2006 War Of Attrition

Run on good going on Friday, March 17, 2006, the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup featured 22 runners, making it, jointly, the most competitive renewal in history, at least numerically. The previous year, Kicking King, saddled by Tom Taaffe, had become the first Irish-trained winner since 1996, but, in the style of London buses, the 2006 renewal produced not only an Irish-trained winner, but also, for the first time in the history of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, an Irish-trained 1-2-3.

Victory went to the 15/2 third-favourite War Of Attrition, trained by Michael ‘Mouse’ Morris and ridden by Conor O’Dwyer, who stayed on strongly on the run-in to beat the 2005 Grand National winner, Hedgehunter, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh, by two-and-a-half lengths. Forget The Past, trained by Michael O’Brien and ridden by Barry Geraghty, filled third place, a further seven lengths behind the front pair. The starting price favourite, Beef Or Salmon, also trained in Ireland, by Michael Hourigan, proved a costly failure for the second year running, trailing in eleventh of the 18 finishers, having never travelled.

The following month, War Of Attrition confirmed his position at the top of the staying chaser division by making all to beat Beef Or Salmon by two-and-a-half lengths, eased down, in the Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup. He would eventually make his final racecourse appearance in the same race, as an 11-year-old, four seasons later.

At the end of his racing career, War Of Attrition was retired to Gigginstown House Stud, in whose

familiar maroon and white colours he raced, where he was humanely euthanised in October 2022, aged 23, after suffering a bout of colic. At the time of his death, Morris said, “He [War Of Attrition] always turned up on the big days and he was very good the day he won the Gold Cup. He had a very high cruising speed and that stood to him that day. He took Conor [O’Dwyer] everywhere he wanted to go. He was some horse.”