Gold Cup entries hit two record lows - but opposition to Jonbon grows in the Champion Chase

The first round of entries for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival revealed a worrying decline in British-trained competitors for the Gold Cup, which drew a record low number of potential participants.

The Gold Cup has attracted just 19 entries, marginally down on last year's figure of 20, but that figure is more than 50 per cent down on the 41 made four years ago, and continues a steady decrease in competitiveness for the headline event following 27 entries in 2023 and 30 in 2022. 

Of the 19 entries, only five are trained in Britain, a sharp drop in participation from the home team after 11 entries last year, a figure which in itself was already a record low.