A.P. McCoy

Sir Anthony Peter ‘A.P.’ McCoy is widely regarded as the greatest National Hunt jockey ever and, as such, requires little further introduction. On his retirement from the saddle in April, 2015, McCoy had ridden 4,348 winners in Britain and Ireland and won the British Jump Jockeys’ Championship every year between 1995/96 and 2014/15. At the Cheltenham Festival, McCoy was leading jockey just twice, in 1997 and 1998, but his career total of 31 winners at the March showpiece meeting places him in third-place on the all-time list, behind just Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty.

McCoy rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival, Kibreet in the Grand Annual Chase, in his first season as a fully-fledged professional, in 1996. The following season he recorded a notable treble, winning the Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Champion Hurdle on Or Royal and Make A Stand, both trained by Martin Pipe, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Mr. Mulligan, trained by Noel Chance. In 1998, McCoy partnered another four Martin Pipe-trained winners – namely Champleve in the Arkle Challenge Trophy, Unsinkable Boxer in the Pertemps Final, Cyfor Malta in the Cathcart Challenge Cup and Blowing Wind in the County Hurdle – plus Edredon Bleu, trained by Henrietta Knight, in the Grand Annual Chase, to increase his winning tally to five.

With the exceptions of 2001 and 2005, McCoy rode at least one Cheltenham Festival winner every year from 1999 until the end of his riding career in 2015. He never did manage to complete a clean sweep of the four main ‘championship’ races – the Stayers’ Hurdle being a notable omission – but did win the Champion Hurdle twice more, on Brave Inca in 2006 and Binocular in 2010, the Cheltenham Gold Cup once more, on the subsequently ill-fated Synchronised in 2012, and the Queen Mother Champion Chase once, on Edredon Bleu in 2000. Fittingly, his final Cheltenham Festival winner, Uxizandre in the Ryanair Chase in 2015, was owned by John Patrick ‘J.P.’ McManus, by whom McCoy had been paid a retainer, rumoured to be up to £1 million a year, for the last decade or so of his career.

2012 Cheltenham Festival Results

Tuesday, March 13 (Old Course)

1.30pm William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
(Grade One) 2m 110yds £100,000

1 Cinders And Ashes 10/1
2 Darlan 7/1
3 Trifolium 15/2
19 ran

2.05pm Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy Steeple Chase
(Grade One) 2m £130,000

1 Sprinter Sacre 8/11 Fav
2 Cue Card 13/2
6 ran

2.40pm JLT Specialty Steeple Chase
(Grade Three) 3m 110yds £75,000

1 Alfie Sherrin 14/1
2 Fruity O’Rooney 16/1
3 Our Mick 11/1
4 The Package 6/1
19 ran

3.20pm Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
(Grade One) 2m 110yds £370,000

1 Rock On Ruby 11/1
2 Overturn 20/1
3 Hurricane Fly 4/6 Fav
10 ran

4.00pm Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeple Chase
(Handicap) 3m 7f £40,000

1 Balthazar King 11/2
2 A New Story 20/1
3 Wedger Pardy 33/1
4 Sizing Australia 5/1
16 ran

4.40pm OLBG Mares’ Hurdle
(Grade Two) 2m 4f £70,000

1 Quevega 4/7 Fav
2 Kentford Grey Lady 14/1
3 Golden Sunbird 66/1
19 ran

5.15pm Pulteney Land Investments Novices’ Handicap Chase
(Listed) 2m 4f 110y £50,000

1 Hunt Ball 13/2 Fav
2 White Star Line 14/1
3 Owen Glendower 33/1
4 Battle Group 33/1
20 ran

Wednesday, March 14 (Old Course)

1.30pm Diamond Jubilee National Hunt Chase
(Amateurs) 4m £75,000

1 Teaforthree 5/1 Fav
2 Harry The Viking 7/1
3 Four Commanders 10/1
19 ran

2.05pm Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle
(Grade One) 2m 5f £100,000

1 Simonsig 2/1 Fav
2 Felix Yonger 16/1
3 Monksland 11/2
17 ran

2.40pm RSA Chase
(Grade One) 3m 110yds £130,000

1 Bobs Worth 9/2
2 First Lieutenant 9/2
3 Call The Police 20/1
9 ran

3.20pm sportingbet.com Queen Mother Champion Chase
(Grade One) 2m £320,000

1 Finian’s Rainbow 4/1
2 Sizing Europe 4/5 Fav
3 Big Zeb 13/2
8 ran

4.00pm Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
(Grade Three) 2m 5f £70,000

1 Son Of Flicka 16/1
2 Get Me Out Of Here 6/1 Fav
3 Veiled 25/1
4 Silverhand 25/1
28 ran

4.40pm Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
(Grade Three) 2m 110yds £60,000

1 Une Artiste 40/1
2 Edeymi 11/1
3 Vendor 3/1 Fav
4 Kazlian 7/1
24 ran

5.15pm Weatherbys Champion Bumper
(Grade One) 2m 110yds £55,000

1 Champagne Fever 16/1
2 New Year’s Eve 9/2 Fav
3 Pique Sous 12/1
20 ran

Thursday, March 15 (New Course)

1.30pm Jewson Novices’ Chase
(Listed Race) 2m 5f £90,000

1 Sir Des Champs 3/1
2 Champion Court 8/1
3 For Non Stop 8/1
10 ran

2.05pm Pertemps Final
(Listed Race) 3m £70,000

1 Cape Tribulation 14/1
2 Catch Me 14/1
3 Cantlow 33/1
4 Houblon Des Obeaux 33/1
24 ran

2.40pm Ryanair Chase
(Grade One) 2m 5f £260,000

1 Riverside Theatre 7/2 Fav
2 Albertas Run 10/1
3 Medermit 8/1
12 ran

3.20pm Ladbrokes World Hurdle
(Grade One) 3m £260,000

1 Big Buck’s 5/6 Fav
2 Voler La Vedette 20/1
3 Smad Place 20/1
11 ran

4.00pm Byrne Group Plate Handicap Chase
(Grade Three) 2m 5f £75,000

1 Salut Flo 9/2 Fav
2 The Cockney Mackem 10/1
3 Glam Gerry 33/1
4 Divers 8/1
22 ran

4.40pm Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase
(Amateurs) 3m 1f 110yds £50,000

1 Sunnyhillboy 13/2 Fav
2 Becauseicouldntsee 9/1
3 Exmoor Ranger 33/1
4 Up The Beat 8/1
23 ran

5.15pm St Patrick’s Day Derby
(Charity Race) 1m 5f

1 PASCHA BERE (Mr & Mrs Mark Tracey) Nick Gifford – TINA COOK
2 WILD DESERT (Whites Of Coventry & Stephen Dunn) Charlie Longsdon – LINDSEY HUNTING
3 PRINCE OF FIRE (J P McManus) Charlie Swan IRE – WENDY NORMILE

Friday, March 16 (New Course)

1.30pm JCB Triumph Hurdle Race
(Grade One) 2m 1f £100,000

1 Countrywide Flame 33/1
2 Hisaabaat 20/1
3 Grumeti 5/1 Fav
20 ran

2.05pm Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle
(Grade Three) 2m 1f £70,000

1 Alderwood 20/1
2 Edgardo Sol 25/1
3 Sailors Warn 16/1
4 Plan A 20/1
26 ran

2.40pm Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
(Grade One) 3m £100,000

1 Brindisi Breeze 7/1
2 Boston Bob 6/5 Fav
3 Grand Vision 25/1
20 ran

3.20pm Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup
(Chase) (Grade One) 3m 2f 110yds £500,000

1 Synchronised 8/1
2 The Giant Bolster 50/1
3 Long Run 7/4 Fav
14 ran

4.00pm Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup
(Amateurs) 3m 2f 110yds £35,000

1 Salsify 7/1
2 Chapoturgeon 3/1 Fav
3 Oscar Delta 28/1
4 My Flora
22 ran

4.40pm Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
2m 4f 110yds £50,000 £45,000

1 Attaglance 20/1
2 Toner D’Oudairies 7/1
3 Oscar Nominee 10/1
4 Make A Track 12/1
24 ran

5.15pm Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase
(Handicap) (Grade Three) 2m 110yds £75,000

1 Bellvano 20/1
2 Tanks For That 9/1
3 Kumbeshwar 16/1
4 Anquetta 33/1
21 ran

2012 TOTAL PRIZE MONEY = £3,375,000

Pat Taaffe

The late Pat Taaffe was famously tall, at 6’2”, and famously unstylish in the saddle – at least, according to some observers – but, nonetheless, rode 25 winners at the Cheltenham Festival, which makes him the fourth most successful jockey in the history of the National Hunt extravaganza, behind Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty and Tony McCoy. Of course, Taaffe is best remembered as the jockey of the legendary Arkle, on whom he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup three years running in 1964, 1965 and 1966. Indeed, at one point, he was described by Observer correspondent Hugh McIlvanney as ‘one of the few horsemen in the world who can look Arkle in the eye without feeling inferior.’ It is fair to say that the part played by Taaffe in establishing the reputation of Arkle as, arguably, the greatest steeplechaser in history, should not be underestimated.

Less well remembered, perhaps, is that fact that Taaffe also rode Arkle to victory in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 1963, having already won the same race on Coneyburrow in 1953, Solfen in 1960 and Grallagh Cnoc in 1961. He also won on Proud Tarquin in 1970 and remains the leading jockey in the history of the race.

Remarkably, although Taaffe won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle twice, on Stroller in 1954 and Flyingbolt in 1964, his other 23 victories at the Cheltenham Festival all came over the larger obstacles. He won the Queen Mother Champion Chase five times, including two years running, on Fortria, in 1960 and 1961 and, in 1966, on Flyingbolt who, according to Timeform, is the only horse since the early Sixties to be rated within 20lb of Arkle. Two years after partnering Arkle to his third, and final, win in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Taaffe won the prestigious steeplechase again on Fort Leney – trained, like Arkle, by Tom Dreaper – to become the leading jockey in the history of the ‘Blue Riband’ event, which he remains to this day.

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