How many female trainers have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup?

How many female trainers have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup? The short answer is three, although those three female trainers are actually responsible for six Cheltenham Gold Cup victories between them. Jenny Pitman, who had already made history by becoming the first woman to saddle a Grand National winner in 1983, wasted no time when repeating the dose in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1984, courtesy of Burrough Hill Lad. She also won the ‘Blue Riband’ event again in 1991, with Garrison Savannah, ridden by her son, Mark.

Just over a decade later, in the wake of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which caused the 2001 Cheltenham Festival to be abandoned, Henrietta Knight saddled Best Mate to a notable hat-trick in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004. He became the first horse since the legendary Arkle, 38 years earlier, to win the race three years running.

Last, but by no means least, Irish trainer Jessica Harrington saddled Sizing John to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2017. Mrs. Harrington, 70, was having her first runner in the race and later joked about ‘beginner’s luck’, despite having previously won the Queen Mother Champion Chase (twice) and the Champion Hurdle.

What is a claiming race?

Not to be confused with a claiming jockey, a claiming race is a race in which every horse can be bought or ‘claimed’ for a set value, regardless of its finishing position, afterwards. Claiming races may have different eligibility conditions, but essentially all work the same way. Subject to the top claiming price, the weight carried by each horse is linked to its claiming price; a trainer can reduce the weight carried, typically by £1,000 per lb, by reducing the claiming price when making the entry. However, once the claiming price is set, it is printed on the race card and the horse cannot be bought for more or less than this price.

If and when a horse is claimed, the original owner remains liable for race entry fees, jockey fees, etc. but, by the same token, retains any prize money due. Of course, the original owner may not wish to lose the horse, in which case he or she may make a so-called ‘friendly’ claim, in person or via an agent. Once claimed, the horse immediately becomes the responsibility of the new owner. If the same horse is subject to two or more claims, the successful claimant is determined by ballot.

Not to be confused with a claiming jockey, a claiming race is a race in which every horse can be bought or ‘claimed’ for a set value, regardless of its finishing position, afterwards. Claiming races may have different eligibility conditions, but essentially all work the same way. Subject to the top claiming price, the weight carried by each horse is linked to its claiming price; a trainer can reduce the weight carried, typically by £1,000 per lb, by reducing the claiming price when making the entry. However, once the claiming price is set, it is printed on the race card and the horse cannot be bought for more or less than this price.

If and when a horse is claimed, the original owner remains liable for race entry fees, jockey fees, etc. but, by the same token, retains any prize money due. Of course, the original owner may not wish to lose the horse, in which case he or she may make a so-called ‘friendly’ claim, in person or via an agent. Once claimed, the horse immediately becomes the responsibility of the new owner. If the same horse is subject to two or more claims, the successful claimant is determined by ballot.

Before First Flow, what was Kim Bailey’s last Grade One winner?

After he had given 17lb and upwards away to his rivals when recording a game, albeit narrow, victory, on heavy going, in the Castleford Handicap Chase at Wetherby in December, 2020, Kim Bailey described First Flow, who was completing a five-timer, as an ‘extraordinary horse’. However, the Andoversford trainer had further cause for celebration the following month, when the 9-year-old belied odds of 14/1 to win the Grade One Clarence House Chase at Ascot and, in so doing, beat the reigning two-mile champion chaser, Politologue, by 7 lengths at level weights.

Victory in the Clarence House Chase was also notable for the fact that it was the first time in 9,443 days, or 25 years, 10 months and 5 days, that Bailey had saddled a Grade One winner. Remarkably, his last winner at the highest level was Master Oats, ridden by the long-retired Norman Williamson, in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1995! To be fair, having won the Champion Hurdle 48 hours earlier with Alderbrook, Bailey was completing the Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double, making him the last trainer to do so. Nevertheless, fans of nostalgia might like to know that, at the time, John Major was Prime Minister, a pint of lager cost £1.66 and ‘rogue trader’ Nick Leeson had just caused the collapse of Barings Bank.

How many times has Oisin Murphy failed a racecourse breath test?

Oisin Murphy, who was champion jockey in 2019 and 2020, hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, not for the first time, on Friday, October 8, 2021. For the second time in his career, Murphy failed a racecourse breathalyser test and was consequently stood down for the day by the stewards and referred to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) Disciplinary Panel.

Murphy led the jockeys’ championship by 11 winners at the start of the day and his five rides at Newmarket were to have included Mise En Scene in the Group 1 Bet365 Fillies’ Mile. Murphy tweeted that his test result had been ‘under the drink-drive limit [35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath] but over the riding limit [20 micrograms per 100 millilitres]’.

Murphy first failed a racecourse breathalyser test at Salisbury on June 16, 2019, as a result of which he was stood down for the day and received a caution. Fortunately for him, his latest infraction fell outside the 24-month timeframe stipulated by the BHA and, as such, is treated as a ‘first offence’, rather than a ‘second offence’, for which a 10-day ban is the entry point. Of course, Murphy also served a three-month ban, imposed by France Galop, after testing positive for cocaine at Chantilly in July, 2020, so may need to moderate his off-course behaviour if he is to remain at the top of his profession.

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