The 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 which took place at Cheltenham

Cheltenham Racecourse

Cheltenham Racecourse is a racecourse for horse racing events, located at Prestbury Park, in the suburban village of Prestbury on the outskirts of the English town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire...

 on Friday March 18, 2005. It was the 77th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...

, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Kicking King

Kicking King

Kicking King is a National Hunt racehorse trained in Ardclough, Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Tom Taaffe. He is best known for his victory in the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the major Chase run at the Cheltenham Festival...

. The winner was ridden by Barry Geraghty

Barry Geraghty

Barry Geraghty is an Irish jockey.Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997, three years later he became the Irish Champion jump jockey for the first time. He rode his first Cheltenham winner on the Jessica Harrington trained Moscow Flyer in the 2002 Arkle Chase.He won the Grand National in...

 and trained by Tom Taaffe

Tom Taaffe

Tom Taaffe is an Irish horse trainer based at Portree Stables, Boston, Straffan, in County Kildare.He began training in 94/95 jumps season, having had a successful career as a professional jump jockey for the Arthur Moore stable....

.

Kicking King was the first winner of the Gold Cup to be trained in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 since Imperial Call in 1996. The three-time winner Best Mate

Best Mate

Best Mate was a famous English trained racehorse and three-time winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup...

 was withdrawn from the race a week earlier after bursting a blood vessel. A fourth day was added to the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...

 this year, and the Gold Cup was switched to a new day, Friday.

Race details

• Sponsor: Totesport
  The Tote
  The Tote, formerly the Horserace Totalisator Board, is a British bookmaker with head offices in Wigan. It was owned from its formation in 1928 by the UK Government but was sold to Betfred in July 2011. Under the brand totesport the Tote has 514 high street betting shops, outlets on Britain's 60...
  
  
• Winner's prize money: £212,268.40
• Going: Good
• Number of runners: 15
• Winner's time: 6m 42.9s

Full result

	*	Horse	Age	Jockey	Trainer †	SP Starting Prices In horse racing, the starting price is the odds prevailing in the on-course fixed-odds betting market at the time a race begins. The method by which SPs are set for each runner varies in different countries but is generally by consensus of an appointed panel on the basis of their observations of...
1		Kicking King Kicking King Kicking King is a National Hunt racehorse trained in Ardclough, Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Tom Taaffe. He is best known for his victory in the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the major Chase run at the Cheltenham Festival...	7	Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty Barry Geraghty is an Irish jockey.Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997, three years later he became the Irish Champion jump jockey for the first time. He rode his first Cheltenham winner on the Jessica Harrington trained Moscow Flyer in the 2002 Arkle Chase.He won the Grand National in...	Tom Taaffe Tom Taaffe Tom Taaffe is an Irish horse trainer based at Portree Stables, Boston, Straffan, in County Kildare.He began training in 94/95 jumps season, having had a successful career as a professional jump jockey for the Arthur Moore stable....  (IRE)	4/1 fav
2	5	Take the Stand	9	Tony Dobbin Tony Dobbin Tony Dobbin is a retired Northern Irish National Hunt jockey who rode mainly in Great Britain. He rode the winner of the Grand National on Lord Gyllene in 1997 and won over 1,200 races during his career in the saddle. He was the regular stable jockey for Nicky Richards...	Peter Bowen	25/1
3	8	Sir Rembrandt	9	Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton is a National Hunt jockey. He was born on October 28, 1972 in Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He rides mainly for Caroline Bailey,Seamus Mullins,Henrietta Knight,Ben Pollock and Richard Rowe.as well as for many other trainers. He is not related to...	Robert Alner Robert Alner Robert Alner is a British racehorse trainer specializing in National Hunt racing. He is based at stables at Droop, near Sturminster Newton in Dorset, England. He trained the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Cool Dawn in 1998....	12/1
4	nk	Royal Auclair	8	Christian Williams	Paul Nicholls Paul Nicholls (horse racing) Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...	40/1
5	9	Grey Abbey	11	Graham Lee Graham Lee (jockey) Graham Lee is a successful Irish National Hunt jockey in Great Britain and Ireland. Prior to May 2006, he was the main stable jockey for Howard Johnson, but was replaced by Paddy Brennan, allegedly after a disagreement over his return from an injury. Lee became the main stable jockey and deputy...	Howard Johnson	15/2
6	1¼	Strong Flow	8	Ruby Walsh Ruby Walsh Ruby Walsh is the reigning Irish National Hunt champion jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen.-Success:...	Paul Nicholls Paul Nicholls (horse racing) Paul Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007-2008 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money...	5/1
7	½	Celestial Gold	7	Timmy Murphy Timmy Murphy Timothy James Murphy , commonly known as Timmy Murphy, is a National Hunt jockey who overcame difficult personal problems to win the 2008 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree Racecourse on the horse Comply or Die. He recorded his 1,000th winner at Taunton on 21 January 2010.- References :...	Martin Pipe Martin Pipe Martin Pipe was a racehorse trainer until his retirement in April 2006.The son of a West-Country bookmaker, Pipe was an amateur jockey before turning his attention to training in 1974 at Nicholashayne, Devon, near Wellington, England....	9/2
8	14	Ballycassidy	9	Seamus Durack	Peter Bowen	80/1
9	11	Therealbandit	8	Tony McCoy Tony McCoy Anthony Peter McCoy OBE , commonly known as A. P. McCoy or Tony McCoy, is a Northern Irish horse racing jockey....	Martin Pipe Martin Pipe Martin Pipe was a racehorse trainer until his retirement in April 2006.The son of a West-Country bookmaker, Pipe was an amateur jockey before turning his attention to training in 1974 at Nicholashayne, Devon, near Wellington, England....	16/1
10	dist	Astonville	11	Tom Scudamore Tom Scudamore Tom Scudamore is a third-generation British flat and steeplechase jockey. He is the son of eight-time champion jockey Peter Scudamore; his grandfather Michael won the Grand National on Oxo in 1959.-Background:...	Michael Scudamore	500/1
PU	Fence 21	Beef or Salmon Beef or Salmon Beef or Salmon was a multiple Grade 1 winning National Hunt racehorse. He was trained in Ireland by Michael Hourigan and owned by B J Craig. He was most famous for never winning a race outside of Ireland and for defeating three Cheltenham Gold Cup winners in Best Mate, Kicking King and War of...	9	Paul Carberry Paul Carberry Paul Carberry is an Irish National Hunt jockey.- Background :He was born on 9 February 1974. He hails from a racing family. He is the son of jockey Tommy Carberry, who was a famous National Hunt jockey in the 1960s and 1970s. His uncle is Arthur Moore, one of Ireland's leading National Hunt trainers...	Michael Hourigan (IRE)	5/1
PU	Fence 21	Venn Ottery	10	Jamie Moore Jamie Moore (jockey) Jamie Moore is an English National Hunt jockey. He is the brother of champion flat jockey Ryan Moore, and son of successful dual-purpose trainer Gary L. Moore....	Martin Pipe Martin Pipe Martin Pipe was a racehorse trainer until his retirement in April 2006.The son of a West-Country bookmaker, Pipe was an amateur jockey before turning his attention to training in 1974 at Nicholashayne, Devon, near Wellington, England....	200/1
PU	Fence 20	Tiutchev Tiutchev (horse) Tiutchev was an English racehorse who started his racing career as a Flat horse for trainer Roger Charlton. He made his debut in September 1996 in a Haydock maiden, where he finished 6th...	12	Robert Thornton Robert Thornton (jockey) Robert "Choc" Thornton is an English National Hunt jockey currently employed as stable jockey to Alan King....	Martin Pipe Martin Pipe Martin Pipe was a racehorse trainer until his retirement in April 2006.The son of a West-Country bookmaker, Pipe was an amateur jockey before turning his attention to training in 1974 at Nicholashayne, Devon, near Wellington, England....	50/1
PU	Fence 19	Truckers Tavern	10	Brian Harding	Ferdy Murphy	100/1
Fell	Fence 17	Pizarro	8	Davy Russell Davy Russell Davy Russell is an Irish jockey who competes in National Hunt racing. Russell's first win as a professional jockey was for English-based Irish trainer Ferdy Murphy on Inn Antique in a novice hurdle at Sedgefield, 12 November 2002...	Edward O'Grady (IRE)	14/1

* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths

Length (horse racing)

A horse length, or simply length, is a unit of measurement that refers to the length of a horse from nose to tail, approximately 8 feet, It is commonly used in Thoroughbred horse racing, where it describes the distance between horses in a race...

 or shorter. nk = neck; PU = pulled-up.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Kicking King

Kicking King

Kicking King is a National Hunt racehorse trained in Ardclough, Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Tom Taaffe. He is best known for his victory in the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the major Chase run at the Cheltenham Festival...

:

• Foaled: April 10, 1998 in Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
  
• Sire: Old Vic; Dam: Fairy Blaze (Good Thyne)
• Owner: Conor Clarkson
• Breeder: Sunnyhill Stud