The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs, and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for juvenile novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham, England, over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and takes place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Brown Advisory Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and half a furlong, and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race 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 about 2 miles and ½ furlong, and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is the last leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and is scheduled to take place each year on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March.
The Melling Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in early April.
The Clarence House Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 furlong, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in January.
Moscow Flyer was an Irish-bred and -trained National Hunt horse who ran over distances between 2 miles and 2+1⁄2 miles (3.2–4 km). A top-class horse who achieved a Timeform rating of 184, he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2003 and 2005, the Tingle Creek Chase in 2003 and 2004 and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2002.
The Coral Trophy is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late February.
The Celebration Chase is a Grade One National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 1 mile 7½ furlongs, and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late April.
Paul Frank Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007–08 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money. As of April 2023, he has trained over 3,500 winners, won the 2012 Grand National, four Cheltenham Gold Cups and has been crowned British jump racing Champion Trainer fourteen times.
Nicholas John Henderson is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times.
Sprinter Sacre, is a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse. He currently has the third highest ever Timeform steeplechase rating of 192p, behind only Arkle on 212 and Flyingbolt on 210 as their highest in the modern era.
Finian's Rainbow was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won ten of his fifteen starts, including the Maghull Novices' Chase, Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Melling Chase. He was owned by Michael Buckley, trained by Nicky Henderson, and was ridden by Barry Geraghty in all but one of his races.
Sizing Europe is an Irish National Hunt horse, best known for winning the 2011 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. He won the Irish Champion Hurdle in 2008 before switching to chasing, where he has won six Grade 1s over fences.
Big Zeb is a retired, Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing and was best known for his performances in steeplechases over the minimum distance of two miles. He was slow to mature and made little impact in bumpers and hurdle races before being switched to chasing and winning the Swordlestown Cup Novice Chase in 2008. In the following season he won the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase but fell twice in five races. He reached his peak in the 2009/2010 season when he won the Fortria Chase and the Tied Cottage Chase before defeating a strong field to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He won the Fortria Chase and the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase again in the next season and rebounded from a defeat in the Queen Mother Champion Chase to win the Punchestown Champion Chase. He won both the Fortria Chase and the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase for a third time in the autumn of 2011 but developed injury problems and failed to win in his remaining five races. He was retired in January 2013, having won thirteen of his thirty-three races.
Sire De Grugy was a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. He showed promise in his early career, winning the Dovecote Novices' Hurdle at Kempton Park Racecourse in 2011 and emerged as a top class performer with a win in the Celebration Chase in April 2013. In the 2013–14 National Hunt season he established himself as the leading two-mile steeplechaser in Britain, winning the Tingle Creek Chase, Desert Orchid Chase, Clarence House Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He continued to run in top-class two-mile steeplechases without fully recapturing his 2013–14 form, winning one race in each of the following three seasons including a second win in the Tingle Creek Chase, before being retired in December 2017.
Nicolai "Nico" W. Chastel de Boinville is an English horse racing jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. De Boinville has ridden more Grade One winners than any British jumps jockey currently active.
Special Tiara was a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. He specialised in steeplechases over the minimum distance of two miles and was a confirmed front-runner who usually attempted to lead from the start. He scored his first major success in 2013 when he won the Maghull Novices' Chase and went on to win the Celebration Chase in 2015 and two editions of the Desert Orchid Chase. In March 2017 he recorded his biggest success when he took the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the fourth attempt. He was euthanized after sustaining an injury in the 2019 Dublin Chase at Leopardstown.
Politologue is a French-bred racehorse who competed in National Hunt racing. After winning one race in his native country he was sent to race in England and won two Novice Hurdle races in the 2015/16 season. In the following season he began to compete in steeplechases and won three races including the Noel Novices' Chase. In his next campaign he emerged as a top-class chaser over two and two and a half miles as he recorded victories in the Haldon Gold Cup, Tingle Creek Chase, Desert Orchid Chase and Melling Chase. He won the 1965 Chase in November 2018 but failed to win again for eighteen months before gaining his biggest win in the 2020 Champion Chase. In December 2020 he won the Tingle Creek Chase for a second time. It was to be his final victory and he was retired in March 2022 after a further four starts.
