Last 5 winners of December Gold Cup

The Cheltenham International Meeting gets underway on Friday 11th December 2026, with the eagerly anticipated December Gold Cup taking place on Day Two.

The iconic and historic Cheltenham Racecourse plays host to a number of prestigious horse racing events across the calendar year, and the last one to take place in 2026 will be the renewal of the Cheltenham International Meeting, also known as the Christmas Meeting. There are two days of enthralling racing, with this year’s Christmas Meeting taking place from Friday 11th to Saturday 12th December 2026.

There are a plethora of races that capture the imagination of those in attendance – one such race is the Virgin Bet December Gold Cup on the second and final day of the meeting. The December Gold Cup gets underway on Saturday afternoon.

In terms of history, the December Gold Cup has it in abundance. Its history goes back to the inaugural running of this race back in 1963. Originally known as the Massey Ferguson Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons, the first-ever December Gold Cup was won by Limeking, who was ridden by Toss Taaffe and trained by Danny Morgan.

This race was known as the Massey Ferguson Gold Cup until its name was changed in 1980. After that, the name of the December Gold Cup changed on several occasions, and in 2005, it was named the Robin Cook Memorial Gold Cup after racing fan and ex-Foreign Secretary Robin Cook passed away.

After being known as the Vote A P Gold Cup to encourage votes at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award for Tony McCoy in 2010, its name was changed in 2011 and again in 2012. Then, from 2014 to 2020, the December Gold Cup was known as the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup.

This name stuck until 2021 when the name was changed once again, this time to the Racing Post Gold Cup. As of 2026, the December Gold Cup is now known as the Support The Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup.

Ridden by Sean Bowen, Glengouly romped to the finish line last year, beating Vincenzo and Jagwar in a surprising 33/1 winner for trainer Faye Bramley.

The most successful jockey to have ever taken part in the December Gold Cup in its long history is Richard Johnson, who has three wins in this race to his name. He won with Legal Right in 1999, Monkerhostin in 2004 and Village Vic in 2015.

As for the trainer who has had the most success in this race, that would be Paul Nicholls, who currently leads the way with no less than five victories over the years. Nicholls’ wins have come with Poquelin in 2009 and 2012, Unioniste in 2012 and Frodon in 2016 and 2018.

Finally, the horses with the most wins in this Gold Cup are Poquelin and Frodon. Poquelin’s wins came in 2009 and 2010. As for Frodon, wins came in the 2016 and 2018 renewals of the December Gold Cup.

Now, let’s look back at the five most recent winners of the prestigious December Gold Cup at Cheltenham Racecourse, starting with 2020.

2020: Chatham Street Lad

The 2020 December Gold Cup was won by Darragh O’Keefe, who rode Chatham Street Lad to victory in that year’s renewal of the race. Ryan Mania’s Midnight Shadow and Jamie Moore’s Benatar had to settle for second and third place on the day.

This was O’Keefe and trainer Michael Winters’ first-ever win in this race at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The other 14 horses in the field that year were: Good Boy Bobby (Daryl Jacob), Annie Mc (Jonjo O’Neill Jr), Coole Cody (Adam Wedge), Master Tommytucker (Harry Cobden), Militarian (James Bowen), Al Dancer (Sam Twiston-Davies), Southfield Stone (Bryony Frost), Romain De Senam (Harry Skelton), Champagne Mystery (Nico de Boinville), Drumconnor Lad (Conor Brassil), Huntsman Son (Kielan Woods), Cepage (Charlie Deutsch), Windsor Avenue (Brian Hughes) and Saint Sonnet (Aidan Coleman).

2021: Coole Cody

Coole Cody, won it in 2021. Tom O’Brien’s Zanza came in second place, while Ryan Mania’s Midnight Shadow had to settle for third place.

For jockey Adam Wedge and trainer Evan Williams, this was their first-ever win in Cheltenham’s December Gold Cup.

The rest of the 2021 field were as follows: Fusil Raffles (Daryl Jacob), Deyrann De Carjac (Brendan Powell), Lalor (Harry Cobden), Topofthecotswolds (Sam Twiston-Davies), Siruh Du Lac (Tom Scudamore), Beakstown (Harry Skelton), Cepage (Charlie Deutsch), Francky Du Berlais (Sean Bowen), Dostal Phil (Aidan Coleman) and Farinet (Rachael Blackmore).

Anticipation and excitement are building ahead of the 2026 December Gold Cup at Cheltenham Racecourse. later this week.

2023: Fugitif

The 2023 December Gold Cup was won by Fugitif, who was ridden to victory by Harry Skelton in a competitive renewal of the race at Cheltenham. Il Ridoto, ridden by Freddie Gingell, ran a huge race to finish second, while Gavin Sheehan’s Frero Banbou took third place on the day.

For jockey Harry Skelton and trainer Dan Skelton, this was a notable success in one of the most prestigious handicaps of the season at Cheltenham Racecourse.
The rest of the 2023 field included: Midnight River (Bryony Frost), Stolen Silver (Sean Bowen), Editeur Du Gite (Niall Houlihan), So Scottish (Charlie Deutsch), War Lord (Sam Twiston-Davies), Heltenham (Ben Jones), Whistleinthedark (Rachael Blackmore) and Torn And Frayed (Jonathan Burke).

2024: Il Ridoto

Il Ridoto went one better in 2024, claiming victory in the December Gold Cup under Freddie Gingell. Having gone close the previous year, he produced a strong performance to land the feature race, with a talented field chasing him home. Fugitif, ridden by Harry Skelton, finished second once again, while Frero Banbou filled the places in third.

This victory marked a significant moment for connections, building on previous strong performances in this race and underlining Il Ridoto’s consistency at Cheltenham.

The remainder of the field featured several familiar names, including Stolen Silver, Midnight River, So Scottish and War Lord, all of whom contributed to another competitive renewal.

2025: Glengouly

The 2025 December Gold Cup was won by Glengouly, who was ridden to victory by Sean Bowen after a superb front-running performance at Cheltenham. Sent off at 33/1, he held off strong challenges from Vincenzo in second and Jagwar in third to land the feature race.

This victory marked a huge moment for trainer Faye Bramley, recording the biggest win of her career in one of Cheltenham Racecourse’s most competitive handicaps. Glengouly dictated the pace throughout and found plenty up the hill to secure a memorable success.
The remainder of the field included a number of well-fancied runners, but none were able to reel in the surprise winner on the day.

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