Gold Cup treble slips away from Galopin Des Champs

Head through the gates at Cheltenham Racecourse and look to the left.

- MICHAEL JONES

There you'll find a bronze statue of the legendary AP McCoy, a 20-time champion jockey and two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. Behind him there is another statue, this one is of a horse. Just as legendary as McCoy but arguably even more successful. It is Best Mate, a triple Gold Cup winner who triumphed in three successive races between 2002 and 2004 to write his name in the history books and get his likeness sculpted in bronze.

Walk past Best Mate and head up the stairs to the viewing balcony adjacent to the Princess Royal Grandstand. Here you’ll find Golden Miller. The statue is smaller but the honours greater. He is the most successful racehorse to grace the Cheltenham Festival. The only horse to win five successive Gold Cups, which he did almost a century ago between 1932 and 1936.

Turn to the right and look out over the concourse. Watching over the winners’ enclosure and parade ring is Arkle. He was the third horse to win three consecutive Gold Cups and, at 212, his Timeform rating was the highest ever awarded to a steeplechaser.

Only four horses have won the Gold Cup three times in a row. Three of them have statues at Cheltenham, the fourth, Cottage Rake, has a bar named after him. The feats of these legends permeate and adorn the very structures of the racecourse. They are lasting reminders of the unbelievable deeds of these special horses and a permanent celebration of their accomplishments. The rarity of their triumphs is what makes them unique and why they will be forever linked with Cheltenham.