Galopin going for Gold hat-trick at Leopardstown

Galopin Des Champs puts his impeccable Leopardstown record on the line, as he leads Willie Mullins’ crack Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup team into battle seeking his third straight victory in the Dublin Racing Festival feature.

The nine-year-old may have won two Cheltenham Gold Cups but it is arguably in the Irish capital where he is at his ultimate best, unbeaten over the larger obstacles at the Foxrock track.

Having excelled once again at the venue when gaining John Durkan revenge over stablemate Fact To File in the Savills Chase at Christmas, he will be a short price to add to his trainer’s record 13 victories in the Grade One event.

“I’m delighted how he’s come out of his race at Christmas,” said Mullins.

“To me, Galopin was awesome and he’s put in two huge performances in Leopardstown, the Irish Gold Cup (last year) and the Savills (at Christmas).

“We hope he can do it one more time.”

Victory for Galopin Des Champs would see him join greats Jodami and Beef Or Salmon on three wins in the race, while it would put him just one behind Florida Pearl, the original Closutton superstar who triumphed four times at Leopardstown between 1999 and 2004.

However, it may prove easy for Mullins to feel confident heading into the contest, as if Galopin Des Champs were to falter, he has five others lying in wait to pick up the pieces.

Fact To File looks to be best placed of the Closutton team to down his stablemate for a second time this season, with his big-race pilot Mark Walsh tasked with conjuring up a new plan to topple the stable number one.

Mullins continued: “I think we will have to do something different with Fact To File. I’ll leave that to Mark and see what he wants to do, he might have a different tactic up his sleeve, but we’ll leave that until the parade ring before the race.”

Also on the Mullins teamsheet are Grand National hero I Am Maximus, Minella Cocooner, Grangeclare West and Embassy Gardens, with the latter arriving after winning in good style at Tramore on New Year’s Day and proving an able deputy in the staying division for the owners’ injured Fastorslow.

Mullins added: “We have a good team from Closutton going there. Embassy Gardens just disappointed us last year in the National Hunt Chase, so this year we were going down to Tramore and there was nothing making the pace.

“I said to Mikey (O’Sullivan) ‘you bounce out, he loves galloping, he loves jumping. Just see what happens’. It worked out fantastic.

“Mikey was really delighted with him and we were, Sean and Bernardine (Mulryan, owners) were as well. Fastorslow went and now they might have another horse to take over as their number one horse in him.

“We were gutted for Martin (Brassil, trainer of Fastorslow), because we know what it’s like having one competitive Grade One horse you are looking forward to the whole season.

“I know on one side you can think ‘well that’s one less to take on for the Gold Cup’, but for a fellow and colleague training, it’s a body punch.”

Monty’s Star was five lengths adrift of Embassy Gardens at Tramore, but trainer Henry de Bromhead is anticipating his latest staying star to improve for that outing.

“He ran a nice race in Tramore and we hope he’ll come on a lot for the run, obviously he needs to,” he said.

“We were happy and it was good to get started. He sort of goes on any ground. We had a few holds ups coming into the Tramore race and it probably wasn’t ideal, but we needed to get him started.

“His form looks good. Obviously Galopin has been brilliant and will be a hard one to beat, but hopefully we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”

Hewick returns to fences having competed over hurdles for Tara Lee Cogan at Christmas, while Gavin Cromwell’s Inothewayurthinkin and Gordon Elliott’s Conflated – the winner in 2022 – complete the field.