Galopin Des Champs on The Race Lab

Galopin Des Champs Out: The Gold Cup Has No Obvious Winner

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Willie Mullins confirmed it on Sunday morning: Galopin Des Champs is out for the season. Worked well on Thursday, wasn’t right on Friday. That’s racing.

But the timing — five days before the Gold Cup — turns what was already a fascinating renewal into something genuinely unusual. We went through 20 years of Gold Cup data in SmartForm, and there’s no modern comparison for a field this open.

The favourite problem

Since 2006, the Gold Cup favourite has won nine times from 20 runnings. That’s a decent 45% strike rate. But look at the winners: Galopin Des Champs (twice, at 7/5 and 10/11), Kauto Star (5/4 and 7/4), A Plus Tard (3/1), Long Run (7/2). Proven, dominant horses at the peak of their powers.

The Age Wall: Why History Is Against Galopin Des Champs

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

There’s a genuine debate this week about whether Fact To File will be supplemented for the Gold Cup, with Willie Mullins pointing out that JP McManus sees the situation differently to the press and the punters. That’s an interesting storyline. But the bigger question — the one that doesn’t get asked enough — is whether Galopin Des Champs can actually win a third Gold Cup at the age of ten.

Cheekpieces In The Mix For Galopin Des Champs As He Bids To Reclaim Gold Cup Crown

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Willie Mullins is considering fitting cheekpieces to Galopin Des Champs for the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup next month — and if he does, the two-time champion would join a surprisingly short list of horses to tackle jump racing’s biggest prize with headgear on.

The news, confirmed by assistant trainer Patrick Mullins, comes after a disappointing third in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown on February 2, where Galopin Des Champs was beaten eight and a half lengths. It was his second consecutive third-place finish at the Dublin track, following a similar effort in the Savills Chase over Christmas.