Cheveley Park Stud announces retirement of Cheltenham Gold Cup winner A Plus Tard

Owned by Cheveley Park Stud, A Plus Tard is recognized as the sixth-best chaser since 2000 and the fourth-best staying chaser at three miles or further, according to Racing Post Ratings. Only Kauto Star, Galopin Des Champs, and Denman rank higher than him in those categories. His victory in the Gold Cup, with a 15-length lead over stablemate Minella Indo, was the widest margin of victory in the race since Master Oats in 1996. A Plus Tard won eight of his 23 starts under trainer Henry de Bromhead and earned over €1 million in prize-money. He even defeated top-class horse Chacun Pour Soi in a Grade 1 race at Leopardstown in 2019. He achieved four victories at the highest level, including the Betfair Chase in 2021 and the Savills Chase in 2020. In 2019, he also won at the Cheltenham Festival, sprinting 16 lengths clear to claim the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase. Jockey Rachael Blackmore described the Gold Cup win as an “unbelievable day” and praised A Plus Tard for his exceptional qualities as a racehorse.
De Bromhead expressed admiration for A Plus Tard’s capabilities and credited his blend of speed and stamina for his success. The trainer highlighted the horse’s excellent jumping and impressive pace, noting that finding a horse with those qualities is rare. De Bromhead ranked A Plus Tard as one of the best horses he has ever trained. The Gold Cup victory, visually spectacular and highly rated among winners in the past 30 years, was a memorable achievement. A Plus Tard was the first horse trained by De Bromhead for Cheveley Park Stud and the Thompson family. Reflecting on the horse’s journey, De Bromhead emphasized the significance of winning in front of 70,000 spectators at the first Cheltenham Festival after Covid-19. He also shared the poignant detail that his father witnessed A Plus Tard’s victory in the Savills Chase on television, only to pass away the following day. A Plus Tard’s successes in the red, white, and blue Cheveley Park Stud colors marked their first Cheltenham winner, and it was also Blackmore’s first victory at the festival in the 2019 Listed Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase. Blackmore rode A Plus Tard to five of his six victories, while Darragh O’Keeffe rode him in the remaining one. De Bromhead expressed eternal gratitude to his team at Knockeen, as well as to Blackmore, for their contributions to A Plus Tard’s achievements.