Talk of field sizes in horse racing is nothing new, in fact, it’s been spoken about a lot for the past few years. But while there’s a definite lack of runners, especially in the mid to high sections of racing, the very top tier has, in the main part, escaped low fields.

Last year, 13 went to post for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, while that number has been in double figures for eight years in a row. But this year, I can say for certain now in February, that the run of double figure fields will come to an end.

With four defections this week when the latest withdrawal stage took place, we are down to 15 runners still entered in the Gold Cup, five weeks before the race is due to go off. But of those 15 runners, there’s some that have already ruled themselves out of contention, staying in the race as purely a second preference, or back up plan just in case.

Single Figure Gold Cup Fields Rare but Racing Must Take Note

I don’t think now is the time for anyone to rest easy in racing. Seeing a field of six, seven or eight, which looks the most likely scenario right now, would be a crying shame for a race that is supposed to be the biggest race in the biggest week of the year.

Go back through the stats, and this is a rarity in recent times, which is good, but there’s no guarantee that things simply bounce back next year. As mentioned, the last eight years we’ve seen 10+ runners in the Gold Cup, and looking further back, if you go all the way back to 1993, just twice have we seen a field of less than 10.

That’s 31 years of Gold Cup racing, and just two occasions where we’ve had a single figure field. 2025 will be the third race to buck that trend.

I think alongside the fact that there are fewer horses in training, there’s two factors making the Gold Cup struggle this year.

Firstly, Galopin Des Champs. A two time winner in 2023 and 2024, he’s coming to win a historic third Cheltenham Gold Cup. While people should never run scared of one horse in a big race, it does seem as though there’s some out there choosing to avoid him.

The second reason is where some of the other runners are heading, and that is down to the Ryanair Chase. Seen as the Gold Cup for horses who don’t quite stay the trip, I think we’ve seen a trend of horses in recent years getting to the top, but not quite being strong enough to stay the Gold Cup distance.

Rather than going over a trip they struggle to get, against a horse that’s potentially going to be one of the greats, they head to the Ryanair. It’s an easy switch to make, I don’t think the Ryanair is anywhere near as big a race to win, but it’s now beginning to take runners away from the Gold Cup, at least for now.