One of the game’s great staying chasers, Galopin Des Champs, is on the cusp of a third Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4.00) on the trot – and it may seem folly to take him on.
The layers will feel they are hoping against hope. Then again, in Grade One races in the opening two days alone, we’ve had race-ending blunders from Ballyburn, Majborough, Constitution Hill, State Man and Jonbon. The bookies are emboldened.
Galopin Des Champs faces a run-of-the-mill Gold Cup field and there is no evidence he has regressed. However, Inothewayurthinkin is put forward as an each-way play, on the basis that he has not been trained to peak yet this season. That he was so good as a novice last year and was supplemented both suggest he has the ability and promise to get involved.
The King George winner, Banbridge, crucially has his ground. Still, he needs to prove he stays this yardage.
The opening JCB Triumph Hurdle (1.20) is a captivating renewal. East India Dock has excelled himself since going hurdling while the Nicky Henderson-handled Lulamba carries a lofty reputation.
Preference, however, is for Hello Neighbour. Gavin Cromwell’s horses are running nicely this week, he has yet to be beaten and crucially appeals as an improver in a true-run Triumph.
The William Hill County (2.00) was long the Festival finale, a get-out heat to beat them all. The 2025 edition, notably, has not attracted anything close to a full field; still, we have perhaps the most competitive handicap of the four days.
An Irish win appears certain – Kargese, Absurde, Lark In The Mornin and even Ethical Diamond can be argued as strong fancies – but McLaurey is preferred. He cruised through the race at Leopardstown for the talented young trainer Emmet Mullins and appears primed for JP McManus.
The Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (2.40) can see Cromwell strike with Brides Hill. This race should not belong at a Cheltenham Festival but this mare has her ground and is a far bigger price than hot favourite Dinoblue, who is costly to follow.
Henry de Bromhead is taken to score in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (3.20) with The Big Westerner. A mare has never taken this grueller – few have tried – and this strapping six-year-old has been kept fresh with a view to this. It is harsh on the geldings, given her size, that they have to give her 7lb.
Angels Dawn has been pleasing trainer Sam Curling ahead of her third Cheltenham Festival appearance in the St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase (4.40). The other two brought victory in 2023 and last year a big run before a fall. She rates a solid selection in the second-last race of the two days.
The four-day Festival looks increasingly questionable with crowds down but that will be on nobody’s mind today at a sold-out Gold Cup. They now conclude with the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle (5.20) and one of the talking horses of the week, the McManus-owned Kopeck De Mee. He reportedly wowed watchers in a Curragh stretch lately.
Selections for day three:
Hello Neighbour (1:20), McLaurey (2:20) and Fact To File (3:20) each-way treble
