The 2002 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

which took place at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

on Thursday 14 March 2002. It was the 74th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by Best Mate. The winner was ridden by Jim Culloty and trained by Henrietta Knight. The pre-race favourite Looks Like Trouble finished thirteenth. It was the first running of the Gold Cup for two years, as it had been cancelled in 2001 because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.

Race details

* ''Sponsor:'' Tote * ''Winner's prize money:'' £174,000.00 * ''Going:'' Good * ''Number of runners:'' 18 * ''Winner's time:'' 6m 50.1s

Full result

* The distances between the horses are shown in

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the In ...

or shorter. PU = pulled-up.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Best Mate: * ''Foaled:'' 28 January 1995 in Ireland * ''Sire:'' Un Desperado; ''Dam:'' Katday ( Miller's Mate) * ''Owner:'' Jim Lewis * ''Breeder:'' Jacques Van't Hart

References

*
sportinglife.com

– ''"Best Mate surges to Gold Cup glory" – March 14, 2002.'' ---- {{Cheltenham Gold Cup Cheltenham Gold Cup 2002 Cheltenham Gold Cup Cheltenham Gold Cup 2000s in Gloucestershire