The simple answer is yes, it was. More
than a century before the Cheltenham Gold Cup was inaugurated in its
more familiar guise, as a steeplechase run at Prestbury Park, in
1924, a race of the same name was run for the first time on Cleeve
Hill, or Cleeve Cloud, which dominates the skyline to the north-east
of the current racecourse, in 1819.
According to Baily’s Racing Register,
in its original incarnation, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, or Piece of
Plate, was contested over three miles, on the Flat, with a value of
100 guineas, added to a sweepstakes of 20 guineas each. The race was
won by the four-year-old bay colt, Spectre, owned by a certain Mr.
Bodenham, who carried 6st 7lb to victory, after finishing second in
the Gloucestershire Stakes, over two miles, at the same venue two
days earlier. Interestingly, the second horse home, Zenith, was owned
by John Rous, a.k.a. Lord Rous, whose second son, Henry John Rous,
was later appointed Jockey Club Steward.
