Each of the four days at the Cheltenham Festival is lit up by a signature event. However, most racing fans would agree that the best is saved until last. The Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Stayers Hurdle are all spectacular contests, but the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Day 4 sees the biggest meeting of the National Hunt year reach a crescendo.
The trip for this event is 3m2½f which offers £646,880 in prize money in 2025, with 22 fences standing between the field and a place in the history books. Legendary names on the roll of honour include Golden Miller, who incredibly claimed five successive editions between 1932 and 1935, three-time winners Arkle and Best Mate, and the brilliant Paul Nicholls duo of Kauto Star and Denman.
Following the final declarations, we now know the identities of the runners and riders who will set out to etch their names into the annals of racing history in 2025. Nine go to post for the classiest staying chase on the racing calendar, including a superstar who has been there and got the Gold Cup t-shirt twice in the past.
Cheltenham Gold Cup: Confirmed Field of Runners and Riders
| Number | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahoy Senor | Derek Fox | Lucinda Russell |
| 2 | Banbridge | J J Slevin | Joseph O’Brien |
| 3 | Corbetts Cross | Jack Kennedy | Emmet Mullins |
| 4 | Galopin Des Champs | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins |
| 5 | Gentlemansgame | Darragh O’Keeffe | Mouse Morris |
| 6 | Inothewayurthinkin | Mark Walsh | Gavin Cromwell |
| 7 | Monty’s Star | Rachael Blackmore | Henry De Bromhead |
| 8 | Royal Pagaille | Charlie Deutsch | Venetia Williams |
| 9 | The Real Whacker | Brian Hughes | Patrick Neville |
Highlights
The only place to start is with the horse, who, until proven otherwise, is the most talented staying chaser in training. Hailing from the yard of the all-conquering Willie Mullins, Galopin Des Champs stormed home to claim the 2023 edition of this race by seven lengths and followed up by an impressive 3½l in 2024. But for a fall at the last in the 2022 Turners Novices’ Chase, this Timos gelding would boast a perfect four-from-four record at the Cheltenham Festival.
All the signs from the 2024/25 campaign suggest he is as well as ever. Returning with a fair third over an inadequate trip in the John Durkan Memorial Chase, he stepped up on that to slam the field in the Savills Chase before an equally authoritative victory in the Irish Gold Cup last time. The mount of Paul Townend is a red-hot favourite to add his name to the list of three-time winners and may be tough to beat.
Joseph O’Brien is no stranger to success in headline racing events – be they on the flat or over jumps. Successful five times at the Cheltenham Festival, the Melbourne Cup-winning handler sends King George VI Chase champ Banbridge into Gold Cup battle. The ground went against this Ronnie Bartlett-owned runner in the 2024 Ryanair Chase, but he had shown a liking for this track when claiming the 2022 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys event. He’s yet to race over quite this far but was doing all his best work late when reeling in Il Est Francais to claim the Kempton showpiece in December. If there is a horse to challenge the champ, the market suggests Banbridge may be the one.
Next in line is the late supplementary entry Inothewayurthinkin from the widely respected Gavin Cromwell operation. Long held in high regard by connections, this JP McManus-owned runner slammed the field in the 2024 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and showed his Grade 1 class when claiming the Mildmay Novices’ Chase on his final start of 2024/25. Having shown nothing in his first two outings of the current campaign, he took a big step forward when running on for fourth in the Irish Gold Cup last time. He could be ready to peak at the right time but may need at least some rain to arrive before the big day.
Henry De Bromhead claimed back-to-back Gold Cups with Minella Indo in 2021 and A Plus Tard in 2022. Three years on, he bids for a third success with the eight-year-old Walk In The Park gelding, Monty’s Star. This one has twice filled the runners-up position in Grade 1 company, including in the 2024 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. This is a tough contest in which to break your top-level duck, but the mount of Rachael Blackmore may still be improving.
Moving further down the list, Corbetts Cross won’t be found wanting in the stamina department, having claimed the National Hunt Chase over 3m6f at this meeting 12 months ago. He could well come into contention if this turns into a slog. The Real Whacker, Ahoy Senor, and Gentlemansgame round out the nine, but all will need to improve considerably on their recent form.
