Boodles announced as new Cheltenham Gold Cup sponsor

Boodles, the British luxury jeweller, was on Monday announced as the latest sponsor of the Cheltenham Gold Cup by the Jockey Club.

The company, which sponsored the leading jockey award for four years before sponsoring the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle from 2018, succeeds the children's charity WellChild, which had naming rights last year after Magners ended its sponsorship.

The Jockey Club did not disclose the length of the agreement and it has not been decided whether naming rights will extend to the entire festival. It is understood Boodles was not the only interested party and it has tried to increase its Cheltenham sponsorship since 2021.

Ian Renton, the Jockey Club's regional director for Cheltenham and the south-west, said: "It's wonderful to enjoy this association with Boodles, an iconic British brand, and we're proud to see this partnership expand to the most prestigious jumps race in the world."

Minella Indo (Jack Kennedy, centre) beats A Plus Tard (Rachael Blackmore) and Al Boum Photo (far left) in the 2021 Cheltenham Gold CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Boodles, which will continue to sponsor the Fred Winter, is also the title sponsor of the May festival at Chester and has sponsored races at several tracks such as Sandown, Kempton, Bangor and Yarmouth.

The company's chairman, Nicholas Wainwright, said: "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to sponsor the Cheltenham Gold Cup. We have had a long association with horseracing at Aintree and of course in recent years at the home of jump racing, Cheltenham.

"Today's announcement expands a multi-year partnership, starting with our sponsorship of the leading jockey award at the festival, then the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle and now the Gold Cup itself.

"Our involvement and sponsorship of the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a perfect fit for us and we are going to enjoy the journey."

The Grade 1 was initially due to be sponsored by Magners for three years from 2019 with the option for a further year, but in December 2020 the company said it would not extend the deal beyond 2021. Last February, the Jockey Club said the race the following month would be run in partnership with the children's charity WellChild.

It was revealed in April that the Jockey Club was suing the company behind Magners for more than £1.4 million over the termination of its Gold Cup sponsorship and partnership of the Cheltenham Festival.

In June, Bulmers Ltd, the company behind Magners, made a counter claim against the legal action and said it was would seek damages against the Jockey Club over its decision to stage the 2020 festival.

The race, worth £625,000, has had only six sponsors since its first commercial backer in 1972: Piper Champagne, the Tote, which sponsored from 1980-2011, Betfred, Timico, Magners and WellChild.

General admission tickets for Gold Cup day were sold out online on Monday morning but several hospitality options remained available. It is set to be the first festival since 2020 without crowd restrictions. Tickets are available for the remaining three days of the festival.

The average daily attendance across the four days is 65,000 but the Friday is historically the most popular, with 68,859 people attending in 2020, a decrease from the record 71,500 who visited in 2019.

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