How many winners did A.P. McCoy ride at the Cheltenham Festival?

In the sphere of National Hunt racing, it would be fair to say that Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, still known to his friends as ‘A.P.’, carried all before him. At the time of his retirement in April, 2015, he had ridden 4,348 winners under National Hunt rules and set a series of extraordinary records, some of which may never be broken. McCoy won the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship in each of the 20 seasons he rode in Britain. In 2001/02, he racked up 289 winners, smashing the previous record for the number of winners in a single season, set by Sir Gordon Richards in 1947.

However, the Cheltenham Festival was perhaps the one instance when McCoy did not entirely rule the roost. Of the four main ‘championship’ races, he won the Champion Hurdle three times, the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice and the Queen Mother Champion Chase once. The Stayers’ Hurdle was a notable omission from his CV, but he did win the leading jockey award twice, in 1997 and 1998, while stable jockey to Martin Pipe. However, his career total of 31 Cheltenham Festival winners is only third in the all-time list, behind Rupert ‘Ruby’ Walsh, with 59 winners, and Barry Geraghty, with 43 winners. Of the jockeys still riding, only Davy Russell, with 25 winners, is really within hailing distance, so his position looks safe for a while yet.

Since World War II, how many horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times?

Of course, the most successful horse in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the indomitable Golden Miller, owned by the equally indomitable Dorothy Paget, who won the ‘Blue Riband’ event five years running between 1932 and 1936. However, since World War II, three horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times.

The first of them was Cottage Rake, trained by Vincent O’Brien, who completed a hat-trick in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was ridden on all three occasions by Aubrey Brabazon, who also won the Champion Hurdle twice, in 1949 and 1950, on Hatton’s Grace for the same trainer. Collectively, their successes increased the appeal of the Cheltenham Festival to an Irish audience.

So, too, did the three victories of Arkle, trained by Tom Dreaper, in 1964, 1965 and 1966. On the first occasion, he dethroned Mill House, previously considered the best steeplechaser since Golden Miller, winning easily by 5 lengths. On the second, he beat the same horse by 20 lengths and, on the third, cantered to a 30-length victory over Dormant, at odds of 1/10, to confirm his position as arguably the greatest steeplechaser of all time.

Since Arkle, just one horse, Best Mate, has completed a hat-trick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He did so in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and was ridden on each occasion by Jim Culloty, who also won the race as a trainer with Lord Windermere in 2014.

What are the different types of obstacle in National Hunt racing?

What are the different types of obstacle in National Hunt racing? With the exception of the confusingly-named ‘National Hunt Flat Race’, which involves no obstacles at all, all National races are contested over hurdles or fences. Hurdles are the lower, less substantial type of obstacle. Each hurdle consists of brushwood, cut and fashioned into panel that stands at least 3’6″ high. Individual hurdles, which must be uniform across the racecourse, are installed, side-by-side, to create what is known as a ‘flight’ of hurdles. Each flight, of which there must be eight in the first two miles of a race, measures a minimum of 3’1″ high and 30′ wide.

By contrast, steeplechase fences are higher and more substantial; they consist of a rigid frame, made of steel or wood and stuffed with real birch cuttings or plastic birch, to create an obstacle at least 4’6″ high. Unlike hurdles, which are often knocked flat during a race, fences are much less forgiving . Furthermore, a so-called ‘plain’ fence may be preceded by a shallow ditch, a few feet wide, to create an ‘open ditch’. The cross country course at Cheltenham, which is only used a few times a year, features idiosyncratic obstacles, natural and man-made, including living trees, shrubs and bushes, banks, ditches and rails. It is very much a ‘specialist’ course and the only one of its kind in Britain.

What are the Queen’s racing colours?

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has enjoyed a lifelong passion for horse racing. Indeed, between her coronation in 1953 and 2020, when she was forced to stay at home because of Covid-19 restrictions, the Queen never missed a day of Royal Ascot.

Her officially registered racing colours consist of a purple jacket with gold braid, red sleeves and a black velvet cap with a gold fringe, as previously used by her great grandfather King Edward VII and, before that, by the later King George IV during his years as Prince Regent. Racing colours are currently supplied to the Queen by Newmarket-based Gibson Saddlers, which was granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1932.

All told, the Queen has seen the famous Royal silks carried to victory at Royal Ascot on 24 separate occasions. The first was in 1953, when Choir Boy won the Royal Hunt Cup, but arguably the most memorable came in 2013, when Estimate won the historic Gold Cup. John Warren, Bloodstock and Racing Advisor to the Queen, later wrote, ‘No reigning monarch had won the Gold Cup and it gave Her Majesty great pleasure in achieving an ambition to breed such a great horse of true stamina and grit.’

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