Greatwood Gold Cup

The Greatwood Gold Cup is a Class 1, Grade 3 steeple-chase run at Newbury Racecourse over a distance of 2m 4f with the horses taking on sixteen fences before crossing the finishing line.

Run as a handicap, the Greatwood Gold Cup Steeple Chase is open to horses aged five and above.

The Greatwood Gold Cup was first run in 2004 and won that year by the Nicky Henderson trained Isio, ridden by Barry Geraghty.

The leading jockey’s in the Greatwood Gold Cup are Barry Geraghty and Nick Schofield who have both won the race twice; Geraghty aboard Isio (2004) and Big Fella Thanks (2010) and Schofield aboard Natal (2008) and New Little Bric (2009).

Leading winning trainer of the Greatwood Gold Cup is Paul Nicholls whose four wins in the eight runnings of the race came with:

Cornish Sett (2006)
Natal (2008)
New Little Bric (2009)
Big Fella Thanks (2010)

In 2006 the race had an incredibly exciting finish with both Paul Nicholl’s Cornish Sett and Horus, trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Jamie Moore, being awarded winners of the race in a dead heat.

The 2011 running of the Wiltshire County Show Supporting Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase was won by the eight year old bay Gelding, trained by Charlie Mann and ridden by Peter Toole.

Run on good to soft ground, Fine Parchment had chased the leaders before going second four fences from home.  From two out Fine Parchment had taken the lead and although Tail on the Bank was going-on approaching the line, Fine Parchment held on to win by half a length.  The David Pipe trained Swing Bill, ridden by Timmy Murphy came in  third, a further one and three quarter lengths behind, holding off Big Fella Thanks, the previous year’s winner by a shoulder.