The 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Thursday 16 March 1989. It was the 62nd running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Desert Orchid. The winner was ridden by Simon Sherwood and trained by David Elsworth.
The race was later voted the "Greatest Race of All Time" in a Racing Post poll, ahead of the 1973 Grand National and the 1975 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Race details Sponsor: Tote Winner's prize money: £66,635.00 Going: Heavy Number of runners: 13 Winner's time: 7m 17.6s
Full result * Horse Age Jockey Trainer † SP 1 Desert Orchid 10 Simon Sherwood David Elsworth 5/2 fav 2 1½ Yahoo 8 Tom Morgan John Edwards 25/1 3 8 Charter Party 11 Richard Dunwoody David Nicholson 14/1 4 dist Bonanza Boy 8 Peter Scudamore Martin Pipe 15/2 5 dist West Tip 12 Peter Hobbs Michael Oliver 66/1 Ref Fence 22 Cavvies Clown 9 Ross Arnott David Elsworth 8/1 PU Fence 22 Pegwell Bay 8 Carl Llewellyn Tim Forster 25/1 BD Fence 20 Ballyhane 8 Richard Rowe Josh Gifford 50/1 Fell Fence 20 Ten Plus 9 Kevin Mooney Fulke Walwyn 11/2 Fell Fence 17 Slalom 8 John White Michael Robinson 33/1 Fell Fence 10 The Thinker 11 Chris Grant Arthur Stephenson 15/2 Fell Fence 7 Carvill's Hill 7 Ken Morgan Jim Dreaper (IRE) 5/1 Fell Fence 6 Golden Freeze 7 Brendan Sheridan Jumbo Wilkinson 16/1
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter. Ref = refused; PU = pulled-up; BD = brought down.† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.
Winner's details Further details of the winner, Desert Orchid:
Foaled: 11 April 1979 in Great Britain Sire: Grey Mirage; Dam: Flower Child (Brother) Owner: Richard Burridge Breeder: James Burridge
References
news.google.co.uk/newspapers – Glasgow Herald – 22 March 1989.