By He’s my double Golden Gal!
NOT many horses have won two Gold Cups in a row – but Galopin des Champs is primed to do just that this afternoon on the final magnificent day of Cheltenham 2024, writes MATT CHAPMAN.
If the Grand National is the people’s race, then there’s no doubt the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup is the one for the purists.
Just eight horses have won the prize more than once, most recently Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020.
He was trained by Willie Mullins as, of course, is Galopin des Champs, and I would be a strong believer the latter is a classier horse than his heroic former stable companion.
The winner of 11 of his 17 starts, Galopin des Champs infamously fell with the 2022 Turners in the bag.
Since then, though, under the excellent Paul Townend he has proved himself the star chaser in the business despite two Punchestown defeats at the hoofs of today’s re-opposing Fastorslow.
In both the Savills and Paddy Power Gold Cup Galopin des Champs looked supreme. He’s impossible to oppose.
This, though, is a deep Gold Cup even without the gutting absence of Shishkin, and if something went amiss it’s a wide open event with a number of eachway possibilities.
The best of those for me is Corach Rambler, who loves this place and has been an Ultima hero in recent times as well as landing the Grand National in some style. He could well run on into a place for Lucinda Russell and Derek Fox.
