There have been plenty of upsets in the Grade 1 contests on the first three days of the Cheltenham Festival but supporters of Galopin Des Champs will be hoping that trend comes to an end today when this talented nine-year-old gelding goes for a rare hat-trick of wins in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (4 p.m.)
The Willie Mullins-trained and Paul Townend-ridden 9-year-old gelding needs to defeat eight rivals in order to land a first prize for connections of £364,000. In truth, he would want the ground to be softer but the chances are that this odd-on shot will still land the spoils.
A convincing victory today would mean that Galopin Des Champs will inevitably be compared with the legendary Arkle, who won three consecutive runnings of the race from 1964 to 1966. The biggest dangers to Galopin Des Champs today are probably Banbridge, if his stamina holds out, and the heavily-backed Inothewayurthinkin, if he handles the drying ground.
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