Coral Cup

Grade 3 race
Coral Cup

Location	Cheltenham Racecourse Cheltenham, England
Inaugurated	1993
Race type	Hurdle race
Sponsor	Coral
Website	Cheltenham
Race information
Distance	2m 5f (4,225 metres)
Track	Turf, left-handed
Qualification	Four-years-old and up
Weight	Handicap
Purse	£75,000 (2010) 1st: £42,758

The Coral Cup is a Grade 3 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 5 furlongs (4,225 metres), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.

The event was established in 1993, and it has been sponsored by Coral throughout its history. The inaugural winner, Olympian, was given a bonus prize of £50,000 for having won the Imperial Cup the previous weekend. The race was promoted to Grade 3 status in 1999.

There were high winds on the day of the planned running in 2008, so the Coral Cup was rescheduled and run on Cheltenham's New Course. The distance of the rearranged event was 2 miles and 4½ furlongs.

Records

Most successful horse:

• no horse has won this race more than once

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Leading jockey (2 wins):

• Barry Geraghty – Sky's the Limit (2006), Spirit River (2010)
• Davy Russell - Naiad de Misselot (2008), Carlito Brigante (2011)

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Leading trainer (3 wins):

• Martin Pipe – Olympian (1993), Big Strand (1997), Ilnamar (2002)

Winners

• Weights given in stones and pounds; Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr".

Year	Winner	Age	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1993	Olympian	6	10-00	Peter Scudamore	Martin Pipe
1994	Time for a Run	7	11-08	Charlie Swan	Edward O'Grady
1995	Chance Coffey	10	10-00	Gerry O'Neill	Pat O'Donnell
1996	Trainglot	9	10-03	Mark Dwyer	Jimmy FitzGerald
1997	Big Strand	8	10-00	Jamie Evans	Martin Pipe
1998	Top Cees	8	10-00	Barry Fenton	Lynda Ramsden
1999	Khayrawani	7	11-03	Fran Berry	Christy Roche
2000	What's Up Boys	6	10-03	Mr Paul Flynn	Philip Hobbs
2001	no race 2001 [1]
2002	Ilnamar	6	10-05	Rodi Greene	Martin Pipe
2003	Xenophon	7	11-00	Mick Fitzgerald	Tony Martin
2004	Monkerhostin	7	10-08	Richard Johnson	Philip Hobbs
2005	Idole First	6	10-10	Alan O'Keeffe	Venetia Williams
2006	Sky's the Limit	5	11-12	Barry Geraghty	Edward O'Grady
2007	Burntoakboy	9	09-12	Sam Jones	Richard Newland
2008	Naiad du Misselot	7	10-13	Davy Russell	Ferdy Murphy
2009	Ninetieth Minute	6	10-03	Paddy Flood	Tom Taaffe
2010	Spirit River	5	11-02	Barry Geraghty	Nicky Henderson
2011	Carlito Brigante	5	10-12	Davy Russell	Gordon Elliott

¹ The 2001 running was cancelled because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
  • 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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• pedigreequery.com – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle – Cheltenham.
• racenewsonline.co.uk – Racenews Archive (February 21, 2008).

See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British National Hunt races