Against the market: Cheltenham’s most unlikely winners

Races at Cheltenham are typically won by favourites – the most fancied runners who have proven themselves over the season and arrive at the Festival with few question marks when the early prices for Cheltenham are first formed. But every so often, the race produces a result no one expects, reminding everyone just how unpredictable the Gold Cup can be.

Short-priced winners dominate the roll of honour, but there've been occasions where horses dismissed by the market have risen to the challenge. They've coped better than their more fancied rivals with the pace, the ground and that relentless finish up the hill.

Here are the biggest-priced winners in Cheltenham Gold Cup history, and how they managed to defy expectations.

 

Norton's Coin (1990) – 100/1

Norton's Coin remains the best example of a Gold Cup shock and probably won't be beaten for price.

He was trained by Sirrel Griffiths, a dairy farmer from West Wales who trained just three horses as a hobby rather than running a professional yard. Norton's Coin arrived with limited form at the top level, and nobody backed him – he went off at 100/1.

Ridden positively from the start, he jumped well and travelled better than expected, putting pressure on rivals who were assumed to have much more in the tank. Turning for home, there was still a sense that those behind would reel him in. But as others began to tire, Norton's Coin kept finding enough to see it out.

His win challenged what everyone thought it took to win a Gold Cup and remains one of the race's most extraordinary results.

 

Minella Indo (2019) – 50/1

Minella Indo's story at the Festival began years before his Gold Cup win, with a performance in 2019 that caught everyone off guard.

Sent off at 50/1 for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, he lined up with little market support in a race that's all about stamina. Trained by Henry de Bromhead, Minella Indo had shown ability but hadn't stood out as a leading contender.

As the race developed, staying power proved key. While several better-fancied horses struggled to maintain the pace, Minella Indo kept finding more. He travelled strongly and powered up the hill to land one of the Festival's biggest shocks.

Two years later, he returned to win the Gold Cup itself. That earlier success doesn't look like luck anymore – more like an early sign of a horse perfectly suited to Cheltenham's demands, where staying power is everything.

 

Carrickboy (2013) – 50/1

Carrickboy produced one of 2013's biggest Festival shocks when winning the Byrne Group Plate at 50/1.

The Plate is traditionally one of the week's most competitive handicap chases, and that year's running was packed with quality. A full field of 22 runners lined up, with most horses looking evenly matched. Carrickboy arrived with little backing, but from early on, he travelled prominently and jumped accurately, putting himself in a strong position.

Turning for home, he hit the front and kicked clear around two furlongs out – going for it earlier than most would in this type of race. Despite pressure from behind, he kept responding and held on all the way to the line for a decisive win.

Carrickboy didn't go on to achieve major success at the top level, but his win remains a standout example of how Festival handicaps can throw up results that go way beyond what the market expects.