'It was incredible, surreal' - how Henry de Bromhead made Cheltenham history

In an extract from the Racing Post Annual, Deputy Ireland editor David Jennings looks back on Minella Indo's Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph

An empty grandstand but a Cheltenham Gold Cup packed full of quality. The average rating of the delicious dozen was 165 and, but for a global pandemic, there would have been some palaver at preview nights up and down the country trying to sort it all out. It was everything the Cheltenham Festival showpiece should be.

Al Boum Photo was favourite, of course he was. You don’t win two Gold Cups in a row and not be the market leader for the next one. But the fact that he was as big as 9-4 told you all you needed to know about the magnitude of the task he was facing in trying to emulate Arkle, Golden Miller, Cottage Rake and Best Mate.