Cheltenham Festival 2024: Galopin Des Champs strikes Gold again

Galopin Des Champs (10-11 favourite)struck gold for a second successive year with another superb victory in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (GBB Race) on the final day of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.

Willie Mullins' eight-year-old emulated former stable-mate Al Boum Photo, who scorred in 2018 and 2019, to land back-to-back victories in the Grade One feature of the fourth day of the Festival at Prestbury Park. Galopin Des Champs, ridden again by Paul Townend became the ninth horse in history to win the race more than once as Cheltenham celebrated 100 years of the Gold Cup. And having sealed his 100th Cheltenham Festival winner earlier in the week with Bumper hero Jasmin De Vaux, Mullins was celebrating his 103rd and ninth triumph of another amazing week for the master of Closutton.

Galopin Des Champs ran out a superb winner of National Hunt racing's blue riband event 12 months ago, travelling and jumping superbly throughout. And he was even better this time as under Townend, he was sat closer to the pace set by The Real Whacker and then L'Homme Presse (16-1). And he eventually came to join the front-runnersfour fences from home, and despite the loose Fastorslow - who had fallen earlier in the race – causing some issues, he quickly went past Charlie Deutsch and L'Homme Presse after the third-last fence. Galopin Des Champs took control and eventually scored by three-and-a-half lengths from the staying-on Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe (13-2). Last year's Randox Grand National hero, the Lucinda Russell-trained Corach Rambler (14-1) had been last for much of the race, under regular rider Derek Fox, but he ran a superb race to stay on and be third nine-and-a-half lengths back. L'Homme Presse was fourth

Latest