Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2024 December Gold Cup Preview
The December Gold Cup otherwise currently known as the AIS December Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons is run in December at Cheltenham during the Christmas Meeting. The race is a premier handicap chase open to runners aged 4yo+ and is run over two miles and four & half furlongs around this left-handed track.
December Gold Cup Information:
- December Gold Cup Past Winners
- December Gold Cup Trainer Statistics
- December Gold Cup Jockey Statistics
If you are interested in other predictions at Cheltenham then head over to the Cheltenham tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Cheltenham Racecourse section for links to these.
How competitive is the December Gold Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2002 when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2009 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 128%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the December Gold Cup, the over-round has been 121%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £121 which is bet.
December Gold Cup Trends:
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the December Gold Cup next time out then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of +11.93. Before placing your bet on the 2024 December Gold Cup see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2012 renewal when Unioniste from Paul Nicholls under the guidance of Harry Derham, won in a time of 5:47.09, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Quantitativeeasing, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty set the quickest time of 5:09.77 in the 2011 renewal.
These are the top three quickest-run December Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals:
- Quantitativeeasing (5:09.77) in 2011
- Poquelin (5:10.26) in 2010
- Coole Cody (5:10.46) in 2021
December Gold Cup Past Winners
Here are the December Gold Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the December Gold Cup as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: The race was abandoned in 2001 because of frost and again in 2008 due to waterlogging. The 2003 renewal was run on the Old Course at Cheltenham instead of the New Course. Abandoned in 2022 due to frozen ground.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 5:11.19 | Fugitif (FR) 8yo 11-3 13/2 | Gavin Sheehan Richard Hobson (GB) |
| 2021 5:10.46 | Coole Cody (IRE) 10yo 10-12 12/1 | Adam Wedge Evan Williams (GB) |
| 2020 5:21.68 | Chatham Street Lad (IRE) 8yo 10-10 16/1 | Darragh O'Keeffe Michael Winters (IRE) |
| 2019 5:34.30 | Warthog (FR) 7yo 10-3 7/1 | David Noonan David Pipe (GB) |
| 2018 5:11.70 | Frodon (FR) 6yo 11-12 7/1 | Bryony Frost Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2017 5:16.90 | Guitar Pete (IRE) 7yo 10-2 9/1 | Ryan Day (3lbs) Nicky Richards (GB) |
| 2016 5:18.00 | Frodon (FR) 4yo 10-10 14/1 | Sam Twiston-Davies Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2015 5:20.10 | Village Vic (IRE) 8yo 10-0 8/1 | Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs (GB) |
| 2014 5:17.90 | Niceonefrankie (GB) 8yo 11-5 16/1 | Aidan Coleman Venetia Williams (GB) |
| 2013 5:13.39 | Double Ross (IRE) 7yo 10-8 7/1 | Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the December Gold Cup have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 44 placings from 249 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 3 placings from 24 runners
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 5 runners
December Gold Cup Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the December Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals is Paul Nicholls who has won the race five times with those five winners coming from Poquelin (2009 & 2010), Unioniste (2012) and Frodon (2016 & 2018). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the December Gold Cup are Nicky Henderson (3 wins), David Pipe (2 wins) and Philip Hobbs (2 wins). There is one trainer who has not had the best of times in the December Gold Cup, Alan King has sent a total of 10 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top December Gold Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Nicholls | 39-5-13 | +14.00 | +12.75 |
| Nicky Henderson | 19-3-3 | +2.00 | -4.87 |
| David Pipe | 19-2-4 | +12.00 | +6.07 |
| Philip Hobbs | 15-2-7 | -1.00 | +1.81 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 23-1-5 | -15.00 | -10.12 |
| Venetia Williams | 14-1-5 | +3.00 | +3.69 |
| Jonjo O'Neill | 9-1-2 | +0.00 | -1.37 |
| Evan Williams | 7-1-3 | +6.00 | +3.96 |
| Nicky Richards | 6-1-5 | +4.00 | +6.16 |
| Noel Meade | 2-1-1 | +15.00 | +9.00 |
December Gold Cup Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the December Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals is Sam Twiston-Davies who has won the race two times with those two winners coming from Double Ross (2013) and Frodon (2016).
Here are some of the top December Gold Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 11-2-2 | +12.00 | +4.13 |
| Aidan Coleman | 9-1-2 | +8.00 | +3.75 |
| Adam Wedge | 5-1-2 | +8.00 | +4.90 |
| Bryony Frost | 3-1-2 | +5.00 | +3.94 |
| Gavin Sheehan | 3-1-1 | +4.50 | +2.06 |
| Ryan Day | 2-1-2 | +8.00 | +5.71 |
| Denis O'Regan | 1-1-1 | +22.00 | +13.75 |
| Darragh O'Keeffe | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +10.00 |
| David Noonan | 1-1-1 | +7.00 | +4.38 |
| Harry Skelton | 7-0-0 | -7.00 | -7.00 |
2024 December Gold Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 4, BD, F, PU, 3, PU, 1, 12, PU, 2, 3, (2, PU), 6, (3, 8), 2, 5, 4, 9, 4, PU
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (72%) - Break of 20 - 392 days (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (76%) - No bigger than 22/1
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Fewer than 2 falls (Fences)
- 20 / 20 (80%) - Within the first 11 of the market
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Achieved an RPR of 124+ (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran over 2m½f - 3mf (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Off a break of 9 - 188 days
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Made 1 - 6 starts (Season)
- 20 / 20 (87%) - Made 3 - 11 starts (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - No more than 2 falls (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - In a field of 3 - 17 (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Fewer than 6 starts (Trip)
- 19 / 20 (76%) - No older than 8yo
- 19 / 20 (83%) - No more than +3yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 19 / 20 (87%) - Carried no more than 162lbs
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Cheltenham racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the December Gold Cup. if you are unaware of what trends and statistics are, how they can be used etc then head over to the OLBG Betting School and read this Stats And Trends article which will make everything much clearer.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the December Gold Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
December Gold Cup Trend Analysis
The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +38.50 is when runners ran in a race restricted to 4yo+ when last winning. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 3 career places on the going, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-49.
The course which has produced the most winners of the December Gold Cup is Cheltenham, there has been a total number of 11 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Ascot, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 274 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 4 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the December Gold Cup:
- Lahint (2 Wins)
- Nickname (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the December Gold Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Saint Des Saints (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Dr Massini (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Oscar (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Midnight Legend (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Tamarinbleu in 2007, winning for David Pipe at odds of 22/1 under the guidance of Denis O'Regan. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 1 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2024 December Gold Cup why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Other Principal races at Cheltenham racecourse
Here are some other notable races at the Cheltenham racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.
Races in January (Festival Trials Day)
- Cheltenham Trophy Handicap Chase
- Classic Novices Hurdle
- Cleeve Hurdle
- Cotswold Chase
- Finesse Juvenile Novices Hurdle
- International Hurdle
- Southam Novices Handicap Chase
Races in January
Races in March (Cheltenham Festival)
- Arkle Challenge Trophy
- Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle
- Champion Hurdle
- Close Brothers Mares Hurdle
- National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup
- Supreme Novices Hurdle
- Ultima Handicap Chase
- Ballymore Novices Hurdle
- Brown Advisory Novices Chase
- Champion Bumper
- Coral Cup
- Cross Country Chase
- Johnny Henderson Grand Annual
- Queen Mother Champion Chase
- Festival Plate
- Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup
- Mares Novices Hurdle
- Pertemps Network Final
- Ryanair Chase
- Stayers Hurdle
- Turners Novices Chase
- Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle
- Cheltenham Gold Cup
- County Handicap Hurdle
- Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup
- Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Handicap Hurdle
- Mrs Paddy Power Mares Chase
- Triumph Hurdle
Races in April
Races in October
Races in November (November Meeting)
- Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase
- Hyde Novices Hurdle
- Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices Chase
- JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle
- Paddy Power Gold Cup
- Greatwood Hurdle
- Jewson Premier Handicap Chase
- Shloer Chase
Races in December (Christmas Meeting)
Article Authors
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this December Gold Cup Preview, Tips, Runners and Trends are at hand, Darren and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
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