Three of the greatest Cheltenham Festivals of all time from a golden age of jumping

Of many fabulous festivals in the last 50 years, Colm Greaves picks three that stand out

L’Escargot, with Tommy Carberry up, at Cheltenham for the Gold Cup in March 1971 when horse and jockey won the race for the second year running. Picture: Victor Drees/Getty Images

Best ever World Cup tournament? Mexico 1970. Olympics? Barcelona, 1992. Rugby World Cup? South Africa 1995. Munster Hurling Championship? 2004.

Cheltenham Festival? That’s a tougher one altogether. Reasoning is much more subjective and criteria will vary widely between money won and winners enclosure emotions. Or memorable performances by high class animals and unexpected fairy tale winners for smaller stables.

But perhaps the greatest of festivals are remembered for the stories in the traditional ‘big-three’ contests of the week — the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother and the Gold Cup. Of many fabulous festivals in the last 50 years, Colm Greaves picks three threesomes that stand out.

1971: Bula (Champion Hurdle), Crisp (Queen Mother), L’Escargot (Gold Cup).

Owned by the American Ambassador to Ireland, Raymond Guest, L’Escargot was named after a snail but moved a little quicker. In 1971 he was defending the Gold Cup title he’d surprisingly won at 33/1 the previous year but had been winless since. Taking advantage of a fall by the good mare Glengarraig Lady at the third last, he powered home on bottomless ground from Leap Frog and The Dikler. Four years later this durable beast became the first horse since Golden Millar to win both the Aintree National and the Gold Cup when he prevailed from Red Rum in 1975.

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Bula, bought cheaply at Goffs in Dublin was winning his 13th consecutive race when he quickened past Persian War, seeking a four-timer, after the last. Bula successfully defended his crown the flowing year and was sent chasing. Never as good over the larger obstacles he was third in the ‘75 Gold Cup and sadly lost is life after a fall in the Champion Chase two years later.

Crisp had a truly remarkable career, remembered mostly for his buccaneering run in the 1973 National where he was miles clear everywhere but the winning post. A big black beast of a horse he was imported from Australia and trained by Fred Winter. His second race in Britain was the Champion Chase and despite unsuitable going he powered home by twenty-five lengths under Richard Pitman. Fifth in the Gold Cup a year later his programme the following year simple: Champion Chase over two miles followed by the Grand National over four and a half. Different days.

1986: See You Then, Buck House, Dawn Run.

Jonjo O’Neill is led back in on Dawn Run after winning the 1986 Gold Cup. In doing so she became the first horse to complete the Champion Hurdle/Gold Cup double. Picture: Allsport UK

Nicky Henderson has recently gained a reputation for cautiousness with his horses, but t’was always thus. See You Then, a three-time Champion Hurdle winner, earned the nickname ‘See You When’ because he ran so rarely. Always susceptible to niggling problems, he defended his title in ’86 after just one prep run, but still started odds on and trounced Gaye Brief by seven lengths. He only ran fifteen times over hurdles in an eight-year career an elusiveness that has unjustly diminished the reputation of a brilliant horse.

Trained by Mouse Morris the white-faced chestnut Buck House was on his fourth mission to Cheltenham by 1986. He won the Supreme Novice Hurdle in 83 and followed that with a fourth in Dawn Run’s Champion Hurdle a year later and then a second in The Arkle. His win in the Champion Chase was uncomplicated, he powered home from Very Promising with the three-time champion Badsworth Boy down the field. His achievements were overshadowed by his contemporary, Dawn Run.

Dawn Run’s attempt to become the first horse to double up in the Champion Hurdle (winner 1984) and Gold Cup were very nearly scuppered by horrible jumping during schooling sessions in the run up to the race. Jonjo O’Neill had controversially replaced Tony Mullins on the mare by now and realised that that the only way she could win was if they lead from the start and avoided distractions on the way around. “We went to the first like shit off a shovel” Jono said later but by the second last she looked to be in trouble. Remarkably cool in the heat of battle, Jonjo gave her a breather before the last and soon, in the words of the great Peter O’Sullevan, “the mare was beginning to get up”

2006: Brave Inca, Newmill, War of Attrition.

Tony McCoy and Brave Inca on the way to winning the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle in 2006 having been third in the race a year previously. Picture: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Even at this remove it’s hard to construct a sentence without the words ‘old boot’ and ‘tough’ in discussing Brave Inca. Third in the race the previous year Brave Inca was joined by Hardy Eustace at the top of the hill and they went ‘mano a mano’ to the last when Hardy cried enough and Macs Joy crept alongside, going well. The sight of him just seemed to annoy Colm Murphy’s horse and he pulled out more to win handy with McCoy aboard.

Trained at Inishannon in west Cork, by John Joseph Murphy, Newmill was a durable horse who won 12 of his 49 career starts. His greatest day by far was his nine-length victory in the Queen Mother in 2006 from Fota Island, with some illustrious names (Moscow Flyer 5th and Kauto Star, fell) unseen. He looked even better when he won the Irish equivalent a month later at Punchestown. Although only eight he only won once over fences beyond his golden spring despite racing into his fifteenth year.

Two years before he won the Champion, Brave Inca had beaten War of Attrition in the Supreme Novice Hurdle. ‘War’ was only about the fifth horse Michael O’Leary had owned and that experience helped hook him into 20 years of lucrative investment in National Hunt racing. He was hyped as an Irish banker in the Arkle the next year, but disappointed in seventh. His first senior year was inconsistent, but after a battle of wills between owner and trainer he was eventually nominated for the Gold Cup ahead of the Ryanair chase. It was uncomplicated in the end. Jockey Conor O’Dwyer steered an outside line and held the Grand National hero, Hedgehunter up the hill completing a memorable ‘big-three’ treble for Ireland.