Oct 2014
First Lieutenant heads 58 entries for the Hennessy Gold Cup
Willie Mullins quartet features in strong Irish contingent
Ireland hasn’t won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse since 1980, but some of the biggest names in Irish National Hunt racing are among 58 horses entered for the prestigious Grade 3 handicap set to take place on Saturday 29th November.
A classy challenge from across the Irish Sea is headed by the Mouse Morris-trained triple Grade 1 winner First Lieutenant, second to Bobs Worth in the 2012 Hennessy Gold Cup.
Willie Mullins suffered Hennessy heartbreak in 2002 after his Be My Royal was first past the post, but subsequently disqualified. This year, Ireland’s champion trainer has entered the Susannah Ricci-owned trio of Champagne Fever, Ballycasey and Djakadam, along with Grade 2-scorer The Paparrazi Kid, as he bids to record a first win in the race.
Other notable contenders from Ireland include Gordon Elliott’s Don Cossack, Mullaghanoe River from the Noel Meade yard, and the Dessie Hughes-trained Lyreen Legend.
The total of 58 entries is up from 53 last year and is the highest figures since 2010.
Nicky Henderson has taken the £175,000 showpiece three times in his career, including the latest two renewals. The handler’s 2013 hero Triolo D’Alene could bid to become the first back-to-back winner since the great Arkle in 1965.
Henderson’s other representative is Hadrian’s Approach, who unseated Nico de Boinville at the fifth fence in the race last year.
Paul Nicholls is another three-time winner of the Hennessy as a trainer and is responsible for seven of the possible runners. Rocky Creek, runner-up in 2013, Unioniste and Just a Par look the pick of his septet.
Alan King saddled the well-fancied Invictus to finish 11th last season and has a host of smart horses engaged including Medermit, the classy Smad Place and Walkon. Midnight Prayer and Pantxoa are his other pair.
The Romford Pele, winner of his last three races, could line up for Rebecca Curtis, and the prolific Fingal Bay and dual-Newbury victor Roalco de Farges, both trained by Philip Hobbs, are other high-profile entries.
This year’s race will be the 58th running of the Hennessy Gold Cup, extending the oldest commercial sponsorship in world sport.
Julian Thick, CEO of Newbury Racecourse said: “The Hennessy Gold Cup is the showpiece of our Jump racing calendar and the strength of this year’s entries look set to ensure another fantastic renewal of one of the sport’s most prestigious races.”
Full Hennessy Gold Cup Entries
| THE HENNESSY GOLD CUP STEEPLE CHASE (HANDICAP) (CLASS 1) (Grade 3) | |||
| Horse | Age | Owner | Trainer |
| First Lieutenant (IRE) | 9 | Gigginstown House Stud | M. F. Morris |
| Harry Topper (GB) | 7 | Mr A. N. Solomons | Kim Bailey |
| Champagne Fever (IRE) | 7 | Mrs S. Ricci | W. P. Mullins |
| Lyreen Legend (IRE) | 7 | Lyreen Syndicate | D. T. Hughes |
| Triolo d’Alene (FR) | 7 | Mr & Mrs Sandy Orr | Nicky Henderson |
| Houblon des Obeaux (FR) | 7 | Mrs Julian Blackwell | Venetia Williams |
| Rocky Creek (IRE) | 8 | The Johnson & Stewart Families | Paul Nicholls |
| Medermit (FR) | 10 | The Dunkley & Reilly Partnership | Alan King |
| Ballycasey (IRE) | 7 | Mrs S. Ricci | W. P. Mullins |
| Katenko (FR) | 8 | Mr A. Brooks | Venetia Williams |
| Smad Place (FR) | 7 | Mrs Peter Andrews | Alan King |
| Ballynagour (IRE) | 8 | Mr Allan Stennett | David Pipe |
| Fingal Bay (IRE) | 8 | Mrs R. J. Skan | Philip Hobbs |
| Bury Parade (IRE) | 8 | HighclereThoroughbredRacing- Bury Parade | Paul Nicholls |
| Hadrian’s Approach (IRE) | 7 | Mr & Mrs R. Kelvin-Hughes | Nicky Henderson |
| Vino Griego (FR) | 9 | Mr C. E. Stedman | Gary Moore |
| Don Cossack (GER) | 7 | Gigginstown House Stud | Gordon Elliott |
| Unioniste (FR) | 6 | Mr J. Hales | Paul Nicholls |
| Walkon (FR) | 9 | McNeill Family | Alan King |
| The Romford Pele (IRE) | 7 | Trembath & Outhart | Rebecca Curtis |
| Black Thunder (FR) | 7 | Donlon, MacDonald, Fulton & Webb | Paul Nicholls |
| Theatre Guide (IRE) | 7 | Mrs Jean R. Bishop | Colin Tizzard |
| Le Bec (FR) | 6 | Tim Syder | Emma Lavelle |
| Restless Harry (GB) | 10 | Mr R. G. Whitehead | Robin Dickin |
| Easter Meteor (GB) | 8 | Mr & Mrs S. C. Willes | David Pipe |
| Sam Winner (FR) | 7 | Mrs Angela Yeoman | Paul Nicholls |
| Monbeg Dude (IRE) | 9 | Oydunow | Michael Scudamore |
| Buywise (IRE) | 7 | Mr T. Hywel Jones | Evan Williams |
| Annacotty (IRE) | 6 | Mrs Peter Prowting | Martin Keighley |
| Wiesentraum (GER) | 8 | G. Pascoe & S. Brewer | Lucy Wadham |
| Mendip Express (IRE) | 8 | The Mendip Syndicate | Harry Fry |
| Lamb Or Cod (IRE) | 7 | Mr Terry Warner | Philip Hobbs |
| Many Clouds (IRE) | 7 | Mr Trevor Hemmings | Oliver Sherwood |
| Easter Day (FR) | 6 | B. Fulton, Broughton Thermal Insulation | Paul Nicholls |
| Present View (GB) | 6 | Sir Chips Keswick | Jamie Snowden |
| Just A Par (IRE) | 7 | Paul K. Barber & C. G. Roach | Paul Nicholls |
| Djakadam (FR) | 5 | Mrs S. Ricci | W. P. Mullins |
| Court In Motion (IRE) | 9 | Mr N. Mustoe | Emma Lavelle |
| Roalco de Farges (FR) | 9 | The Brushmakers | Philip Hobbs |
| Wychwoods Brook (GB) | 8 | Kevin & Anne Glastonbury | Evan Williams |
| Midnight Prayer (GB) | 9 | The Legends Partnership | Alan King |
| The Druids Nephew (IRE) | 7 | The Stonehenge Druids | Neil Mulholland |
| Mountainous (IRE) | 9 | Walters Plant Hire & James & Jean Potter | Richard Lee |
| Via Sundown (FR) | 6 | The Old Brokers | Gary Moore |
| Knock A Hand (IRE) | 9 | Mr Alan Halsall | Richard Lee |
| Pantxoa (FR) | 7 | Mrs June Watts | Alan King |
| Mullaghanoe River (IRE) | 6 | Mrs Patricia Hunt | Noel Meade |
| Victors Serenade (IRE) | 9 | Michael & Angela Bone | Anthony Honeyball |
| Gevrey Chambertin (FR) | 6 | Roger Stanley & Yvonne Reynolds III | David Pipe |
| Merry King (IRE) | 7 | Mr F. Gillespie | Jonjo O’Neill |
| Edmund Kean (IRE) | 7 | Walters Plant Hire & James & Jean Potter | Peter Bowen |
| Gallant Oscar (IRE) | 8 | Mr G. Kelly | A. J. Martin |
| What A Warrior (IRE) | 7 | Mr & Mrs Gordon Pink | Dan Skelton |
| Handy Andy (IRE) | 8 | Brocade Racing | Colin Tizzard |
| Le Reve (IRE) | 6 | Mr P. H. Betts | Lucy Wadham |
| Tour des Champs (FR) | 7 | Mr H. R. Mould | Nigel Twiston-Davies |
| Saroque (IRE) | 7 | Mr A. Brooks | Venetia Williams |
| The Paparrazi Kid (IRE) | 7 | Byerley Thoroughbred Racing | W. P. Mullins |