Coral Gold Cup-Most successful jockeys

Several big names have graced the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury over the years, and here we take a look at the most successful jockeys in this race.

Horse racing is a sport that captures the attention and imagination of millions of people across the globe, and there are a number of race meetings that whet the appetite. The Cheltenham Festival and the November Meeting come to mind, but another prestigious event is the Coral Gold Cup, which is set to take place at the iconic Newbury Racecourse again on Saturday, 2nd December 2023.

The Coral Gold Cup is barely more than a week away from getting underway and is among the most popular on the jumps racing calendar.

This race brings with it a tremendous amount of history, with the inaugural race taking place back in 1957 when it was originally known as the Hennessy Gold Cup. Fulke Walwyn, who trained Mandarin to victory, was the first ever winner of this race. Walwyn would win it again in 1961 before winning it for the fourth time in seven years by 1963.

The Gold Cup had moved to its current home, Newbury Racecourse, three years earlier in 1960. Fast forward to 2016, and this was when Hennessy’s almost 60 year spell as title sponsor ended, and Ladbrokes replaced them before Coral became the latest title sponsor for the Gold Cup as recently as 2022.

Fulke Walwyn is a big name in the sport of horse racing. There are also a number of famous jockeys who have graced Newbury in the Gold Cup over the years, with a few becoming particularly successful in it. Here, we will go through the top three most successful jockeys in Newbury’s Gold Cup. 

3 – Harry Skelton, Charlie Deutsch, Ben Jones, Paul Townend & More: 1 Win

As you may imagine, an incredible number of jockeys have won the Coral Gold Cup at least once in their careers. So, due to the sheer number of people with one win, we have gone with four of the most recent winners who have not emerged victorious in this race on more than one occasion.

Let’s start with Harry Skelton. Skelton is the most recent winner of this race in 2022, riding Le Milos to victory after fending off Remastered and Gericault Roque, who finished second and third place after an enthralling and tense race.

Moving on to Charlie Deutsch, he won in 2021. Riding Cloudy Glen, Deutsch emerged victorious, and after initially leading by three lengths, he was reeled in by Fiddlerontheroof, who ensured a tense finish, but Deutsch was able to hold on to his win. Fiddlerontheroof came second, whilst Brahma Bull rounded off the top three in third place.

The 2019 edition of the Gold Cup saw Ben Jones ride De Rasher Counter to his maiden victory after the likes of Harry Cobden’s Elegant Escape, and Brendan Powell’s The Conditional failed to take the lead from Jones’ grasp, so they had to settle for second and third place when they crossed the finish line.

Finally, Paul Townend was the winner in 2017, riding Total Recall to success in that year’s Gold Cup at Newbury. Whisper, ridden by Davy Russell (2nd) and Regal Encore, ridden by Richie McLernon (3rd), rounded off the top three in this race.

2 – Barry Geraghty, Paul Nicholls, Ruby Walsh, Timmy Murphy, Graham Bradley, Jamie Osborne, John Francome, Pat Taaffe: 2 Wins

We will now move on to the jockeys who have won the Coral Gold Cup on two occasions, starting with Barry Geraghty. Geraghty won it in two consecutive years – starting with his first win in 2012, he rode Bobs Worth to victory ahead of stern competition from Tidal Bay and First Lieutenant. His second win in 2013 came with Geraghty riding Triolo D’Alene.

Paul Nicholl’s two wins in this race came in 1986 and 1987. His maiden victory came on board Broadheath before securing his second win in as many years, riding Playschool to the win.

Ruby Walsh is a name that is simply synonymous with the sport of horse racing, and he has won the Gold Cup at Newbury twice – his first win came in 2003 with Strong Flow. His second victory came 6 years later in 2009, winning with Denman.

Jockey Timmy Murphy’s wins both came in the space of just five years. He won with Ever Blessed in 1999 before his second gold cup success at Newbury came on board Celestial Gold in 2004.

Moving on to Graham Bradley, he first won this race in 1982 with Bregawn before winning again, riding Suny Bay 15 years later in 1997.

Jamie Osborne first won this Gold Cup with Arctic Call in 1990 before finally following it a few years later with Coome Hill in 1996.

John Francombe is another jockey to have won this prestigious race twice in as many years, and he did so with Brown Chamberlain in 1983 and Burrough Hill Lad in 1984.

Finally, Pat Taaffe is another jockey with two Gold Cup wins to his name at Newbury. Both of his wins came with Arkle – the first was in 1964 before he followed it up with his second victory a year later in 1965.

1 – Willie Robinson & Tom Scudamore: 3 Wins

Just two jockeys have won this race 3 times – Willie Robinson and Tom Scudamore jointly hold the record for the most victories in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse.

Starting with Robinson, he rode Mandarin to glory in 1961 before doing so again, this time with Mill House, a few years later in 1963. Willie Robinson then recorded his third win with Man Of The West in 1968.

As for Scudamore, his first came in 2008 with Madison du Berlais. Then, precisely ten years later, Tom won his second Coral Gold Cup on board Sizing Tennessee in 2018. He then made history in 2020 when he became only the second jockey to have ever won the Gold Cup at Newbury three times after successfully winning that year’s race with Cloth Cap.

Excitement and anticipation are building ahead of the 2023 Coral Gold Cup getting underway at the iconic and atmospheric Newbury Racecourse on Saturday, 2nd December 2023.

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