The Coral Cup - or the ‘Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)’ to give it its full title - is both one of the most hotly anticipated handicap races at Cheltenham and is of course a hugely popular fixture on Day Two of the Festival.
In this race card page we’ve taken a look at everything from the runners, to the history of the race and as an added bonus, we’ve provided some useful Coral Cup tips.
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle Runners And Entries 2024
Below you can find the runners and entries for the Coral Cup for this year's Cheltenham Festival.
This is a full list of entries, but there are further declarations five days before the race, and then final declarations 48 hours before. So be sure to check back for all the latest updates.
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race)
1st
Langer Dan
Age: 8
Weight: 11.6
OR: 141
J:
Harry Skelton
T:
Dan Skelton
travelled strongly, midfield, headway 2 out, led narrowly before last, ridden clear final 110yds, readily (trainer said, regarding the apparent improvement in form, that having had a poor start to the winter campaign gelding had been scoped and was found to have ulcers and had benefitted from having received treatment for stomach ulcers on this occasion, trainer further explained gelding had bled on his previous outing at Kempton, which had been reported)
2nd
Ballyadam
Age: 9
Weight: 12.0
OR: 147
J:
Rachael Blackmore
T:
Henry De Bromhead
held up in rear, not fluent 3rd, headway 2 out, prominent when not fluent last, went second inside final 110yds, no match for winner
3rd
Shanbally Kid
Age: 7
Weight: 11.1
OR: 134
J:
Michael O'Sullivan
T:
W P Mullins
in touch with leaders, edged left after 2nd, not fluent 4 out, headway and pressed leader 2 out, briefly disputed lead before last, no extra and lost second inside final 110yds, just held third
4th
Lucky Place
Age: 5
Weight: 11.3
OR: 137
J:
James Bowen
T:
Nicky Henderson
held up in rear, raced wide and headway 2 out, went fourth last, stayed on final 110yds
5th
Franciscan Rock
Age: 7
Weight: 11.4
OR: 138
J:
Ricky Doyle
T:
M F Morris
raced wide, midfield, headway and prominent when not fluent 2 out, weakened run-in
Coral Cup Tips
Looking for Coral Cup tips? This is where all our tips for the race will be listed when they’re available. You should also check out our Coral Cup odds page too if you’re looking for the best value bets.
Alongside our Coral Cup tips, you can also get tips for the rest of Day Two of Cheltenham here, as well as a selection of other top tips from our experts for the entire 2024 Festival here.
More Information On The Coral Cup
The Coral Cup is the third race on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival - coincidently this is also Ladies’ Day.
The race is run on the Old Course over two miles, five furlongs and there are 10 hurdles for the runners to tackle. It’s open to horses aged four and above and the handicap mark to get into the race differs each year. The race has Premier Handicap status which some still refer to as ‘‘Grade 3’ status, and as of 2024, it has up to £100,000 in prize money.
A Brief History Of The Coral Cup
The first running of this particular handicap hurdle was in 1993 and it has featured at the Festival ever since. It started out as just a handicap race, however, it was promoted to Grade 3 status for the 1999 Festival and in 2023 was given ‘Premier Handicap’ status.
Peter Scudamore won the first race in 1993 riding Olympian, which was trained by Martin Pipe. He also received a £50,000 bonus having also won the Imperial Cup at Sandown, the Saturday before.
Recent Coral Cup Winners And Notable Stats
Here are the most recent Coral Cup winners, along with more information about the horses, trainers and jockeys involved:
Year
Winner
Age
weight
Trainer
Jockey
2023
Langer Dan
6
11–00
Dan Skelton
Harry Skelton
2022
Commander Of Fleet
7
11–10
Gordon Elliott
Shane Fitzgerald
2021
Heaven Help Us
7
10-02
Paul Hennessy
Richard Condon
2020
Dame De Compagnie
7
10-12
Nicky Henderson
Barry Geraghty
2019
William Henry
9
11-10
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
2018
Bleu Berry
7
11-02
Willie Mullins
Mark Walsh
2017
Supasundae
7
11-04
Jessica Harrington
Robbie Power
2016
Diamond King
8
11-03
Gordon Elliott
Davy Russell
2015
Aux Ptits Soins
5
10-07
Paul Nicholls
Sam Twiston-Davies
2014
Whisper
6
11-06
Nicky Henderson
Nico de Boinville
2013
Medinas
6
11–10
Alan King
Wayne Hutchinson
As of 2024, the trainer with the most wins is Nicky Henderson (4) - Spirit River (2010), Whisper (2014), William Henry (2019), Dame De Compagnie (2020). There are two jockeys with the joint-most wins (3 each), these are Davy Russell and Barry Geraghty. The latter being the most-recent winner of the two in 2020.