1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup Norton's Coin - Full race

Nortons Coin trained by Welsh dairy farmer Sirrell Griffiths and ridden by Graham McCourt wins the 1990 Cheltenham Gold Cup at betting odds of 100/1 ! What a surprise!

[@psilow7789]

I was kid and my Dad said I could bet a £1 on a horse in the Gold Cup but meant I wouldn't have it to go to youth club that night. I remember he was all about Dessie, but being Welsh I picked Nortons Coin. £100 for a wee 'un. I think I lent my Dad a fiver for a pack of cigarettes, and I bought the Star Wars Millennium Falcon model which was until then just a pipe dream for this council estate kid.

[@peterjackson1043]

£2 ew Nortons Coin - my only winner in a 3 day festival - love seeing this again

[@jimscarlet]

He was trained a mile or so from where I was living in Carmarthen, the whole town was on him, to a man, woman and child. I only had a fiver each way at odds of 150/1. We got very, very drunk.

[@mizofan]

I know you used to get drunk, but didn't you shuffle off this mortal coil in 1953?

[@befairish]

Great race, thanks++ for posting it

[@dawnkeir549]

Love these old races

[@horseracingstuff]

I actually recorded the entire's day BBC coverage that year as I was at sixth form college on that day and couldn't watch it live. I was so upset that Dessie lost that I recorded over the video which I regret now. That compounds a disastrous three years of Gold Cup watching. In 1988 lacking a working video recorder I waited to watch the late night highlights programme on the BBC not realising that they'd put the Gold Cup highlights programme on a earlier time slot that day. I had to catch the end of News at Ten to see the final two fences. In 1989 I recorded the race as I was at college only to walk into my house and my granddad who lived with my mother and me had the radio on in the kitchen. Before I could watch race the first thing I heard the radio say was that Dessie had won.

[@jonathanhart8570]

Your my age then, around 47/48???

[@horseracingstuff]

@@jonathanhart8570 49yo.

[@peterjackson933]

Me and my nana both backed nortons coin on that day. I remember it well.

[@Bet-Finder]

Great race, I was there!

[@robeltoburrows3768]

All the bookmakers have this horse, Norton coin as the greatest gold cup winner they have ever seen, they love him?

[@prideauxboy3350]

remember it well , cameraman was shocking , lets watch the third horse tbf he was a good animal

[@gazowenowen250]

Great music

[@Formula1Madx]

01:18 "The arrogant grey knew that he was the star" God I hated Julian Wilson, he talked utter bollocks.

[@mizofan]

and who was it who said Dessie disgraced himself when he fell in his last race? The crowd didn't think so; they gave him great cheers as he came in alone with no jockey.

[@arkleegan282]

​@@mizofanit wasn't Julien Wilson that said that ...

[@5888max]

First time I have looked at this in 24 years still don't know why Dessie didn't win he was cruising up until the second last- lost a packet but learnt a lesson.

[@richardmoloney5617]

Lost thousand on dessie

[@glynnevans1851]

@@richardmoloney5617 Hi Richard , Wow I only lost 20 Notes and was gutted too. I'm afraid Norton's Coin and G. McCourt made this class field look like fools and they under estimated them . I remember a similar happening in the 84 Ceserawitch at Newmarket when Tom Sharp 50/1 ' 88/1 on the old tote got a Momentous lead and the likes of Pat Eddery RIP now ' sadly and Carson ...Etc were made to look like fools too. Some of the leading trainers were fuming but that's racing sir.Kind regards Glynn n greetings from Stourbridge West Midlands UK 🤝

[@NoelBehan]

Had toby & Nortons coin e/w double what a race :)

[@jamesvaughan7697]

How can you have the winner and second in an each way double?????

[@Eleventhearlofmars]

@@jamesvaughan7697 he maybe a billy bullshitter?! 🙄😆

[@jakhaughton1800]

I had £60 ew on Nortons Coin because of his Chepstow form. Never took the 500/1 price!

[@darrenmoorelufc]

Wow what a bet! Didn’t realise he was on offer at 500s

[@michaeltait7145]

Thought only 100

[@carina914]

Looking at this race and the 1991 gold cup i may be biased as i'm a huge Dessie fan but i think he truly disliked going left handed and this was his disadvantage rather than the fact he was getting older or slower. he was still a class act up to 12 years of age

[@seanscanlon9067]

The not liking going left-handed is a bit of a cliche and Desert Orchid was 2nd at left-handed Cheltenham in the Queen Mother but it was probably more the 2 miles there against the very best at that distance that was significant, yet he won a Cheltenham Gold Cup and won at Aintree too, which is also left-handed.

[@mizofan]

Oh yes, horses for courses, it was an incredible achievement for him to win in 1989, with the course, the weight and the weather. That run-in was magnificent.

[@latchmere100]

Gutted. I followed Toby Tobias all year and really fancied him to win the Gold 🏆. Racing is a tough mistress. Well done Nortons Coin.

[@darrenmoorelufc]

I was also on Toby Tobias that day. Thought he was going to get up.

[@SteveMullington]

Super Darren

[@williamwharton7545]

love watching this race again . it wasnt a shock to me as in his previous race at haydock he was beaten a head by one of jennie pitmans and 15Lengths clear of the 3rd horse conceding 2 stone . if thats not gold cup form i dont know what is , so i put my money where my mouth is and had £5 ew at 100/1 i missed 200/1 with ladbrokes on the morning of the race , i told a little old boy in my local wiliam hill shop and he had 25p ew

[@angeldimariagreaves4582]

I remember that day I had a 5a was going pimbletts for a pie and my mate steph shouted as I passed are you having a bet my 1st bet so I went in picked 2 quid no 7 and a quid on 17 I couldn't believe it I also got my pie and jam doughnut too lol out of my last 5a 202 quid I got and I liked the name Graham mccourt lol

[@mcvicarross7]

I remember my Dad bet Norton's Coin that year n had Desert Orchid 4 the f/c (gd luck/bad luck) he gave me n ma wee bro a tenner each but I don't know how much he had on Dessie e/w! Great race.

[@jonathanhart8570]

I used to get excited when the BBC racing tune came on, I lost money, but there's worse ways to waste it, still trying to find monsignor winning the bumper, I can't remember 5mins ago, yet can remember every horse every jockey who rode em from this era, miss the sporting life spread out on the floor with all my calculations written on it great days

[@davidsanders1986]

I had this.😊

[@dodger1915]

can anyone tell me what the theme music was to BBC racing

[@richardjames712]

Bit late this but it's "Odissea Veneziana" by "Rondo Veneziano"

[@michaeltait7145]

Didn't know cavies clown lost 30lenths at start how far would that have won great for the trainer if memory right think he only had 2 horses not bad 1 off them winning best race in horse racing great memory

[@serenityinside1]

Desert orchid 4th ?!! 😯

[@mizofan]

I'm from Wales and my brother-in-law was called Norton = £1 e/w bet

[@tonywinfield7893]

Cavvies clown may have won if he got off to an even start

[@beverleymorris167]

And some fools think he was better than Arkle,.....beat by a 100-1 shot....did it win another race?