A memorial bench to Dame Jilly Cooper will be unveiled at Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday 13 November, and The Retreat bar becomes The Rutshire Arms for the weekend.
Cheltenham Racecourse will unveil a memorial bench to the late Dame Jilly Cooper on Friday 13 November, the first day of The November Meeting. The bench will stand on the Crescent walkway, overlooking the Parade Ring. The unveiling takes place before racing.
The racecourse announced the tribute in a press release on 29 September. The whole of that Friday, Countryside Day, is being held in her honour.
What is planned
The racecourse has confirmed two things so far:
- a memorial bench on the Crescent walkway, overlooking the Parade Ring, unveiled before racing on Friday 13 November
- The Retreat bar renamed “The Rutshire Arms” for the weekend of The November Meeting, as a tribute to her novels
Her son and daughter, Felix Cooper and Emily Tarrant, will be there. The racecourse says further details, and other ways her life will be marked, will be announced “in the coming weeks”.
Why Cheltenham
The Jockey Club calls her “one of the sport’s most recognisable and much-loved supporters” and a regular visitor to the course. Her 2010 novel Jump! was set in the jump racing world and included scenes at Cheltenham. The release also points to Rivals, now in its second series on Disney+.
She once described the course and the Festival as “so joyful, I love it. There are all the heavenly Irish, and the course is so beautiful, with that wonderful panoramic view.”
Guy Lavender, the racecourse’s chief executive, said: “Dame Jilly Cooper was a wonderful lady with a huge zest for life. Her passion for the sport was undeniable, and in particular her love of the racecourse and the Cotswolds.”
Her children said: “Mum adored everything about Cheltenham, the fabulous racing, the wonderful horses, the glamorous people and of course the champagne. She would be both utterly delighted and thrilled that Countryside Day this year is being held in her honour.”
The day itself
Countryside Day is billed by the racecourse as a celebration of rural life. The Countryside Day page gives these times:
| Time | |
|---|---|
| Gates open | 10.30am |
| Raceday preview, Parade Ring | 12.25pm to 12.55pm |
| First race | 1.10pm |
| Last race | 4pm |
| Music after racing | 4.14pm to 5.15pm |
There are six races. The feature is the Shloer Steeplechase, a Grade 2, at 2.20pm. The racecourse says timings can change.
What it means for you
- Want to see the bench unveiled? It happens before racing on Friday 13 November, so you will need a race-day ticket and to be in by early afternoon. The racecourse has not yet published an exact time.
- Bringing children? Under-18s race free at the November Meeting, but each child needs a free ticket ordered in advance from the racecourse’s ticketing page.
- Only after the bar? The Rutshire Arms name runs for the weekend of the meeting, 13 to 15 November, not just the Friday.
Every date this winter, from the Showcase on 23 October to New Year’s Day, is on our Cheltenham Racecourse winter fixtures page. Before setting off, check our roadworks and travel and parking in Cheltenham pages.
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