The Cheltenham World Cup is arguably the most prestigious of all jump races. With a distance of three miles and two and a half furlongs, with twenty two demanding fences to be jumped, and with a punishing uphill climb to the finish, it places severe demands on the horses that enter, and not surprisingly it has been won by some exceedingly fine horses.

In total the race has been run eighty times. The horse that has won it on most occasions is Golden Miller which won every race from 1932 to 1936. In 1934 the horse also won the Grand National and it is the only horse to have won both races in a single year.

Cottage Rake won it on three occasions from 1948 to 1950 and other three time winners of more modern times were Arkle and Best Mate. Arkle was an Irish horse which won the race from 1964 to 1966. This horse caught the public’s imagination and gained considerable acclaim. Many to this day will claim that Arkle was the best steeplechaser of all time. Arkle entered a total of 35 races and won 27 of them. In two of his Cheltenham Cup victories he won by twenty and thirty lengths. Arkle’s jockey on all Cup wins was Pat Taaffe, who also won the Cup on Fort Leney in 1968 making him the Cup’s most successful jockey of all time. Similarly Arkle’s trainer, Tom Dreaper was the most successful trainer. He also trained the Cup winners Prince Regent and Fort Leney.

Best Mate was another fine horse which won the Cup in 2002, 2003 and 2004. This was another horse with which the public fell in love. It was a heartbreaking moment for many when this horse collapsed and died with a heart attack during a rave at Exeter. Of all the races he ran, he always finished in first or second place.

In recent years the two horses battling it out for the honours are Kauto Star and Denman. These two horses are trained by Paul Nicholls and are stable mates. Kauto Star won the 2007 Cup but lost it to Denman the following year. Kauto Star took back the trophy in 2009. These two superb mounts will this year again do battle with Kauto Star the strong favourite at 4/6 against recent faller Denman at 4/1 in the current Cheltenham Betting markets at Betfair.