Which was the last grey horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

The last grey horse – in fact, the only grey horse – to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup was Desert Orchid in 1989. The iconic grey had been beaten of five previous appearances at the Cheltenham Festival, twice in the Champion Hurdle, once in the Arkle Challenge Trophy and twice in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Nevertheless, on treacherous, barely raceable ground and going left-handed – he was, according to jockey Simon Sherwood, ‘a two stone lesser horse going that way’ – Desert Orchid was sent off 5/2 favourite for his first attempt in the ‘Blue Riband’ event of steeplechasing.

‘Dessie’, as he was affectionately known to his legions of supporters, raced prominently for most of the way and was left in the lead when Ten Plus fell at the third last. However, the confirmed mudlark Yahoo, clearly relishing the atrocious underfoot conditions, arrived on the scene, travelling well, on the home turn and looked all over the winner. Galvanised by Simon Sherwood, Desert Orchid rallied gamely between the final two fences and was almost upsides again jumping the last. On the climb to the winning post, he first drifted right towards the stands’ side and then left towards his rival but, in the last hundred yards or so, Desert Orchid forged ahead to win by 1½ lengths, with Sherwood punching the air in celebration.

Who Are the Market Leaders for the Feature Races at Cheltenham 2021?

The strength of the Cheltenham Festival has always been showcased by the depth of quality in its racecards. By that, we mean the focus of the festival is not on an individual race, but 28 of them, including 14 Grade 1 events. That has helped make Cheltenham the undisputed highlight of the jumps racing season, arguably surpassing the Grand National as the top event in British racing.

Nevertheless, there are four races that catch the eye more than others – the so-called feature races. The Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and, of course, the Cheltenham Gold Cup are the main courses of the festival banquet, so to speak. Horses who have won these races have their names etched in racing history – Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate, Sprinter Sacre, and Faugheen. But who are the the horses clamouring to make history this year? Below we look at the market leaders in the Cheltenham Festival betting odds for the four feature races in 2021:

*All odds supplied by 888sport and correct at the time of writing

Who is the leading contender for the Champion Hurdle 2021?

Epatante, who won the 2020 Champion Hurdle, is favourite to win again in 2021. The JP McManus-owned 7-year-old has been the horse to beat over hurdles over the last couple of years, but some punters will have been given pause for thought after Epatante was beaten last time out at Kempton. Still, he remains a worth favourite at 2/1. But Silver Streak, who defeated Epatante over Christmas, and Sharjah, last year’s Champion Hurdle runner up, both have strong claims.

Who is the leading contender for the Champion Chase 2021?

The clearest favourite on this list, Chacun Pour Soi is 5/4 to win the Champion Chase. The record books will show that Chacun Pour Soi has yet to appear at Cheltenham, but he did in fact make it to the festival year only to be pulled from the event due to an abscess found on race day. Nonetheless, Willie Mullins, his trainer, will fancy that Chacun Pour Soi has the capacity to land a maiden Champion Chase for the Irishman at Cheltenham. The Champion Chase is one of the few events Mullins has never won, but Chacun Pour Soi might be his best chance in years.

Who is the leading contender for the Stayers Hurdle 2021

The first race without a clear favourite. Paisley Park (11/4) get the marginal nod from most bookmakers, but Thyme Hill (7/2) is in close pursuit in the betting markets. This is an intriguing clash between two horses that have traded blows over the winter period. Thyme Hill beat Paisley Park by just over a length at Newbury in November. But Paisley Park got his win back at Kempton in late December, yet only be a neck. It’s a toss-up between two fantastic long-distance hurdlers.

Who is the leading contender for the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2021?

Al Boum Photo (10/3) is the market leader, with the Willie Mullins-trained horse gunning for this third-successive Gold Cup victory. Those who fancy Al Boum Photo’s chances will be buoyed by the patchy form of the other leading contenders in the race, including Santini, Minella Indo and A Plus Tard. Indeed, it’s not that Al Boum Photo has set to the world alight – he has had one routine victory in his only outing since last year – it’s that he hasn’t done anything wrong. Al Boum Photo is a worthy favourite, but there are several horses who could beat him if the stars align. It’s worth remembering that the just a couple of lengths separated the first four home in the Gold Cup last year. This will be no procession for Al Boum Photo.

Was Outsider Caughoo’s Grand National win legitimate?

Nowadays, the Grand National at Aintree attracts an estimated television audience of 500 million, worldwide, so the idea of anyone ‘cheating’ in plain view of dozens of television cameras is, frankly, ludicrous. However, in the days before regular television coverage of the National, which began in 1960, that was the accusation levelled against the 1947 winner Caughoo or, more particularly, his jockey Edward ‘Eddie’ Dempsey.

The 1947 Grand National has the distinction of being the first to be run on a Saturday, but heavy rain, followed by thick fog, rendered Aintree almost unraceable and limited visibility from the grandstands to the final two obstacles. Nevertheless, the second largest field in Grand National history, 57, set off and, ten minutes later, Caughoo, an unconsidered 100/1 outsider, emerged from the gloom twenty lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer.

Daniel McCann, jockey of the second horse home, Lough Conn, later accused Dempsey of having concealed Caughoo in the fog, near the twelfth fence, after which the runners cross the Melling Road, near the Anchor Bridge, and only rejoining the race as the remainder of the field re-entered the ‘racecourse proper’ on the second circuit. Dempsey flatly denied any such notion and successfully defended legal action by McCann, by his victory was dogged by suspicion for decades afterwards.

Long after his retirement from the saddle in 1950, Dempsey ‘confessed’ to a tabloid newspaper that he had, in fact, hidden Caughoo behind a haystack and rejoined the field on the second circuit, as McCann had alleged. However, in the absence of any haystacks at Aintree that day, it is easy to dismiss his later account as whimsical. Furthermore, in 1999, the ‘Irish Mirror’ claimed to have photographs in its possession that clearly showed Becher’s Brook – which is the sixth and twenty-second fence on the National Course – on two separate occasions, thereby disproving any allegations of skulduggery.

Will Presenting Percy be trained for the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Grand National in 2021?

The winner of the Pertemps Network Final in 2017 and the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase in 2018, Presenting Percy appeared, at one stage of his career, a bona fide Cheltenham Gold Cup contender. Indeed, despite having raced just once, over hurdles, in the interim, he was sent off a well-backed 100/30 favourite for the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup. However, on that occasion, he was never travelling and trailed in eighth of nine finishers, beaten 33 lengths, behind Al Boum Photo. In his defence, he was subsequently found to be lame on his right hind leg.

In the 2020 renewal of the Gold Cup he was staying on in seventh place when falling at the second last and did not win again until November, 2020, by which time he had been transferred to Gordon Elliott from Patrick Kelly. That victory, in a four-runner Listed chase at Thurles may have proved something of a ‘false dawn’, because Presenting Percy was put firmly in his place when beaten the proverbial ‘country mile’ or 76 lengths, to be exact, on his return to Grade One company in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas.

Interestingly, at the time of writing, Presenting Percy can be backed at 40/1 ante post for the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, but just33/1 for the 2021 Grand National. Elliott has reportedly had the National in the back of his mind since acquiring the ten-year-old in October, 2020 and, as he rightly pointed out, Presenting Percy could be sent off at much shorter odds if he lines up at Aintree. His attitude may have been questioned in the past, but the son of Sir Percy is a classy individual, who is versatile ground-wise, stays at least 3 miles 5 furlongs, travels and jumps, so Elliott might just be onto something.

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