Galopin Des Champs, a bay steeplechaser trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, dominated last week's Christmas festival at Leopardstown, securing a convincing victory in the Savills Chase. His performance highlights the undeniable skill and athleticism of horses in racing, pushing beyond the often-made association of racing solely with betting.
Racing always gets the old dig about being not so much a sport as a betting vehicle. This comment sustains because of the element of truth in it. Racing isn’t slow to exploit the link when it suits, such as when in pursuit of tax revenue. But evidence of it not being the whole truth was obvious when Galopin Des Champs lit up last week’s Christmas festival action at Leopardstown. There’s no gimmicky grey appeal about ”Galopin”. He’s an unremarkable looking bay with an awkward name.
Nor has he got some heartwarming underdog backstory. He’s trained by Willie Mullins, the most dominant figure in National Hunt racing history, and ridden by a champion in Paul Townend. But what he indisputably is right now is the best steeplechaser in the game. A pair of Cheltenham Gold Cup victories highlighted an already stellar CV prior to Galopin Des Champs coming up against stable companion Fact To File in last Saturday’s Savills Chase. Fact To File won their previous meeting a month earlier. But upped in trip, and with the eyes of the racing world on them, the novice upstart got put firmly in his place. As when winning the same race in even more stunning visual style in 2023, at no point was “Galopin” more impressive than at the line. His capacity to sustain a gallop is freakish. Just as in Cheltenham last March, where others pull themselves up to an exhausted halt almost immediately after the post, he simply keeps motoring.Willie Mullins happy to move forward with State Man after Brighterdaysahead eclipseSainte Lucie hailed as ‘top drawer’ by Willie Mullins after Punchestown triumph Given normal good fortune, he will be short odds to complete a Gold Cup hat-tric
RACING GALOPIN DES CHAMPS CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP WILLIE MULLINS PAUL TOWNEND
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