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.
2026 bet365 Gold Cup Preview
First staged in 1957 under the sponsorship of Whitbread (until 2001), Sandown's bet365 Gold Cup is a Grade 3 handicap chase for five-year-olds and upwards tackling twenty-four fences over three miles four and a half furlongs.
Traditionally staged on the final day of the national hunt season in late April, the bet365 Gold Cup has an impressive list of past winners including Arkle, Mill House, Special Cargo, Desert Orchid, Topsham Bay and Mr Frisk (1990), the last-named won here after winning the Grand National in record time (which still stands) and was the last Grand National winner to win this valuable end of season chase.
It's probably fair to say the list of winners since the mid-1990s has generally not carried the same stature as some of those mentioned above, perhaps indicative of the higher profile and financial the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National meeting have now on the jumps calendar and the top staying chasers coming here almost as an afterthought from having their campaigns geared towards either or both festivals.
bet365 Gold Cup Information:
Our dedicated Sandown tips page will not only bring you predictions from the OLBG racing tipsters for the upcoming card that includes the bet365 Gold Cup but will also have predictions for each meeting at Sandown throughout the season so be sure to head over there. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Sandown Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the bet365 Gold Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2007 when the race had an over-round of 118%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 137%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the bet365 Gold Cup, the over-round has been 127%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £127 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 bet365 Gold Cup Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the bet365 Gold Cup Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run bet365 Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals:
- Hot Weld (7:11.10) in 2007
- Talkischeap (7:15.90) in 2019
- Poker De Sivola (7:16.30) in 2011
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the bet365 Gold Cup next time out, then you would have backed a total of 1 winner. Backing all 19 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -13.50. Whilst we wait for the 2026 bet365 Gold Cup remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Hot Weld, trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Graham Lee, who set the fastest winning time in the bet365 Gold Cup. That runner won the race in a time of 7:11.10 in 2007. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Daryl Jacob with Tidal Bay who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 7:50.30 in the 2012 renewal.
bet365 Gold Cup Past Winners
Here are the bet365 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 horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the bet365 Gold Cup are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
Race Notes: Enrilo won the 2021 renewal but was demoted to 3rd with Potterman being awarded the race.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 7:23.19 | Resplendent Grey (IRE) 7yo 10-2 9/2 | Sean Bowen Olly Murphy (GB) |
| 2024 7:32.75 | Minella Cocooner (IRE) 8yo 11-9 17/2 | Danny Mullins W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2023 7:33.70 | Kittys Light (GB) 7yo 10-8 11/4F | Jack Tudor Christian Williams (GB) |
| 2022 7:26.58 | Hewick (IRE) 7yo 11-4 16/1 | Jordan Gainford (3lbs) John Joseph Hanlon (IRE) |
| 2021 7:37.87 | Potterman (GB) 8yo 11-9 12/1 | Tom Cannon Alan King (GB) |
| 2019 7:15.90 | Talkischeap (IRE) 7yo 10-11 7/1 | Wayne Hutchinson Alan King (GB) |
| 2018 7:32.90 | Step Back (IRE) 8yo 10-0 7/1 | Jamie Moore Mark Bradstock (GB) |
| 2017 7:22.60 | Henllan Harri (IRE) 9yo 10-0 40/1 | Sean Bowen Peter Bowen (GB) |
| 2016 7:25.65 | The Young Master (GB) 7yo 10-12 8/1 | Mr Sam Waley-Cohen (3lbs) Neil Mulholland (GB) |
| 2015 7:23.15 | Just A Par (IRE) 8yo 10-0 14/1 | Sean Bowen (3lbs) Paul Nicholls (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the bet365 Gold Cup have been based:
- GB: 14 winners with an additional 45 placings from 305 runners
- IRE: 4 winners with an additional 9 placings from 39 runners
- FR: 2 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners
bet365 Gold Cup Trainer Statistics
There are multiple leading trainers in the bet365 Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals, with Paul Nicholls, Philip Hobbs, and Alan King having all won the race two times. Paul Nicholls' winners have been with Tidal Bay (2012) and Just A Par (2015). Philip Hobbs' winners have been with Lacdoudal (2006) and Monkerhostin (2008). Alan King winners have been with Talkischeap (2019) and Potterman (2021). Two trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the bet365 Gold Cup. David Pipe has sent a total of 16 runners to the race without recording any wins, whilst Nigel Twiston-Davies has sent out 16 without a winner.
Here are some of the top bet365 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 | 43-2-12 | -18.00 | -6.69 |
| Philip Hobbs | 23-2-10 | +14.00 | +18.27 |
| Alan King | 9-2-3 | +12.00 | +6.63 |
| W P Mullins | 16-1-6 | -6.50 | -1.14 |
| Nicky Henderson | 13-1-4 | -2.00 | -0.50 |
| Neil Mulholland | 11-1-2 | -2.00 | -3.50 |
| Christian Williams | 7-1-3 | -3.25 | -1.65 |
| Peter Bowen | 6-1-1 | +35.00 | +20.00 |
| Henry Daly | 6-1-2 | +9.00 | +5.63 |
| Mark Bradstock | 4-1-2 | +4.00 | +3.13 |
bet365 Gold Cup Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the bet365 Gold Cup over the last 20 renewals is Sean Bowen, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Just A Par (2015), Henllan Harri (2017) and Resplendent Grey (2025). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the bet365 Gold Cup, Sam Twiston-Davies has ridden 13 runners in the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top bet365 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Bowen | 8-3-4 | +53.50 | +33.31 |
| Tom Cannon | 4-1-1 | +9.00 | +4.50 |
| Jack Tudor | 4-1-3 | -0.25 | +1.35 |
| Danny Mullins | 2-1-1 | +7.50 | +4.31 |
| Jordan Gainford | 1-1-1 | +16.00 | +10.00 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 13-0-4 | -13.00 | -5.56 |
| Harry Cobden | 8-0-1 | -8.00 | -5.00 |
| Nick Scholfield | 8-0-1 | -8.00 | -6.40 |
| Harry Skelton | 7-0-2 | -7.00 | -3.81 |
| Nico de Boinville | 6-0-1 | -6.00 | -4.25 |
2026 bet365 Gold Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 3, F, 2, 4, PU, (5, PU), 3, 10, 3, (2, 7, 11, PU), 4, UR, 5, PU, 6, 3, 3, 1, 9, 3
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 (70%) - Ran over 2m7½f - 4m2f (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (75%) - In a field of 5 - 28 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Within the first 13 of the market
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Won by at least ½l (Last Win)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Beaten no more -38l (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - No bigger than 33/1 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Break of 7 - 401 days (Last Place)
- 19 / 20 (86%) - Achieved an RPR of 140+ (Career)
- 18 / 20 (76%) - Placed within last 3 starts
- 18 / 20 (80%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
- 17 / 20 (59%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 17 / 20 (73%) - Achieved an RPR of 140+ (Last Win)
- 17 / 20 (82%) - Held an OR of 135+
- 17 / 20 (84%) - Achieved an RPR of 139+ (Hcps)
- 16 / 20 (82%) - Held an OR of 134+ (Last 3)
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Sandown racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the bet365 Gold Cup. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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 bet365 Gold Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
bet365 Gold Cup Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +29.00, is when runners had 0 career starts at the track.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had recorded 2 career non-finishes, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-80.
The course which has produced the most winners of the bet365 Gold Cup is Cheltenham, there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Ayr, there have been a total of 3 winners of this race who ran at Ayr 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 345 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 3 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the bet365 Gold Cup; that stallion Flemensfirth, has produced 2 winners (2024,2012).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the bet365 Gold Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Midnight Legend (0 Wins from 10 runners)
- Milan (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Kayf Tara (0 Wins from 8 runners)
- Old Vic (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Shantou (0 Wins from 6 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Henllan Harri in 2017, winning for Peter Bowen at odds of 40/1 under the guidance of Sean Bowen. 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 2026 bet365 Gold Cup, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Route to the bet365 Gold Cup
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the bet365 Gold Cup, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Resplendent Grey Cheltenham - 4th of 18 (10/1) | National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup |
| 2024 - Minella Cocooner Fairyhouse - 3rd of 20 (20/1) | Irish Grand National |
| 2023 - Kittys Light Ayr - 1st of 18 (4/1) | Scottish Grand National |
| 2022 - Hewick Uttoxeter - PU of 18 (14/1) | Midlands Grand National |
| 2021 - Potterman Newbury - UR of 18 (11/1) | Coral Gold Cup |
| 2019 - Talkischeap Kempton - 5th of 10 (4/1) | Coral Trophy |
| 2018 - Step Back Fakenham - 1st of 5 (8/13) | Racing Partnership Novices Chase |
| 2017 - Henllan Harri Ffos Las - 3rd of 7 (13/2) | Llanmoor Homes Handicap Chase |
| 2016 - The Young Master Cheltenham - 3rd of 23 (14/1) | Ultima Handicap Chase |
| 2015 - Just A Par Chepstow - 3rd of 12 (7/2) | Barton Executive Valeting Handicap Chase |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this bet365 Gold Cup Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. 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.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
