Horse Racing: Cheltenham Gold Cup, among other trophies, Stolen from Raymond Mould’s mansion
As far as Hunt Racing is concerned, the Cheltenham Festival is at the heart of the sport and the Cheltenham Gold Cup is considered the highest honour. It is the most valuable non-handicap Grade 1 chase in Britain. The Prize fund for the race stands at £475,000. The Trophy awarded to the winner itself is worth over £10,000.
That trophy was stolen yesterday. The trophy, among other highly valued items, was stolen from one of Britain’s Leading racehorse owners, Raymond Mould, from Gloucestershire. The raid is said to have occurred before 7am on Wednesday at the Cotswold Mansion, where the trophy was on display. Mould was awarded the trophy in 1988. It was his horse, Charter Party, with Jockey Richard Dunwoody aboard and trained by David Nicholson, who won the 1998 Cheltenham Cup. The 1998 was the only year the Horse, the Jockey, the trainer or the owner ever won the Cheltenham Cup.
The trophy is made from solid gold but even at its £10,000 price tag, it’s the sentimental value that millionaire Mould treasures. “I know exactly what they have taken. What's the point in melting it down? To me it's worth a fortune,” Mould said. He won the trophy with his wife, Jennifer, who was a co-owner of the winning horse. Mrs. Mould died in 2000 due to cancer.
The Cheltenham Cup was one of three trophies stolen on Wednesday. The Grand Annual Challenge Cup and the Britannia Handicap trophy make up the other two trophies stolen in the raid on Mould’s mansion. Mould had acquired both trophies this year. The Britannia Handicap Trophy was able to adorn Mould’s trophy wall for only a month before it was stolen.
The Jockey who earned Mould his only Cheltenham Gold Cup offered his condolence after the raid. Richard Dunwoody said that winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup was the highlight of his career. He said that winning the trophy is the pinnacle of the sport and losing it, among the other three, would obviously be a terrible disappointment. “Hopefully they will be able to recover them,” Dunwoody said.
It’s really a matter of perspective and from a horse owner or jockey’s point of view; the loss of the prestigious Cheltenham trophy is most significant. The perspective of a Jeweller is different. Nigel Dimmer, co-owner of the Jewellers who have been making the Cheltenham trophies since 1953, was more distraught by the theft of the Cheltenham Challenge Cup than the Gold Cup, even though it’s valued significantly less in the horseracing world. “That is irreplaceable because it isn’t made every year, I think that’s almost worst than the Gold Cup going because there is only one,” Dimmer said. Dimmer appealed for the return of the Challenge Cup. “It is a beautiful piece of silver – a one-off and part of Cheltenham's heritage,” he noted.
Also less concerned with the monetary value was Andy Clifton, Spokesman for Cheltenham. He said that the thieves took more than just a gold artefact; they stole a piece of racing history. He said that winning the Cheltenham Gold trophy is a life time ambition for everyone involved with the sport and it would always be a sad moment for a person to be deprived of such a memento.
While a new Cheltenham Gold Trophy is forged each year and the Cheltenham Challenge cup was a one off piece, the Britannia Handicap Trophy is an entirely different thing altogether. The Trophy has been awarded every year since 1928 and each year it is the same trophy. The trophy that had been handed down from winner to winner for 72 years is now lost. The trophy is returned each year before spring to be cleaned and then given away again to the next winner. For that reason Spokesman for Ascot, Nick Smith couldn’t put a number of the Britannia Handicap Trophy’s worth. “We’ll have to find out now,” he said.
The Police said the total value of stolen items was close to £150,000.
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