The 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 which took place at Cheltenham

Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury on the outskirts of the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...

 on Friday March 14, 2008. It was the 80th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...

, and it was won by Denman

Denman (horse)

Denman is an Irish bred National Hunt racehorse sired by Presenting. Known as The Tank, Denman is widely known for his great rivalry with Kauto Star for the Cheltenham Gold Cup...

. The winner was ridden by Sam Thomas, and the first three horses were all trained by Paul Nicholls

Paul Nicholls (horse racing)

Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...

. The odds-on favourite Kauto Star

Kauto Star

Kauto Star is a French-bred National Hunt racehorse, who is currently trained by Paul Nicholls in Somerset, England....

 finished second and Neptune Collonges

Neptune Collonges

Neptune Collonges is an French Thoroughbred racehorse, born to sire, Dom Alco and dam, Castille Collonges. He is owned by John Hales and is trained by Paul Nicholls...

 was a close third.

The race had been billed as the most anticipated Gold Cup since Arkle

Arkle

Arkle was a famous Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, his grandsire was the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath by Mrs. Mary Alison Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin...

 and Mill House clashed in 1964, with Kauto Star racing against Denman for the first time. However, a close contest failed to materialise as Denman defeated his rival by a comfortable margin.

Race details

• Sponsor: Totesport
  The Tote
  The Tote, formerly the Horserace Totalisator Board, is a British bookmaker with head offices in Wigan. It was owned from its formation in 1928 by the UK Government but was sold to Betfred in July 2011. Under the brand totesport the Tote has 514 high street betting shops, outlets on Britain's 60...
  
  
• Winner's prize money: £268,279.10
• Going: Good to Soft
• Number of runners: 12
• Winner's time: 6m 47.84s

Full result

	*	Horse	Age	Jockey	Trainer †	SP Starting Prices In horse racing, the starting price is the odds prevailing in the on-course fixed-odds betting market at the time a race begins. The method by which SPs are set for each runner varies in different countries but is generally by consensus of an appointed panel on the basis of their observations of...
1		Denman Denman (horse) Denman is an Irish bred National Hunt racehorse sired by Presenting. Known as The Tank, Denman is widely known for his great rivalry with Kauto Star for the Cheltenham Gold Cup...	8	Sam Thomas	Paul Nicholls Paul Nicholls (horse racing) Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...	9/4
2	7	Kauto Star Kauto Star Kauto Star is a French-bred National Hunt racehorse, who is currently trained by Paul Nicholls in Somerset, England....	8	Ruby Walsh Ruby Walsh Ruby Walsh is the reigning Irish National Hunt champion jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen.-Success:...	Paul Nicholls Paul Nicholls (horse racing) Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...	10/11 fav
3	shd	Neptune Collonges Neptune Collonges Neptune Collonges is an French Thoroughbred racehorse, born to sire, Dom Alco and dam, Castille Collonges. He is owned by John Hales and is trained by Paul Nicholls...	7	Mick Fitzgerald Mick Fitzgerald Mick Fitzgerald is an Irish National Hunt jockey who rode mainly in Great Britain. He has ridden the winners of the Grand National, on Rough Quest in 1996, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup on See More Business in 1999. He was the stable jockey for Nicky Henderson and was leading jockey at the...	Paul Nicholls Paul Nicholls (horse racing) Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...	25/1
4	9	Halcon Genelardais	8	Robert Thornton Robert Thornton (jockey) Robert "Choc" Thornton is an English National Hunt jockey currently employed as stable jockey to Alan King....	Alan King Alan King (horse racing) Alan King is a British racehorse trainer specialising mainly in National Hunt racing. He is based at Barbury Castle stables near Wroughton, Wiltshire....	16/1
5	16	Exotic Dancer Exotic Dancer (horse) Exotic Dancer was a French bred National Hunt racehorse, who was trained by Jonjo O'Neill. He had a famous rivalry with Kauto Star but never beat him....	8	Tony McCoy Tony McCoy Anthony Peter McCoy OBE , commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish horse racing jockey....	Jonjo O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill Jonjo O'Neill is an Irish National Hunt racehorse trainer and former jockey. He is a native of Castletownroche, County Cork in Ireland. Based at the Jackdaws Castle training establishment in England, O'Neill is the private trainer to J. P. McManus, one of the largest owners of steeplechasers and...	17/2
6	16	Knowhere	10	Paddy Brennan Paddy Brennan (jockey) Paddy Brennan, is an Irish jockey who rode the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010.A native of Ardrahan, County Galway, Brennan was a keen GAA player with dreams of becoming a county hurler. He only became involved in horseracing after a neighbour noticed his talent with hunt horses...	Nigel Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies Nigel Twiston-Davies is a British racehorse trainer specialising in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables at Naunton, Gloucestershire....	25/1
7	65	Afistfullofdollars	10	Paul Carberry Paul Carberry Paul Carberry is an Irish National Hunt jockey.- Background :He was born on 9 February 1974. He hails from a racing family. He is the son of jockey Tommy Carberry, who was a famous National Hunt jockey in the 1960s and 1970s. His uncle is Arthur Moore, one of Ireland's leading National Hunt trainers...	Noel Meade Noel Meade Noel Meade is a famous horse trainer from Ireland. He established Tu Va Stables in Co. Meath, Ireland as a place to train his horses.Meade began his career as a horse trainer in 1971, but it was not until 1978 that Meade started to become well recognized. Sweet Mint, winner of the Cork and Orrery...  (IRE)	20/1
PU	Fence 21	Iron Man	7	Denis O'Regan	Peter Bowen	100/1
PU	Fence 18	Celestial Gold	10	Timmy Murphy Timmy Murphy Timothy James Murphy , commonly known as Timmy Murphy, is a National Hunt jockey who overcame difficult personal problems to win the 2008 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree Racecourse on the horse Comply or Die. He recorded his 1,000th winner at Taunton on 21 January 2010.- References :...	David Pipe David Pipe (racehorse trainer) The son of the prolific horseracing trainer Martin Pipe David Pipe is the trainer of the David Johnson owned Comply or Die, who ridden by Timmy Murphy won the 2008 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree racecourse....	100/1
PU	Fence 15	Contraband	10	Tom J. Dreaper	Paul Murphy	200/1
PU	Fence 14	Fustrien du Paon	12	Anthony Lecordier	Richard Chotard (FR)	250/1
PU	Fence 13	Azulejo	10	Tom Scudamore Tom Scudamore Tom Scudamore is a third-generation British flat and steeplechase jockey. He is the son of eight-time champion jockey Peter Scudamore; his grandfather Michael won the Grand National on Oxo in 1959.-Background:...	Michael Scudamore	200/1

* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths

Length (horse racing)

A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...

 or shorter. shd = short-head; PU = pulled-up.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Denman

Denman (horse)

Denman is an Irish bred National Hunt racehorse sired by Presenting. Known as The Tank, Denman is widely known for his great rivalry with Kauto Star for the Cheltenham Gold Cup...

:

• Foaled: April 17, 2000 in Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
  
• Sire: Presenting; Dam: Polly Puttens (Pollerton)
• Owner: Paul Barber and Margaret Findlay
• Breeder: Colman O'Flynn