Galopin Des Champs ‘ticks all the boxes’ for Ruby Walsh in the Gold Cup at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival.
The seven-year-old gelding is two from two since tackling open company over the larger obstacles and put to bed most of the doubts about his stamina when landing the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival earlier this month.
As a result, Galopin Des Champs heads Paddy Power’s Gold Cup odds, but it looks set to be a deep renewal with plenty of runners set to take their chance including last year’s winner, A Plus Tard.
Speaking on the latest episode of our Cheltenham Countdown podcast, Ruby ran the rule over the potential Gold Cup field and admitted Galopin Des Champs has the ‘ideal profile’ for the race. You can listen to the episode in full BELOW!
Ruby Walsh:
“It was partly answered [that he would stay the Gold Cup trip] because of the pace of the race as they didn’t go really quick. When you don’t go quick races do tend to build from further out and that does become a stamina contest, just in different way.
“Fury Road made him go but he got the better of Fury Road after the last fence. You loved the way he went through the line and how far Paul Townend had to go to pull him up.
“All the indications were there that he would stay but I didn’t think stamina would be an issue. He still has to go and do it [at Cheltenham].
“He’s relaxed, he’s a mature horse this year. He was good in the John Durkan and I thought he was very good at Leopardstown.
“Paul Townend went for a big jump at the fence past the stands and Galopin absolutely pinged it and he went to the next fence and danced on the takeoff board.
“When you light him up now he switches himself back off. He’s not all the time on and going, which he was last year.
“He has the ideal profile for a Gold Cup horse. He had the pace to win over shorter, he looks like he’ll get further. He ticks all the boxes.”
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change
Read More on the 2023 Cheltenham Festival
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