'The brigadier wanted a picture' - Gold Cup tour a hit with Cheltenham locals

More than 2,000 people have got to see the Cheltenham Gold Cup as part of a community tour around the region, and on Wednesday it was paraded to the public in shops, pubs and local businesses on the town's high street.

The inaugural 21-stop tour has surpassed expectations in raising the profile of the festival's biggest race, with residents eager to glimpse the trophy as it nears its 100th anniversary in 2024.

Fans of Cheltenham Town Football Club and Gloucester Rugby saw it at fixtures over recent weekends, before visits to a school, Hartpury College and Leckhampton Court Hospice. The trophy also served as a light distraction to those at Nato's Allied Rapid Reaction Force barracks.

On Wednesday, it was in the town centre with residents coming out in force across the various legs of a whistle-stop tour taking in pubs, coffee shops and restaurants before reaching the mayor's office.

Andre Klein, from the Jockey Club, has been leading the tour and said: "It's been reassuring to see how many racing fans are out there. People are hugely proud of having the Gold Cup in Cheltenham and the depth of that passion has surprised me. There's been excitement, there's a massive love for those four days.

"We've had a real cross-section of people, whether that be the football and rugby or workplaces like Leckhampton Hospice and Spirax Sarco [engineering firm]. It's a really important thing I think in terms of taking the sport out to a wider audience.

Gold Cup with members of staff from Leckhampton Court Hospice

"I would say about 2,000 people have had their photo with the Gold Cup and it's ongoing. We went to the school and the kids loved it and on Tuesday even the brigadier at Imjin Barracks came down to have his picture with it."

Plans are in place to run a tour next year with the Jockey Club having received more than a dozen inquiries from businesses and venues keen to be included in 2023.

There is a stipulation surrounding the trophy, sponsored by Boodles this season, that only winning trainers, jockeys and owners of the race are permitted to touch the Gold Cup without gloves.

"We've had a couple of moment when I've been anxious," Klein added.

"There was a moment at Gloucester Rugby Club where I was doing a talk about the history of the Gold Cup and a gentleman in a wheelchair had crept up behind me next to the plinth and grabbed it to have a photo to the amusement of those in attendance. Generally, people have been respectful and the most common question is how much is it worth. It's priceless."

And the most likely winner next Friday? Klein says: "Everyone is all over Galvin, they're all behind him. His name has been mentioned far more than any other horse."

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