John Ingles outlines the Timeform view on day four of the Cheltenham Festival.
Three points of interest
Galopin des Champs odds on to join exclusive club in Gold Cup
No horse has won three Gold Cups (16:00) since Best Mate in 2004 but Galopin des Champs has an outstanding chance of becoming only the fifth horse to achieve that feat in a race that celebrated its centenary last year. Best Mate had ended an even longer wait to become the first triple Gold Cup winner since the incomparable Arkle in the 1960s, while Ireland’s first triple winner Cottage Rake, trained by Vincent O’Brien just after the Second World War and Golden Miller, who won it five years running in the 1930s, were the other members of this exclusive club.
Others, of course, have failed to gain entry, including Al Boum Photo for Galopin des Champs’ trainer Willie Mullins, who was favourite to win his third Gold Cup in 2021 but finished third to Minella Indo. Earlier this century, Kauto Star won two Gold Cups but in between was famously beaten by stablemate Denman in the 2008 renewal and made further unsuccessful attempts to win it for a third time.
Last year, Galopin des Champs became the first odds-on winner of the Gold Cup since Best Mate completed his hat-trick twenty years earlier and, if anything, his claims on form look stronger than ever this year. He’s fully 9 lb clear in the Timeform ratings ahead of the King George winner Banbridge who will have underfoot conditions in his favour but will be going into new territory beyond three miles on this stiff track. He’s up against a thoroughly proven stayer too in Galopin des Champs who found plenty after the last for his two wins at Leopardstown this season, landing a second Savilles Chase and a third Irish Gold Cup.
The supplemented Inothewayurthinkin and Monty’s Star in the Minella Indo colours were fourth and fifth respectively in the Irish Gold Cup but they look set for minor roles again in a potentially historic contest.
Townend on the right one again in County Hurdle?
Willie Mullins has won the County Hurdle (14:00) seven times since 2010, with four of the stable’s winners coming with Paul Townend in the saddle. Townend’s first two wins came when Ruby Walsh was still the number one jockey at Closutton, so that neither Wicklow Brave (25/1) in 2015 nor Arctic Fire (20/1) two years later was the apparent first string when Townend was successful on them. But by the time of his next winner, in 2022, Townend was able to partner ‘good thing’ State Man, the shortest-priced County Hurdle winner for more than twenty years.
However, Townend’s choice was harder in last year’s race when there was no apparent stand-out among the stable’s five runners. He picked the right one, though, when he produced 12/1-shot Absurde from last place two out under an ice-cool ride to lead in the final fifty yards.
Absurde is among Mullins’ four runners this year, and while he hasn’t been seen over jumps since last year’s Festival, he has again been in action on the Flat and, like last year, will be having his first race since the Melbourne Cup, going two places better than the year before when fifth in the latest renewal.
It looks significant, though, that Townend has picked the mare Kargese instead. Yet to finish out of the first two, she was one of the leading juvenile hurdlers last season, with Grade 1 wins at the Dublin Racing Festival and the Punchestown Festival. In between she was runner-up at Cheltenham and Aintree, chasing home stablemate Majborough in the Triumph Hurdle.
Kargese was also runner-up in her sole start this year, in a Grade 2 mares’ contest at Ascot in January won by Take No Chances who was a good third in Tuesday’s Mares’ Hurdle. But this will be Kargese’s first handicap and, given her tendency to take a strong hold, a well-run contest such as this promises to be should bring out the best in her, especially if Townend executes a similar ride to the one he pulled off in last year’s race.
Old rivals meet again in Mares’ Chase
Three of the first four home in last year’s Mares’ Chase (14:40) meet again but the result could well be different twelve months on. The outcome could have been different last year too, with Limerick Lace getting first run on the favourite Dinoblue and holding on to win by three-quarters of a length in receipt of 5 lb from the staying-on runner-up who was more patiently ridden than usual on her first try at the longer trip. Not that the result probably made much difference to J. P. McManus as he owned both mares and was winning the race for the third year running.
Limerick Lace went on to run in the Grand National where she started at just 7/1 but found that a completely different test and hasn’t shown enough in her two starts this term to suggest a repeat win at the Festival on the cards.
Dinoblue, on the other hand, comes here in good form and makes plenty of appeal at the head of the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings in her bid to go one better than last year. She chased home Energumene in the Hilly Way Chase at Cork earlier in the season and on her latest start gave 6 lb and a neck beating to another stablemate Allegorie de Vassy in the Opera Hat Mares Chase, a listed contest at Naas last month. Dinoblue travelled smoothly, but she had to dig deep after a mistake at the last threatened to let the runner-up back in and earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag for that effort.
Allegorie de Vassy had herself finished fourth in last year’s Mares’ Chase having been runner-up when sent off favourite in 2023. She’s likely to be the main threat to Dinoblue again and had given a sound beating to Limerick Lace at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day. Rather than last year’s winner, the pick of Gavin Cromwell’s trio this time looks to be Brides Hill who has had excuses on both her runs in Britain over the winter.
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