, but suffered two further defeats, at the hands of Delta Work, in the Savills Gold Cup and the Irish Gold Cup, both at Leopardstown, on his return to action in 2019/20.

On his second attempt in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Kemboy was sent off at 8/1, as he had been the previous year, but his jumping lacking fluency on occasions and he was relegated to last of the twelve runners as the field approached the fourth-last fence. Ridden at that point, he made some headway in the closing stages, staying on to finish seventh, beaten 12 lengths, without ever looking likely to trouble the principals.