Galopin Des Champs reaffirmed his position as the best staying chaser in the game with another emphatic performance in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.
The best horse racing betting sites were quick to cut Willie Mullins’ stable star into 6/4 for what would be his third Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph if successful in March.
After opening at around 6/4, the punters quickly corrected the market and Galopin Des Champs was sent off a 5/6 chance with stablemate and runner-up Fact To File at 13/8.
Paul Townend assumed the lead on the eight-year-old from the beginning and made all the running in dominant fashion to land a second consecutive Savills crown.
From 21 runs, Galopin Des Champs has won 13 times including ten at Grade 1 level and he is without a doubt the greatest in this division since Paul Nicholls’ Kauto Star.
He recorded a top speed of 35.17 miles per hour – the fastest of all challengers – and despite losing 6.9 lengths jumping in comparison to Fact To File, he still took the spoils by seven and a half lengths.
The Timos gelding is a perfect six from six over fences at Leopardstown, probably his best-suited track, and he’s now the fourth horse in history to win this race in back-to-back years.
WATCH: Galopin Des Champs makes easy work of Fact To File in the 2024 Savills Chase
Are there any holes in Galopin Des Champs’ bid for a third Cheltenham Gold Cup?
Galopin Des Champs stands tall at the top of the betting for the Cheltenham Gold Cup at 6/4 and he could be one of the festival bankers come March.
He looks to have a firm edge over JP McManus‘ Fact To File (4/1) at three miles and up, while his next market rival Gerri Colombe (14/1) disgraced himself on reappearance in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal in November.
The key to Gerri Colombe is probably bottomless ground, which he didn’t have that day, but at the same time he was well held by Galopin Des Champs at Cheltenham earlier this year.
A nine-year-old hasn’t won the Gold Cup since Don Cossack in 2016, however it would be hard not to see another repeat winner of the £625,000 race in 2025.
