Coral take over sponsorship of Newbury's premier jumps race in three-year deal

The race known as the Hennessy Gold Cup for almost 60 years is set to change name again as Coral take over from fellow Entain-owned bookmaker Ladbrokes as title sponsor of Newbury's premier jumps race in a three-year deal.

The £250,000 highlight of Newbury's jumps calendar will be renamed the Coral Gold Cup on November 26, having been known as the Ladbrokes Trophy since 2017.

The 3m2f Grade 3 handicap has been won by nine horses who have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup including Denman, Bobs Worth and Native River with the latter successful in 2016, the final time the race was run as the Hennessy, ending British racing's longest-running commercial sponsorship at the time.

Newbury's two-day meeting on November 25 and 26 has been marketed as the Ladbrokes Winter Carnival in recent years but Coral will now sponsor 13 races across the meeting including the Coral Gold Cup.

The move extends the bookmaker's sponsorship portfolio which includes other staying jumps contests such as the Coral Welsh Grand National and Coral Scottish Grand National as well as the Coral-Eclipse on the Flat.

Native River: winner of the race in 2016Credit: Mark Cranham

Simon Clare, PR director for Coral, said: "We are delighted that Coral is to become the official title sponsor of the Coral Gold Cup meeting which is one of the most prestigious and anticipated events this side of Christmas and signals the start of the festive season.

“Coral is the most committed, long-standing sponsor in British racing and in launching this exciting new partnership with Newbury racecourse we are strengthening our association with the sport through a race and race meeting which is steeped in history.

“Our ambition is for Coral to set a new high bar for the way we activate and bring to life our racing sponsorships to racegoers at the event and our customers at home while telling the story and narrative of what goes into winning these incredibly historic races and we will be looking to create a range of content in the build-up which brings our customers and fans closer to the action.”

The three-year deal means that the Coral Gold Cup will be shown on Sky Sports Racing in 2024 with the Berkshire track's deal with the broadcaster beginning in January of the same year.

Julian Thick, chief executive of Newbury racecourse, said: “This is an exciting multi-year partnership for Newbury with Coral, a long-established and respected name in the horseracing world.

"We have enjoyed a great relationship with the Entain team for the last five years and look forward to working with them on the next phase of this partnership to make the Coral Gold Cup Meeting bigger and better over the coming years.”

The televised gallops used to promote the meeting will continue with racegoers who purchase tickets before midnight on Monday receiving free entry for the Coral Gallops Morning on Tuesday November 15.

Read this next:

'The jockeys call him a machine' - small yard dreaming big with Bear Ghylls

Amo lose Norfolk appeal despite 'poor and reprehensible' Paul Hanagan ride

Meet the superstar rivalling Baaeed for the title of world's best racehorse

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.