Gold-Cup on The Race Lab

Five Seconds, Then Five Wins: How Mullins Finally Mastered the Gold Cup

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000

For the best part of a decade, the Gold Cup was the race that tortured Willie Mullins. Five times between 2006 and 2016, he sent out the runner-up. On His Own was beaten by a short head — 0.06 lengths — in 2014. Djakadam finished second in consecutive years. Sir Des Champs had every chance at the last in 2013 before being outpaced. Hedgehunter plugged on into second back in 2006.

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.

Haiti Couleurs and the Handicap Route to Gold Cup Glory

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Rebecca Curtis hasn’t had a runner in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before. In a couple of weeks, Haiti Couleurs will change that, and he’ll arrive via a route that most Gold Cup contenders wouldn’t touch: handicaps.

We pulled every Gold Cup winner since 2003 from our database and checked which ones had won a handicap chase in the 12 months before their crowning moment. Five had: Denman (Hennessy 2007), Bobs Worth (Hennessy 2012), Minella Indo (a Grade 3 handicap), Al Boum Photo (Savills New Year’s Day Chase), and last year’s winner Inothewayurthinkin, who’d won the Kim Muir at the previous Festival.

The King George Curse: Why No Horse Has Done What The Jukebox Man Is Trying Since 2011

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:00:00 +0000

The Jukebox Man won the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. He’s being aimed at the Gold Cup in three weeks. Sounds like a logical next step. The data says it’s anything but.

No horse has completed the King George–Gold Cup double in the same season since Long Run in 2011. That’s fifteen years of failure.

The Numbers Are Brutal

We pulled every King George winner since 2003 and tracked what happened when they turned up at Cheltenham in March. The results are grim.

Pure Steel Joins Mangan's Growing Cheltenham Arsenal

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Jimmy Mangan doesn’t train many horses. He doesn’t need to. The Kerry handler runs a yard of just 12 active runners — and yet he keeps finding himself in the winner’s enclosure at the highest level.

Pure Steel’s 12-length demolition of his rivals in Sunday’s Rated Novice Chase at Punchestown was the latest reminder that Mangan’s small operation continues to punch absurdly above its weight.

The Numbers That Matter

Since the start of 2024, Mangan has sent out 12 runners in graded or listed company and won four of them — a 33% strike rate. For context, Willie Mullins, with the largest and most powerful yard in training, manages around 24% in equivalent races at Gowran Park, his local track.

Impaire Et Passe Returns From 291 Days Off to Win Gowran — Where Next?

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 18:00:00 +0000

When a horse wins on its first start in 291 days, you pay attention. When that horse is a former Cheltenham Festival winner with entries in the Ryanair Chase, Gold Cup, and Grand National, you pay very close attention.

Impaire Et Passe returned to action in Saturday’s Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park and got the job done in the style that has defined his career — held up, travelling sweetly, then finding plenty when asked. Held up in rear, he made a mistake at two out but kept on well to lead close home, winning the Grade 2 on heavy ground.

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.