Support The Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup report: Glengouly springs surprise

Racing from seven pounds out of the handicap and under a positive ride form Sean Bowen, the nine-year-old led a well-stacked field turning for home and was to stay there.

Vincenzo was the first to go in pursuit but was never closer than the length-and-a-half that separated them at the line with Jagwar running well in third despite a series of slow jumps.

Glengouly was winning his first race since Thurles in 2022 while Bramley was saddling her first Cheltenham winner.

Bramley said: “I just can’t believe it. I’m gobsmacked. He is a star and I’m speechless. I couldn’t be any happier where he had him and the speed he was going. I know the horse inside, and out, and I could just tell he was loving it.

“I can’t believe I’m here, never mind having a winner. I’ve worked for AP (McCoy) for about eight years helping his daughter showjumping, and then with pre-training and things. I got a little bit bored of pre-training and I just wanted to give training a go. He said do what you want, if you want to go and train, go and train.

“Sean is class, what more can I say. I get really nervous watching them, but I wasn’t nervous watching that then as he was loving it. He was pinging the fences. He is in the best form I’ve ever had him in and I was confident he would run well, but it was such a big ask. For me to do this is great.

“We just mapped it out as he is quite hard to train. As he is older I thought I would train him a little bit harder and he came to life so we took it from there. I always ask AP as he knows the jump calendar like the back of his hand and I always ask him for advice and he always says aim high.”

Sam Thomas said of the runner-up: “It was nice to see him gallop right to the line. It was better ground today. What more can you say he ran a blinder and jumped well giving the winner plenty of weight, which is hard in these top handicaps.

"He is still a young horse in National Hunt terms so hopefully there is more to come. He was never notoriously the strongest of finishes, but at least he has galloped to the line there. He could be stepped up to three miles in the future. It is nice that he has run well, but at the same time frustrating.”

Joint-trainer Olver Greenall said of Jagwar: “Jonjo (O'Neill Junior) said he was a little bit rusty from not running for a long time. He got shuffled back a bit through the race and lost his position and then he said it has just turned into a sprint really. They haven’t gone quick at all and the winner has just got a freebie up front basically. Jumping the second last he looked like he was motoring then he missed the last, but he wouldn’t have won anyway. It just dented his run, but we were all happy.

“With the top weight out he was carrying top weight, which is not easy around here. He will come on plenty for it. We will stick at two-and-a-half miles, but I think he will want three miles fairly soon. We will wait until the spring before going three miles.”

The Timeform Verdict

By David Cleary

Glengouly, the longest-priced of the ten-strong field for the December Gold Cup and running from 7 lb out of the weights, gained just the second win of his career over fences, the first coming on his chasing debut over three years ago, this victory stopping a losing run at 16.

Digging into his record the success is more readily explainable, Glengouly having run off a BHA mark of 144 in the Topham last spring, on his final outing for Willie Mullins. Out of sorts in his early starts for his new yard, he dropped quickly in the handicap. He had a break and a breathing operation in the summer and had shown definite signs of coming back to form over two miles on his last two starts.

Nonetheless, the key to his victory was a well-judged ride from champion jockey Sean Bowen. Controlling the race from the front, Glengouly jumped better than he sometimes does and responded well to pressure in the straight as his rivals massed to make their challenge. Given how far he'd fallen in the weights, Glengouly didn't have to run within a stone of his peak form, which offers some encouragement that he can defy his likely rise back up the weights.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Free bets
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.