A look ahead and some tips, for the Hennessy Gold Cup 2015
This Saturday, November 28, sees the return of one of our favourite racing events of the year, The Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, now in its 59th year.
Set to be a very special affair to mark Hennessy’s 250th anniversary, the Gold Cup is the highlight of the three-day winter festival at Newbury (26th-28th November) and draws crowds from far and wide to witness the longest running sports sponsorship in history – an institution within the horseracing circuit. The day will see the best jump-jockeys and horses in a series of races including the intensely challenging Hennessy race in which the horses jump a total of 21 fences.
A celebrity magnet, in past years Hennessy have hosted the likes of Carey Mulligan, Hugh Bonneville, Dame Judi Dench, as well as Country Life fanatic Jilly Cooper. This special anniversary year will be better than ever for spotting famous faces, who come to see the horses and jockeys thrash it out with the backdrop of the beautiful Newbury setting.
With last year’s winner Many Clouds out of the contest, the highly anticipated race is left open at this stage, but now that Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Coneygree is back in the game (he was ‘hopping lame’ last week) this could be a very exciting race.
Hennessy will be serving their signature Horse’s Neck cocktail (Hennessy cognac, angostura bitters and ginger ale) around the racecourse at various bars along with Hennessy hot chocolates and hot toddies to warm the cockles. There is also a new anniversary cocktail in the hospitality suite – The Hennessy Crusta (pictured above) – which is a modern version of the first ever brandy cocktail, a bit like an Old Fashioned.
Channel 4 will be broadcasting coverage of the day but nothing beats feeling the adrenalin first hand so book a ticket and get yourself wrapped up – tweed and fur encouraged! Tickets available at www.newburyracecourse.co.uk or by calling 01635 40015
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Tips for the 2015 Hennessy Gold Cup from Alex Ward
The 2015 Hennessy line up and betting market were turned upside down on Tuesday morning with the defection of the market leader Coneygree. Whilst the contest will be slightly weaker for it, it makes the proposition of finding the winner an even more intriguing one.
A good guide in recent seasons has been siding with a young, second season chaser who has the scope to progress further up the chasing ladder but on this occasion it may pay to side with a couple of the older warriors led by 2012 winner Bobs Worth, who will race off a mark 7lb lower than when he won three years ago. Alternatively side with in form trainer Alan King’s Smad Place who had a pipe opener at Kempton last month. He has filled the role of perennial bridesmaid in the past but this looks like his chance after coming 5th in last year’s renewal.
For those looking for an each way bet at a slightly more sizeable price then Philip Hobbs’ If In Doubt gets in on a lower weight. His jumping was novicey at times last season, but if Hobbs has tidied this up over the summer he could find himself in the hunt at the business end of the race.
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