It is a strange reality of the Cheltenham Festival that one can spend months pouring over potential angles only for it to feel like the actual event flies past in the blink of an eye.
Well, it’s that time again. We are on the home straight for the 2024 festival, with just seven races left to enjoy before the re-load for 2025 begins.
However, we do have the small matter of the Cheltenham Gold Cup to deal with this afternoon as the meeting reaches its glorious crescendo at 3.30.
Last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs has been well-backed this morning and is now the 10/11 odds-on favourite for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend, having opened this morning a shade of odds-against.
“My owner and I are on the same wavelength,” said Mullins. “We say no matter whatever happens this year, we have one Galopin Des Champs Gold Cup on the mantelpiece already. Winning this year would be a bonus.”
Mullins added: “He was very good in the two Leopardstown races this winter but El Fabiolo in the Champion Chase showed that anything can happen.”
Mullins’ reached the astonishing total of 100 career festival winners on Wednesday when James De Vaux took the Champion Bumper under the trainer’s son, Patrick.
However he drew a blank on Thursday, with not a single of his runners finishing inside the first three in any of the seven races. Does that represent a real downturn in form or should we expect a reprisal this afternoon? You’d be brave to count on the former.
Gordon Elliott got his first winner of the week yesterday when Teahupoo took the Stayers’ Hurdle and he’ll be hoping for the same outcome from Gold Cup hope Gerri Colombe, who also runs in the colours of Robcour racing.