The December Gold Cup (run since 2022 as the Ais December Gold Cup) is a Premier Handicap

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steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at

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over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 127 yards, or 4,139 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in December. The event was first run in 1963. It was originally sponsored by

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson Limited is an American agricultural machinery manufacturer. The company was established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of the United Kingdom. It was based in T ...

and known as the Massey Ferguson Gold Cup. The race continued with this title until 1980, but since then it has had various sponsors and consequently several title changes. The 2005 running was named the Robin Cook Memorial Gold Cup. This was in memory of

Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 whe ...

(1946–2005), a former

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who was a keen racing enthusiast.

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supported the race from 2006 to 2009 as the Boylesports.com Gold Cup. The 2010 race was run as the Vote A P Gold Cup as part of a successful campaign to encourage racegoers to vote for

Tony McCoy Sir Anthony Peter McCoy (born 4 May 1974), commonly known as AP McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish former National Hunt horse racing jockey. Based in Ireland and the UK, McCoy rode a record 4,358 winners, and was Champion Jockey a reco ...

in the

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just one, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Several new awards have been i ...

award. In 2011 the racehorse owner Andy Stewart began backing the race to promote the Spinal Research charity, following a spinal injury suffered by his son Paul in 2008. The race was run as the Spinal Research The Atlantic 4 Gold Cup in 2011, the Paul Stewart IronSpine Charity Challenge Gold Cup in 2012 and was then named the Stewart Family Thank You Gold Cup in 2013. From 2014 to 2020 the was run as the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup and in 2021 it was titled the Racing Post Gold Cup. The race has become commonly known in the racing media as the December Gold Cup. and in 2022 Ais took over sponsorship and the word December appeared in the official race title. The race was give Grade 3 status when the National Hunt Pattern was revised in 1989 and was re-classified as a Premier Handicap from the 2022 running when Grade 3 status was renamed by the BHA. The race is often contested by horses which ran previously in the

Paddy Power Gold Cup The Paddy Power Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of ab ...

(also formerly known by other titles). Three have won both races in the same season – Pegwell Bay, Senor El Betrutti and

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Records

Most successful horse (2 wins) : * Poquelin – ''(2009),(2010)'' * Frodon - ''(2016, 2018)'' Leading jockey (3 wins): *

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– ''Legal Right (1999), Monkerhostin (2004) Village Vic (2015)'' Leading trainer (5 wins): * Paul Nicholls – ''Poquelin (2009, 2010), Unioniste (2012), Frodon (2016, 2018)''

Winners

* ''Weights given in

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s and pounds.''

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

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pedigreequery.com
– ''Boylesports.com Gold Cup Chase – Cheltenham.'' *

External links

* Race Recordings 1979 – 200

{{Race Meeting, Cheltenham International Meeting, Turf National Hunt races in Great Britain Cheltenham Racecourse National Hunt chases Recurring sporting events established in 1963 1963 establishments in England

Records

Winners

See also

References

External links