The 2019 race was a memorable one as it was dominated by the front three in the betting, but it was Paul Nichols and Harry Cobden who were the winners, with TopoftheGame, giving Nichols a third win in the race.
Despite Nichols making it a hat trick of wins, like many other races at the Cheltenham festival, Willie Mullins sits at the top of the tree for most wins, with four to his name, the most recent one in 2015. He isn’t however alone, with Fulke Walwyn amassing four wins to between 1948 to 1957. The pair won the race with the following:
Pat Taafee:
Mountain Prince (1948)
On View (1951)
Glenbeigh (1954)
Mandarin (1957)
Willie Mullins:
Florida Pearl (1998)
Rule Supreme (2004)
Cooldine (2009)
Don Poli (2015)
Pat Taaffe’s four wins of the race between 1953 to 1970 mean he is the most successful jockey to have ridden in the race.
He could be joined however in 2020, with both Davey Russel and Barry Geraghty having both won the race on three occasions and they may well have live chances to make it four, so it’ll be worth noting who their mounts are.
As well as Mullins and Nichols, Nicky Henderson is also worth taking a close look at. He fielded Santini last year, who finished a close second and before that took the race in 2005 and 2017.