An outstanding Gold Cup winner who may yet rank among the all‑time greats was a fine way to conclude the biggest racing week of the year on Friday, and excellent pre-publicity too for the Cheltenham Festival in 2025 when Galopin Des Champs will, all being well, attempt to become only the fifth horse in National Hunt history to win a third Gold Cup.
The horse and his trainer, Willie Mullins, were – to no one’s great surprise – the standout performers of the week and, as Mullins himself acknowledged, there is a noticeable air of superstar quality about Galopin Des Champs that was lacking in his first dual Gold Cup winner, Al Boum Photo.
