Gold Cup sets out on tour of community

WHAT do a Filipino karaoke restaurant, the mayor’s office and a Holiday Inn have in common? They are among a host of venues which will be visited by the town’s most famous trophy, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in a tour around Gloucestershire for the next two weeks, when thousands are expected to come out for selfies, photos and a chance to see the prize up close.

The Gold Cup tour was launched last year by Cheltenham racecourse as a way of bringing the track even closer to the community, and its overwhelming success is the reason another tour will commence tomorrow.

It starts with visits to a variety of the town’s independent hospitality businesses including a gin distillery, a diner, a French bistro and an “enchanted” cocktail bar. The next stops are less boozy, with the week’s schedule including a primary school, a few hotels and an art gallery.

Among others, it has a date with the mayor’s office tomorrow week and then will pay visits to WellChild, National Star College and Riding for the Disabled.

The town’s new restaurant Pyesta will be throwing a Filipino-themed party for its arrival. The restaurant, which turns into a karaoke bar at night, has been a hit in the town since it opened in September and Portia Brown, who owns it with husband Paul, hopes racegoers will join the party next month too.

“It was an amazing feeling when we were told we were one of the restaurants the Gold Cup was coming to. We’re excited and we’ll have some special things to celebrate it on Tuesday,” she says. “We’re still planning as it’s going to be our first Gold Cup week, but we’ll karaoke every single day. It’s very exciting!”

Cheltenham’s Andre Klein is the man behind the Gold Cup tour, having been part of the team which showcased the Melbourne Cup around Australia. He was blown away by the success last year and is promising even bigger plans for the race’s centenary year in 2024.

Like the world-famous steeplechase it represents, the tour does have some obstacles. Only those who have ridden, trained or owned the winner of the race are allowed to hold the prize and, while more than 2,000 followed those rules last year, there is always one. In an event at Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm stadium, Klein turned to the plinth in horror to find no Gold Cup. Luckily, it had just been used by an opportunistic selfie-taker.