Paul Townend equaled the legendary Pat Taaffe when Galopin Des Champs gave the jockey a fourth Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup success on Friday.
In grueling ground conditions, the 10-11 favourite required grit rather more than the brilliance that took him to glory a year previously and, like a true champion, wasn’t found wanting.
Despite having to cope with the nuisance of a loose horse from before the straight, Galopin Des Champs powered up the Cheltenham hill to beat Gerri Colombe by three-and-a-half lengths with the Grand National winner Corach Rambler in third.
Willie Mullins’s star emulated his former stable companion Al Boum Photo who won back-to-back in 2019-20 under Townend too. He is just the ninth horse to win steeplechasing’s greatest prize more than once.
The most lustrous name among the previous eight is the peerless Arkle who won the first of his three Gold Cups 60 years previously. He and Pat Taaffe made for an iconic partnership, with the rider also scoring on Fort Leney in 1968.
On the Gold Cup’s 100th birthday, both Townend and Mullins now have the ultimate race record in their sights. Arkle’s trainer Tom Dreaper won the Blue Riband five times in all while Golden Miller won five-in-a-row between 1932 and 1936.
Even with the emergence of new rising stars such as Wednesday’s impressive winner Fact To File in the all-conquering Mullins team, Galopin Des Champs is the benchmark talent to pull off such a feat and in the process elevate himself to Arkle, Cottage Rake and Best Mare as a hat-trick hero.
Always appearing in control for much of the race, it was Galopin’s old rival Fastorslow who turned out to be his biggest threat, although not as anticipated.
With two career defeats of Galopin Des Champs under his belt, Fastorslow was stalking the favourite until seven fences from home when he blundered and lost jockey JJ Slevin.
Fastorslow’s competitive instincts remained and he became an unpredictable thorn in Townend’s side.
“The loose one was interfering with us a bit and it was messy, but what he found from the back of the last... He got up the hill last year, but that was a different kind of ride and we’d conserved everything. We did it the hard way this year,” Townend said.
“I don’t even remember my thought process in dealing with the loose horse to be honest. All you are doing is reacting in a split second, so it’s kind of instinct and luck. He pulled out every stop, and we went for reserves in the last furlong that only the very best have,” he added.
A fourth Gold Cup in six years made a mockery of the supposed famine Mullins endured in the most coveted jumps race of all prior to Al Boum Photo in 2019.
The man who reached a landmark century of festival winners on Wednesday equaled the legendary Vincent O’Brien’s four Gold Cups, a mark also achieved by Basil Briscoe who prepared Golden Miller for four of his five victories in the 1930s.
“Apart from the loose horse, there wasn’t much worry, was there!” Mullins said. “I think he just put himself in the superstar category – to do what he did and the way he did it.
“The loose horse was there, and Paul was just so positive on him. Hopefully we can come back next year to win a third one. He has the ability to do it, and we just have to stay sound, I think.
“He’s doing everything right and is achieving more than I thought he could. It was great to win a Gold Cup last year and we were crossing our fingers this year that if we got him there safe and sound, he’d have every chance of winning and he’s just done that.
“But you can only dream about these kinds of things,” he added.
With a little better fortune, Galopin Des Champs could be chasing his own festival five-timer next year. A winner over hurdles at the 2021 festival, he had a novice chase in his pocket a year later only to fall at the last.
Even after the line it was noticeable how seven minutes of draining effort on bad ground didn’t stop him galloping out. All his opposition slowed to a halt within strides after the line.
They included Gerri Colombe, beaten 23 lengths by Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown over Christmas, but closed the gap here, although ultimately to no avail.
“My horse ran a great race and I’m very proud of him. He was up against a superstar,” Gordon Elliott said. “It’s always disappointing when you lose, but the horse that beat him is exceptional.”
In a game of opinions, and on the biggest stage of all, there was unanimity on that.
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