• OddsDigger
  • Blog
  • 2004 Cheltenham Gold Cup

2004 Cheltenham Gold Cup

The 2004 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday, 18 March 2004. It was the 76th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Best Mate. The winner was ridden by Jim Culloty and trained by Henrietta Knight.

With his third successive Gold Cup victory Best Mate became the fourth horse to win the race three times or more, and he was the first triple-winner since Arkle in the mid-1960s.

Race details

  • Sponsor: Totesport
  • Winner's prize money: £203,000.00
  • Going: Good
  • Number of runners: 10
  • Winner's time: 6m 42.6s

Full result

  * Horse Age Jockey Trainer SP
1   Best Mate 9 Jim Culloty Henrietta Knight 8/11 fav
2 ½ Sir Rembrandt 8 Andrew Thornton Robert Alner 33/1
3 Harbour Pilot 9 Paul Carberry Noel Meade (IRE) 20/1
4 Beef or Salmon 8 Timmy Murphy Michael Hourigan (IRE) 10/1
5 10 First Gold 11 Thierry Doumen François Doumen (FR) 12/1
6 dist Keen Leader 8 Barry Geraghty Jonjo O'Neill 10/1
7 4 Therealbandit 7 Tony McCoy Martin Pipe 15/2
8 3 Alexander Banquet 11 Ruby Walsh Willie Mullins (IRE) 80/1
PU Fence 19 Truckers Tavern 9 Tony Dobbin Ferdy Murphy 22/1
PU Fence 15 Irish Hussar 8 Mick Fitzgerald Nicky Henderson 16/1

* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter. PU = pulled-up.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Best Mate:

  • Foaled: 28 January 1995, in Ireland
  • Sire: Un Desperado; Dam: Katday (Miller's Mate)
  • Owner: Jim Lewis
  • Breeder: Jacques Van't Hart
  • 2004
  • sportinglife.com
  • telegraph.co.uk – ""Best Mate leaps into history"" – March 19, 2004.

Jack Young