The Cheltenham Festival is only a week away and this year there is a new race set to be hotly contested on Friday March 19 and that’s The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase.
In honour of the greatest mares to have ever graced the Cheltenham turf, the winning trophy has been specially designed and commissioned by us. Using inspiration from Mount Rushmore, the trophy has a cliff face design based on Cleeve Hill and features Anaglogs Daughter, winner of the 1980 Arkle Chase, and the 1972 Gold Cup winner Glencaraig Lady.
Also included are Liberthine, winner of the 2005 Mildmay of Flete Handicap Chase, and the legendary Dawn Run, 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, 1984 Champion Hurdle winner and the best jump mare the sport has ever seen. The images were painstakingly rendered from archive footage, using the latest technology in 3D printing to achieve an exact likeness.
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To quite literally top it all off, the design also spells out our name in a nod to the famous Paddy Power Cleeve Hill sign, which stood at 45 feet tall during The Festival a decade ago.
Emma Lavelle, trainer of previous Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle hero and leading candidate this year, Paisley Park, said: “It’s fitting that the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase trophy is being unveiled on International Women’s Day 2021.
“Mount Rushmore in the USA commemorates four former Presidents and, on a hugely-important day, this 3D specially-commissioned sculpture beautifully captures the talents exhibited by four leading ladies – including the legendary Dawn Run – on the hallowed turf beneath the backdrop of Cleeve Hill.”
We felt like there seemed no better time to show our new trophy off to the world, paying homage to the four greatest mares to run at the great Cheltenham Festival.
The incredible eye for detail makes this trophy a complete one-off and we can’t wait for the race to cap what could be a record-breaking Festival for the Irish.
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