Hennessy has confirmed that "it will no longer sponsor the Newbury race which bears its name and which has become such a familiar landmark in each jumps season," according to Chris Cook of the London GUARDIAN. The 60th Hennessy Gold Cup, won by Native River on Nov. 26, will be the last, as was "widely predicted," bringing an end to "one of the longest running sponsorships in all of sport." Speculation continues to center on Ladbrokes as "the expected successor sponsor for the race," a handicap chase over 3.25 miles. That would be a "controversial deal," since Ladbrokes is not an authorized betting partner under the terms of racing's year-old policy and "racecourses are not supposed to sign new deals with non-ABP firms." Newbury, however, is one of several "major tracks" that has not committed to the ABP policy. Ladbrokes recently merged with Coral but the "expectation is that the race will carry only the Ladbrokes name." The Hennessy, which offered total prize money of almost £200,000 ($253,600) this year, was founded in '57 and staged at Cheltenham until '60 (GUARDIAN, 12/6).