Cheltenham to celebrate 40th anniversary in style

Cheltenham are celebrating the 40th anniversary of both the £100,000 (€156,900) Tripleprint Gold Cup and the £75,000 (€117,600) Victor Chandler Bula Hurdle at next week’s meeting.

Cheltenham will be hosting a lunch on the second day (Saturday, December 14) to celebrate 40 years of these wonderful contests.

The Tripleprint Gold Cup was introduced in 1963, three years after the successful Mackeson Gold Cup, now the Thomas Pink Gold Cup, which is held the previous month.

Originally under the sponsorship of Massey Ferguson, the race underwent a number of sponsors before settling down to the current title in 1992.

George Ward, chairman of the Grunwick Group, said: “The Tripleprint Gold Cup is the perfect sponsorship for the Grunwick Group because the race and the meeting are firmly identified with the brand name Tripleprint.”

The Victor Chandler Bula Hurdle was formerly the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle until 1977 when the name was changed to reflect Bula’s Champion Hurdle victories. It is now one of the leading examinations for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle in March.

Winning owners, trainers and jockeys of the two races will be present on the Saturday to reminisce about their successes. They will include Andy Turnell, Jenny Pitman, David Nicholson and Mercy Rimell.

Cheltenham commercial manager Peter McNeile said today: “The 40th anniversary of both the £100,000 Tripleprint Gold Cup and the £75,000 Victor Chandler Bula Hurdle is a tremendous landmark in the history of Cheltenham racecourse.

“Naturally we are very pleased to see these races mature into benchmark events of the National Hunt calendar and this year’s events look more than usually competitive.”