The Cheltenham Festival is world-famous for its atmosphere, quality of racing, and prize money. The four-day festival is one of the most anticipated events for punters, who get so many betting opportunities for their fun and amusement. As a preparation, these punters compare the best odds and search for the best offers long before the actual racing starts.
1- Kauto Star
There have been many great horses in the long history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Golden Miller, Arkle, and Best Mate as some of its best winners. Kauto Star also belongs in that elite category, for he regained the prestigious Gold Cup after losing it.
The Paul Nicholls trained racehorse entered the 2007 edition as a hot favourite and beat Exotic Dancer to the title. However, his biggest rival and stablemate Denman staged an emphatic display the following year and emerged victorious at Cheltenham.
To the delight of racing enthusiasts, the two finest horses locked horns again in 2009. But that time, Kauto Star was at his destructive best and all the other horses looked no match for him. He easily defeated Denman by an incredible 13 lengths, thus becoming the first horse to regain National Hunt’s blue-riband race.
Besides his Cheltenham successes, he also claimed five victories at King George VI Chase. He was given a Timeform rating of 191.
2- Desert Orchid
Desert Orchid captured the imagination of the public during the late 1980s and early 1990s with his breathtaking performances. He had claimed many prestigious races, including King George VI Chase, Whitbread Gold Cup, and Tingle Creek Chase. However, he had yet to produce his best at the Cheltenham Festival.
That all changed in 1989 when he won the prestigious Gold Cup by providing his best performance. On the ground that had turned heavy due to snow and rain, Desert Orchid pulled off an outstanding feat to claim his place among horse racing’s immortals. The much-loved English racehorse ended his career after claiming 34 victories out of 71 races.
3- Arkle
Arkle was a formidable force in the 1960s, with no other competitor coming even close to his levels. The outstanding steeplechaser won one famous race after another and was awarded the highest Timeform rating (212). His greatest rival Mill House defeated him in the 1963 Hennessy Gold Cup, but the Tom-Dreaper trained horse avenged that loss in the next Gold Cup, He crushed his opponent the following year by twenty lengths and went on to achieve a historic treble in 1966.
There are more interesting articles in our section on Horse Racing.
