Cheltenham 2025: Top Five Gold Cup Race Trends

The Gold Cup is the blue riband race at the Cheltenham Festival, and all eyes will be on betting sites favourite Galopin Des Champs as he bids to become one of the National Hunt greats by winning the race for the third year in a row.

Many factors come into play when looking for a potential Gold Cup winner, and race trends have always been a useful tool.

In this article, we take a look at the top five trends you should keep in mind for 2025.

Cheltenham Form A Must

Mastering the quirks and undulations of the Cheltenham track can be a challenge to many horses, so it is a big plus if they have been around the course before.

The past 12 winners of the Gold Cup had at least one previous run at Cheltenham, and eight of those had already won at the venue.

This is a stat that Monty’s Star and Grangeclare West will have to overcome, as the former has never won at Cheltenham while the latter has never raced there before.

Recent Win A Major Positive

A winning performance leading up to the Festival is a huge positive when finding winners at the Cheltenham Festival.

Nine of the last 12 winners secured victory in their preparation race preceding the Gold Cup.

This trend shows the importance of entering the race in winning form, a stat that fans of Fact To File will need to ignore.

The Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February is a key trial. Five of the last 12 winners have run in that race, including this year's favourite, Galopin Des Champs.

Market Usually Gets It Right

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the biggest betting events of the year, and based on recent history, it’s safe to say that horse racing betting sites usually get it right with their odds.

Six of the past 12 winners were favourites, and eight of the past 12 winners were in the top three in the betting. 

Al Boum Photo was the only double-figure priced winner of the race in the past 10 years, and with Galopin Des Champs a heavy odds-on favourite to win this year, it looks unlikely that we will get a shock result.

Irish Have Made It Their Own

The British used to have a strong hold on this race but that has all changed in recent years.

Irish raiders have won the past six runnings, with Willie Mullins claiming four Gold Cups and Henry De Bromhead picking up the other two.

This year's renewal looks like it will also go to the Irish. The top six in the markets offered by betting apps are all trained in Ireland.

Age Is Important

Like most championship races, the Gold Cup favours horses in their prime, aged between seven and nine.

To back this up, the last 12 winners have emerged from this age bracket. This is no surprise as National Hunt horses are usually at their best during that period, with plenty of experience having been gained.

Long Run was the last six-year-old to win the race in 2011, while no horse aged 10 or above has won it since Cool Dawn in 1998.