Last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs suffered defeat on his seasonal reappearance at Punchestown, as he had to settle for third place out of six runners in the race won by Fastorslow.
What a race! 👏
A thrilling renewal of the Grade 1 John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase as Fastorslow confirms form with Galopin Des Champs, with the seven-year-old scoring narrowly from Appreciate It under the guidance of JJ Slevin for trainer Martin Brassil 🏆 pic.twitter.com/zOrSilqtDS
— Punchestown (@punchestownrace) November 26, 2023
It is the second consecutive race that Willie Mullins’ runner has been beaten, as he also finished behind Fastorslow in second place in the Punchestown Gold Cup last April at the Punchestown Festival.
Irish Horse Eased in Gold Cup Betting
As of the 29th of November, Galopin Des Champs is now 3/1 in the Cheltenham Festival betting to defend his crown in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was eased in the betting for that race following the defeat on his opening start of the season.
His next run is set to come during the festive period, as he has entries in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Savills Chase at Leopardstown just two days later. The latter is likely to be the first choice of those races and is one of the leading live events in Ireland in late December.
The seven-year-old has won six of his nine races over fences, with five of those victories coming at Grade One level. This is his third season as a chaser, and Mullins will be hoping he can bounce back to his best in time for the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Galopin Was Far Too Good for His Rivals in Blue Riband Event
When he prevailed at Prestbury Park last season by seven lengths, Galopin Des Champs was one of the most impressive winners of the race in recent history. He gave the Irish Champion Trainer a third success in the Blue Riband event in the sport, as Mullins was also victorious in 2019 and 2020 with Al Boum Photo.
𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣 𝘿𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙨 – 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙢 𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝘾𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤
🏇 13 runs
🥇 9 wins
🏆 Cheltenham Gold Cup
🏆 Irish Gold Cup
🏆 John Durkan Memorial👑 Racing has a new Gold Cup king #CheltenhamFestival | @WillieMullinsNH | @PTownend pic.twitter.com/ejWhbtRmiq
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 17, 2023
Jumping the last fence in the contest, Galopin Des Champs was on level terms with his rival Bravemansgame, but the thoroughbred racehorse stretched away from the King George VI Chase up the hill in the run towards the finish line.
The seven-year-old’s victory made up for his error at the final fence in the 2022 Turners Novices’ Chase at the same meeting. He was on course for a large margin victory in that novice race, but he fell at the last obstacle, handing the race to Bob Olinger.
New Challenger to Defending Champion
Gerri Colombe is one of the horses expected to challenge Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup next year. He has won five of his six races over fences, including the Grade One Champion Chase at Down Royal earlier this season.
As shown in the horse racing news, Gordon Elliott’s runner proved his stamina when he prevailed over the distance of three miles and one furlong in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree back in April. His Gold Cup credentials may be tested when he lines up in King George VI Chase later this year.
The 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place on the 15th of March 2024, and it will be the 96th renewal of the feature race at the Cheltenham Festival.
