'It has been an emotional week and a tough week but we're ending it with a joyous moment' - John Hunt shines on a special day

Had you not known, you might have thought it was just another race. It most definitely was not.

There seemed to be nothing that was not normal about John Hunt when he walked into the BBC's Cheltenham commentary box. A group of friends had been awaiting his arrival, keen to know who Hunt and daughter Amy had chosen as the best turned out horse. He revealed Martator had won that particular contest, and then picked up his binoculars before calling the next one.

In his ear was the voice of 5 Live Sport presenter Mark Chapman, who on Thursday had been at Cheltenham and shared a stage with his great mate during the Winter Wonderland event, at which the broadcaster's wife Carol and daughters Hannah and Louise were celebrated by more than 500 guests who dug deep to raise money for women and girls in desperate need.

• 'AP McCoy told my agent he had a very good chance' - Glengouly defies 33-1 odds to win Support The Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup 

"Let's go racing, let's go to Cheltenham and enjoy the Support The Hunt Family Fund December Gold Cup with John Hunt," said Chapman. His colleague then told listeners the £125,000 handicap was taking place under "amazing blue winter skies". As the field approached the final ditch he noted that rank outsider Glengouly was continuing to lead. "This will be quite a surprise if he manages to stay in front," said Hunt, yet stay in front he did. "Glengouly, can he see them off?" asked Hunt after the final fence. A few seconds later, at the end of a typically flawless commentary, he answered in the affirmative.

"Mark, that's the biggest surprise of the day," said Hunt to Chapman, who then playfully asked which of the ten runners had been picked out in the paddock by the BBC's esteemed voice of racing.

Glengouly and Sean Brown jump the final fence on their way to winning the December Gold CupCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"That vote went to Martator, who did look fantastic," said Hunt of the eventual ninth. "His skin looked amazing, his walk was athletic and his smile was bright and white – but he didn't run very fast today."

Chapman and his studio comrades could be heard laughing loudly in Salford. So often it's the best medicine.

Accompanied by BBC stalwart Rob Nothman, one of those who did so much alongside Cheltenham to create the Winter Wonderland, Hunt then headed to the winner's enclosure. As he did so, the track's loudspeakers were playing 'It's All About You', by McFly, Amy Hunt's favourite band. No finer song could have been chosen.

"You're going to set me off again," said trainer Faye Bramley to Zara Tindall when the racecourse committee member approached for a congratulatory hug. "I didn't think I was going to ride into Cheltenham and win a Gold Cup in my first year training," added Bramley, who operates from a Lambourn property owned by Sir AP McCoy. As such, she has some extremely significant patrons, many of whom are in The Cheeky Pups syndicate which owns Glengouly. One of the Pups, Ronnie Bartlett, immediately gave £10,000 to the Hunt Family Fund. Collectively, the owners pledged an additional £10,000.

Faye Bramley accompanies Glengouly into Cheltenham's winner's enclosureCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

They were applauded for their generosity when walking up to the podium. Hands were shaken and photographs taken, after which Hunt reflected on commentating on a race carrying his family's name.

"It felt different right until the point when they handed over to me," said Hunt. "After that it was very much business as usual. It's the big race of the weekend and there's a responsibility to tell the story properly. There is a flick of a switch that tells you whatever the build-up, and this one has been very unusual to say the least, it's important to do as good a job on the race as possible."

Hunt did all that and more, further showing himself to be an exceptional man.

"This week has been a bit of an ongoing tornado," he admitted. "Sometimes the tornado throws you out and you land in a bad place. Sometimes you jump back in the tornado and land in a really happy place. That has been the rhythm of our week, but Thursday was extraordinary and it was so wonderful to share it with our friends and family. Those people, and others who couldn't be there on Thursday, have carried the blows with us and alongside us over the last 18 months. 

"We've had to be in some terrible places with them, but Thursday was a happy place. It was lovely to be able to share that joy with them. We haven't had an awful lot of it these last 18 months, but that was a really special day."

John and Amy Hunt share laughter with Glengouly's rider Sean BowenCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

So was this one, as Hunt told Hayley Moore when interviewed for the benefit of the many racegoers who had been keen to show their support.

"It has been an emotional week and a tough week, but we're ending it with a joyous moment," said Hunt. He shared that moment with a young woman who has been every bit as impressive as her magnificent father.

"I'm so proud of her and so proud of all my girls," stressed Hunt, who a few minutes earlier had described Cheltenham's Saturday showpiece to BBC Radio listeners in Britain and around the world. He painted pictures with words and provided an exquisite soundtrack to what, somewhat unexpectedly, was Glengouly's Gold Cup.

Most important of all, it was the Hunt family’s Gold Cup. It was John and Carol’s Gold Cup and it was their daughters Hannah, Louise and Amy’s Gold Cup.

As John so rightly said, it was a special day.

This article is exclusive to Racing Post+ Ultimate subscribers. Subscribers can read more pieces from Lee Mottershead here:

'The grief hits me quite a lot - so many people think I'm really tough but I get terribly upset by things inwardly' 

Inside the campaign to ‘neutralise’ racing: how an unlikely alliance in the gambling tax war could spark the sport’s ‘Brexit moment’ 

'I once opened the door of the plane as we were going over the Irish Sea, something you might think should be impossible'  

'I never thought I was going to become a trainer - even six months before I got the job I'd have said it was ludicrous' 

The extraordinary inside story of the fight to reshape British racing - and the splits that could tear the sport apart 

'It left me in tears and I need to stop - I don't want to be thought of as the old guy who made mistakes'  

Helicopters, Hill tricks and a naked Frankie - the inside story of the Derby's most radical (and still hugely controversial) transformation 

'You can get a bit of stick in this sport if you're a poster boy - and I got absolutely rinsed about the magazine cover' 

'Peter O'Sullevan didn't speak to me for 18 months' - the dramatic inside story of how Channel 4 stole Cheltenham from the BBC

'Don't think it was all plain sailing - there were times when I couldn't believe how stupid I had been'

Racing Post+ Ultimate subscribers can get a fantastic mix of news, tips, comment and insight sent straight to their inbox every day, from Chris Cook's award-winning morning newsletter The Front Runner every weekday at 7.30am to different weekly emails from the likes of Tom Segal, Paul Kealy and Lee Mottershead every evening at 6pm every evening as part of The Ultimate Daily. Head here now