The BetVictor Gold Cup first took place in 1960. It’s a National Hunt race that takes place in Cheltenham in mid November each year as part of The November Meeting. The Grade 3 race, which is on the second day oF the three day meeting, is run over a 2 miles and 4½ furlongs course and horses aged four years old and upward are eligable to enter.
As with many of these races, it’s had a miriad of sponsors over the years, from Mackeson in the early days, to Murphy’s , Paddy Power and others, but from 2016 and to this day, it is known as the BetVictor Gold Cup.
While not necessarily seen as ‘the one to win’ when compared to some other races with more gravitas and history, the purse for the race is still significant, at the £160,000 + level, with over £90,000 going to the winner. In 2017 that winner was the playfully named Splash of Ginge ridden by Tom Bellamy and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies. The outsider won at the very nice price of 25-1, while 4-1 favourite Kylemore Lough pulled up.
Stand outs over the years of the BetVictor Gold Cup include the four wins by leading jockey Tony McCoy Cyfor Malta (1998), Lady Cricket (2000), Shooting Light (2001), Exotic Dancer (2006) and 8 wins by trainer Martin Pipe, who clearly took a shine to the event.