Assessing the leading Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders
Galopin Des Champs galloped to glory in 2023 in hugely impressive style, but there is every indication that Willie Mullins’ chaser is going to face a sterner challenge when defending his crown.
Irish-trained horses head the betting market for the Gold Cup, but the British contenders should not be readily dismissed, even if there has only been one ‘home’ winner of the race in the past eight renewals.
Galopin Des Champs favourite to retain crown
When it comes to betting on sports, the Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest events in the calendar and the Gold Cup is the undoubted highlight of the four-day extravaganza.
Sports betting tips for the festival will be rolled out months in advance and the Gold Cup hopefuls’ prospects are assessed on a regular basis in the quest to identify the winner or some value in the betting market.
Whether the general 2/1 ante-post favourite Galopin Des Champs represents value is up for debate, but he was sent off at 7/5 when winning in March against what was a weaker field than he is expected to encounter in 2024.
Mullins has recent experience of winning back-to-back Gold Cups with the same horse following Al Boum Photo’s victories in 2019 and 2020, and Galopin Des Champs boasts rock-solid credentials for emulating that achievement.
But for a final fence mishap in the 2022 Turners Novices’ Chase, he would have won at the last three Cheltenham Festivals and not too much should be read into his subsequent second-place finish in the Punchestown Gold Cup.
Fastorslow caused a huge upset when beating Galopin Des Champs and Bravemansgame at Punchestown in April.
Having been comprehensively beaten by Galopin Des Champs in the John Durkan at Punchestown last winter, Fastorslow has improved for the step up to three miles and chased home subsequent Grand National winner Corach Rambler in the Ultima at Cheltenham before his Punchestown success.
He has to prove that was no fluke, but he is unexposed at the Gold Cup trip.
Gerri Colombe a huge danger
Gerri Colombe is the other leading Irish contender and his sole defeat over fences to date came when he was beaten a short head by The Real Whacker in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at this year’s Festival.
He only just failed to get up that day and his seasonal reappearance at Down Royal suggested the extra two furlongs of the Gold Cup trip will be ideal come March.
Bravemansgame was a seven-length runner-up to Galopin Des Champs in March before getting much closer when third at Punchestown.
Paul Nicholls is confident his horse is still maturing, and the tactics may also be changed, but it is still hard to envisage him finishing ahead of Galopin Des Champs.
Arguably the most fascinating contender is Shishkin. Already a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner, Shishkin was stepped up in trip in the second half of last season and finished a staying-on second in the Ryanair Chase before an impressive win over three miles one furlong in the Aintree Bowl.
The Gold Cup trip at Cheltenham will be a much stiffer test, and no 10-year-old has won the race since Cool Dawn in 1998, but it would be unwise to write him off.
L'Homme Presse is another British-trained contender to keep an eye on but at this stage, the market seems to be right with Galopin Des Champs ahead of Gerri Colombe.
