ARKLE - 40 years since his first Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup victory at Cheltenham

The 2004 National Hunt Festival marks the 40th anniversary of Arkle?s first of three magnificent successes in the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup.

There will be a special commemorative 1960s display in the stand near the Arkle statue, this will include several reminiscences of where people were on that auspicious day, with the most remarkable contribution coming from the former rails bookmaker Stephen Little, who cycled to Cheltenham from Lincoln and stayed in the Youth Hostel on Cleeve Hill.

There will also be an evocative tribute to Arkle at his statue throughout the three days.

Arkle is one of only three racehorses to have won the Gold Cup more than twice, a feat that Best Mate will be attempting to emulate in 2004.

He gained his thrilling hat-trick between 1964 and 1966, while Cottage Rake scored between 1948 and 1950 and Golden Miller won jump racing?s top chase five times from 1932 to 1936.

Arkle, known to many simply as ?Himself?, came into his first Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup appearance in 1964 with the British believing that the previous year?s winner Mill House was unbeatable and long odds-on.

However, horses do not know their starting prices and Arkle, who was trained in Ireland by Tom Dreaper, put up an amazing performance to lead between the last two fences under Tom Taaffe, beating Mill House by five lengths in the race billed as England versus Ireland.

That great display took place on a Saturday in response to public interest and was broadcast live by the BBC on Grandstand but the race was moved back to the traditional Thursday the following year.

Four decades later, Arkle is still winning prizes as he was recently voted the favourite racehorse of all time, securing the backing of 21.9% of the participants, in a poll conducted by the Racing Post.

Arkle?s second Gold Cup success was achieved more easily in 1965 when, as an eight-year-old, he made all to pass the winning post unchallenged by 20 lengths from Mill House.

His hat-trick was completed a canter when he came home 30 lengths ahead of Dormant at odds of 1/10 in 1966.

Overall during his career, Arkle won 27 of his 35 starts, including 22 of 26 outings over fences.

He ran six times at Cheltenham, winning on five occasions including in the Broadway Chase (now known as the Royal & SunAlliance Chase) at the 1963 National Hunt Festival) and finishing third in the 1964 Massey Ferguson Gold Cup (now the Tripleprint).

John Oaksey, former amateur rider, journalist and broadcaster, believes that the great horse?s best performance came in that defeat at Cheltenham.

Having won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury by 10 lengths from Ferry Boat the previous weekend when carrying 12st 7lb, he had to shoulder a 3lb penalty in the Massey Ferguson bringing his weight up to 12st 10lb.

Despite this massive burden, he was only beaten a short-head and a length by Flying Wild and Buona Notte. Arkle gave the winner 32lb and the runner-up 26lb and was coming back at his rivals up the hill.

Indeed Arkle?s ability to carry huge weights in handicaps is legendary. Such was his prowess that the handicapper was forced to publish two sets of weights for races that he was entered in because if he wasn?t declared overnight his absence would make a nonsense of the handicap.

Perhaps broadcasting legend Sir Peter O?Sullevan summed up the horse bestwhen he said: 'I don?t know if we?ll ever see another Arkle. I?ll certainly not.'