The first Hennessey Gold Cup was run on the 16th of November in, 1957 at Cheltenham and the venue changed in 1960 to Newbury where it has remained a great horse racing event ever since. In 1971 the name of the Hennessey Gold Cup was changed to the Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup and the Prize money for this great race has gone up dramatically from the original £5.272 to a fantastic £125,000.
The race started off at 3 miles and 1 furlong long, but now horses and riders race over a distance of 3 miles and two and a half furlongs. The first horse to win The Hennessey Gold Cup was Mandarin, and he was ridden by Gerry Madden and trained by Fulke Walwyn. Mandarin then went on to win the event again in 1961, ridden by Fred Winter. Mandarin was owned by Madame Hennessey, a member of the French cognac family, and she provided the trophy. The only other horse that has won the Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup more than once was the famous Arkle, who was trained by Tom Dreaper and ridden by Pat Taaffe, and he won the race in 1964 and 1965.
The latest Winners of The Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup Were:
Year Horse Trainer Jockey
2005 Trabolgan Nicky Henderson Mick Fitzgerald
2004 Celestial Gold Martin Pipe Timmy Murphy
2003 Strong Flow Paul Nicholls Ruby Walsh
2002 Gingembre Lavinia Taylor Andrew Thornton
2001 What’s Up Boys Philip Hobbs Richard Johnson
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