History
The event was established in 1957, and it was initially staged at Cheltenham. The winner of the inaugural running, Mandarin, was owned by Peggy Hennessy, a member of the family which founded Hennessy, the race's sponsoring company. It was transferred to Newbury in 1960, and it was won by Mandarin for a second time in 1961. The race's second running was won by Taxidermist, ridden by the amateur rider John Lawrence, later Lord Oaksey, who was the breeder and part-owner of the 2011 winner, Carruthers.
The race's association with Hennessy has continued throughout its history, and this now represents British racing's longest commercial sponsorship. The record was previously held by the Whitbread Gold Cup, which was first run seven months before the "Hennessy", and which was sponsored by Whitbread until 2001.
The Hennessy Gold Cup has been won by seven horses which have also achieved victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The most recent of these is Denman, the winner of the latter race in 2008.
Read more about this topic: Hennessy Gold Cup
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