Hat-trick Heroes Light Up Dublin Racing Festival

An enthralling edition of the Dublin Racing Festival lit up the first weekend in February as the Grade 1 stars descended upon the Foxrock venue of Leopardstown. As expected, the top-level events were dominated by a certain W P Mullins. Whilst not quite at the levels of the 2024 DRF, where the Closutton maestro swept all eight Grade 1 contests, he still managed to add a further six to his ever-increasing tally.

Included amongst those six top-tier victors were a pair of Cheltenham Festival heroes. Already dual winners of the Irish Gold Cup and Irish Champion Hurdle, Galopin Des Champs and State Man cemented their places in the history books by landing their respective championship events for a third successive year.

Galopin Simply Too Good in Irish Gold Cup

Position Winner (SP) Trainer Jockey
1st Galopin Des Champs (1/2) Willie Mullins Paul Townend
2nd Grangeclare West (66/1) Willie Mullins Brian Hayes
3rd Fact To File (10/3) Willie Mullins Mark Walsh
4th Inothewayurthinkin (16/1) Gavin Cromwell Keith Donoghue
5th Monty’s Star (12/1) Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore
6th Embassy Gardens (16/1) Willie Mullins Michael O’Sullivan
7th Hewick (33/1) Tara Lee Cogan Jordan Gainford
8th I Am Maximus (28/1) Willie Mullins Jody McGarvey
9th Minella Cocooner (100/1) Willie Mullins Danny Mullins
10th Conflated (150/1) Gordon Elliott Sam Ewing

In the world of National Hunt racing, staying chasers enjoy a special place in the hearts of fans. It takes a unique horse to possess the stamina, jumping ability, toughness, and sheer class to prevail time and time again in the top three-mile contests. From Arkle to Desert Orchid and on to Kauto Star, every generation has had its champion. In years to come, the name of Galopin Des Champs deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the superstars of yesteryear.

The latest instalment in what is becoming the highlights reel of an all-time great came in Saturday’s feature event of the Irish Gold Cup. Following defeat to Fact To File on his comeback in the John Durkan Memorial Chase, some were quick to suggest that the Galopin Des Champs era may be drawing to an end; no one is saying that now.

Having put Fact To File firmly in his place in the Savills Chase in December, Galopin Des Champs reconfirmed his superiority with another emphatic performance. 2023 King George champ Hewick and Embassy Gardens attempted to live with him early but were struggling to go the pace by the fifth fence. From that point on, Galopin Des Champs’ remorseless, relentless gallop slowly but surely broke the hearts of all who had dared to challenge him.

Fact To File attempted to challenge late in the piece, but his rapidly emptying petrol tank allowed no room for a late thrust. As his supposed biggest challenger faded into third, Galopin Des Champs kicked again to come home almost five lengths clear of his vanquished rivals and claim this prize for a third time.

Galopin Des Champs joins Jodami and Beef Or Salmon as three-time Irish Gold winners and needs just one more to join all-time leader Florida Pearl. Up next, the living legend heads to Prestbury Park in search of a Cheltenham Gold Cup hat-trick, and, in this form, it would take a brave punter to bet against him. Odds on across the board before this display, he’s now into a best price of 8/13 for the feature event on day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival.

Irish Champion Hurdle Stroll for State Man

Position Winner (SP) Trainer Jockey
1st State Man (5/4) Willie Mullins Paul Townend
2nd Daddy Long Legs (40/1) Willie Mullins Sean O’Keeffe
3rd Winter Fog (28/1) Willie Mullins Patrick Mullins
4th Fils d’Oudairies (80/1) Gordon Elliott Sam Ewing
Fell Lossiemouth (8/11) Willie Mullins Danny Mullins

When compared to the Saturday showpiece, the Sunday feature of the Irish Champion Hurdle turned into something of a damp squib. The race was set up to provide a thrilling head-to-head battle between the reigning Champion Hurdle champ, State Man, and the prodigiously talented mare, Lossiemouth.

The opening exchanges promised to deliver the showdown fans had hoped for, as State Man and Lossiemouth rapidly opened up a yawning gap between themselves and their rivals. Everything changed at the fourth hurdle. Keen to make the most of her proven stamina, Lossiemouth had moved into a two-length advantage, only to get her take off all wrong, fall heavily, and almost bring State Man down in the process.

Happily, both the mare and the rider, Danny Mullins, returned unscathed, but the race was all but over as a spectacle, as State Man lobbed around unchallenged to score by more than six lengths.

Not a classic by any means, but State Man embellished his CV with a third win in this event and an incredible 11th career Grade 1. This effort also went some way to confirming the horse’s well-being following an uncharacteristic flop in the Neville Hotels Hurdle. He’s into a general 6/1 for his next assignment in the Champion Hurdle, where he faces the formidable obstacle of Constitution Hill.