Key events
2.00 County Hurdle result
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1. Kargese (P Townend) 3-1 Fav
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2. Ndaawi (J W Kennedy) 25-1
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3. Absurde (D E Mullins) 5-1
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4. Ethical Diamond (Mr P W Mullins) 16-1
16 ran
That’s the eighth Mullins win of the Festival. Will their ninth be the Gold Cup. Kargese, she’s way ahead of the rest. A fav goes in.
Kargese wins the County Hurdle
Plenty of chances as the second goes by. Kargese goes away. Looks the class horse. A Mullins plot. Absurde and Ndawi go in chase. Kargese has the class to go out front and hold them off. That looks a horse for a higher grade.
2.00 County Hurdle
Our Champ and Spirit Daunou are the pacemakers, three hurdles to go but a long way. Kargese takes the third-last well. Hansard and Kargese are close as they climb the hill and now descend. Kargese looks full of pace.
2.00 County Hurdle
This is a low-amped renewal – only 16 horses go to post. We’re used to a bunfight, and will need to find some pace from somewhere. The start is again well early. Kargese, the fav, is keen to get going. Our Champ, the outsider, is up there with Norman Fletcher as they spin past the cheering stands. The crowd have started early on the beers.
2:00 Market Movers via Oddspedia
“Fair play to Willie for putting 11 in,” says a disappointed Nico de Boinville, who rode the second Lulamba.
2.00 County Hurdle odds
Odds via Oddschecker
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Kargese 3/1
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Lark In The Mornin 9/2
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Absurde 11/2
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Mclaurey 9/1
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Valgrand 9/1
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Hansard 14/1
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Ethical Diamond 14/1
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Daddy Long Legs 14/1
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Irish Panter 14/1
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Pinot Gris 22/1
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Bar 66/1 – 16 Runners
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Kargese is a clear favourite amongst punters today, picking up 18% of all bets placed.
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Daddy Long Legs’ odds have been cut from 25/1 to 14/1 today.
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Dan Skelton and Willie Mullins have won nine of the last 10 editions of this race.
Greg Wood
2.00 COUNTY HANDICAP HURDLE, 2M 179YD preview
A relatively modest 16 runners for the festival’s open handicap hurdle over the minimum trip, with Willie Mullins fielding four runners – including last year’s winner, Absurde – in search of an eighth County winner since 2010. Absurde received a superb hold-up ridefrom Paul Townend 12 months ago, but Mullins’s stable jockey has switched to ride Kargese, another strong traveller that needs delivering late, today and the market has taken note, pushing the mare to the top of the betting at around 7-2. Next in is last year’s Fred Winter winner, Lark In The Mornin, who has had just two somewhat uninspiring outings since his festival success but is clearly expected to improve significantly for the return to Prestbury Park. There has also been some money this morning for another Mullins-trained runner, Daddy Long Legs, who was a poor second to State Man in the Irish Champion Hurdle last time, while the handicap maestro Dan Skelton, who has saddled four winners of this race since 2016, relies on Valgrand, the winner of a Grade Two novice on the Old course in October, who has been freshened up since a sub-par run at Kempton over Christmas.
SELECTION: KARGESE.
That’s the longest-ever odds win of a Triumph Hurdle. It was available at 150/1 at certain bookies. Incredible. Fav backers will be living off floor shavings.
1.20 Triumph Hurdle result
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1. Poniros (Jonjo O’Neill Jr.) 100-1
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2 .Lulamba (N de Boinville) 11-4
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3. East India Dock (Sam Twiston-Davies) 5-4 Fav
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17 ran
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Also: 14-1 Lady Vega Allen 4th
Poniros, ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jnr, and 100/1, owned by Tony Bloom, the Lizard himself, and the owner of Brighton. “A funny old game,” says Jonjo. “I was supposed to be in Doncaster today. That’s the first time he’s ever seen a hurdle in public. I felt I could nick a little bit and they weren’t get away from me.”
That was a true bookies’ testimonial. Though a Mullins win, as expected. “If Tony had a bet on that, it wasn’t on my advice,” says Willie himself. “They’re the fun ones, aren’t they?”
Poniros, at 100-1, wins the Triumph Hurdle!
1.20 Triumph Hurdle
Mondo Man and Blue Lemons prominent. Lots of chances as they approach two out and down the hill. Lulamba and East India Dock are side by side, the former going out in front. The big two go for it. East India Dock takes it over the last, and just as it looks like Lulamba will take it, Poniros, a debutant, takes it.
1.20 Triumph Hurdle
Opec drops back, as East India Dock and Lady Vega Allen lead. The Lady has a big lead with three hurdles but a long way to go.
1.20 Triumph Hurdle
The stands look and sound full. Big roar as they go away first time. Lulamba and Opec are to the fore, as is East India Dock. Huge noise as they pass the stands.
Jack Kennedy sits out this race, as he can’t make the weight with his ongoing injuries. He will be back later. The money has been plunged on East India Dock – 5/4.
Lulamba is Nicky Henderson’s fancy in the first. “He’s a big baby, he will be lovely, he’s got to get 11 of Willies.”
The Mullins team have thrown in that many. Shades of the O’Brien team throwing darts on the Flat. Even Mullins the master doesn’t know much about his horses today. Harry Cobden is riding one of them.
1.2o Market Movers via Oddspedia
1.20 Triumph Hurdle odds
Odds via Oddschecker
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East India Dock 6/4
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Lulamba 5/2
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Hello Neighbour 5/1
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Lady Vega Allen 16/1
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Blue Lemons 16/1
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Mondo Man 22/1
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Gibbs Island 25/1
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Sainte Lucie 50/1
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Larzac 50/1
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Willy De Houelle 50/1
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Bar 66/1 – 17 Runners
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East India Dock has taken 39% of all bets placed through our platform this morning with his odds cut from 2/1 to 6/4.
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Nicky Henderson’s Lulamba has gone the other way, from 2/1 to 5/2.
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Seven of the past 10 winners of this race have been French-bred horses.
The start has been a problem all week, and Racing TV’s Lydia Hislop is quizzing head starter Robbie Supple, who is being defiant to say the least. “All these suggestions we’ve had, they’re nothing new.” There’s been several false starts and bans, too, Rachael Blackmore and Keith Donoghue included. Whatever Supple says, it’s been a mess.
Shaun Parker, BHA head of stewarding is equally defiant, if a little more conciliatory.
Here’s where your money went on Thursday.
Timeform, the venerable racing data bible, has given its view on Galopin des Champs, as compared to the beloved Best Mate, whose third win came in 2004.
Best Mate earned a career-best Timeform rating of 182 when a comfortable ten-length winner of his second Gold Cup in 2003. However, that was the only time in his 16 starts over fences that he produced a rating worth at least 175.
Galopin Des Champs, in contrast, has a peak rating of 181 but has produced six performances worth a rating of at least 175 from his 16 starts over fences, including both of his Cheltenham Gold Cup wins.
Timeform chase handicapper Phil Turner said: “Galopin Des Champs has repeatedly run to a level that very few horses reach. He has a stronger body of work than Best Mate, helped in part by taking on better calibre rivals and by forcing tactics that have allowed him to assert his dominance, and he sets a high standard for Friday’s Gold Cup rivals to reach.”
Galopin Des Champs, who is currently rated 179, is 9lb clear of King George winner Banbridge and 15lb higher than Inothewayurthinkin who is third on the list.
Greg Wood
1.20 TRIUMPH HURDLE, GRADE ONE, 2M 179YD
The biggest field for the Triumph Hurdle since 2012, and the old-fashioned feeling about it only increased by the fact that the two market leaders, East India Dock and Lulamba, are both trained in British stables. East India Dock has replaced Lulamba as the favourite over the last week or two, and goes into the race off the back of two high-class performances at the track, at the meetings in November and January. James Owen’s gelding had a double-digit winning margin in both races, and also posted exceptional times for a juvenile while he was at it. Lulamba has less British experience over hurdles, having won his only start here so far at Ascot in January, but he was also an impressive winner at Auteuil in October, prompting a big-money sale to join Nicky Henderson’s stable. Henderson was the last British trainer to saddle the winner of this race, all the way back in 2019, and the Irish challenge for a sixth straight win is led by Gavin Cromwell’s Hello Neighbour, unbeaten in two starts on the Flat and two over hurdles. He took the Grade One juvenile at the Dublin Racing Festival by three-quarters of a length, having previously edged out Lady Vega Allen, the pick of stable jockey Paul Townend out of an extraordinary 11-strong challenge team from the Willie Mullins yard.
SELECTION: EAST INDIA DOCK.
KEY FORM:
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JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, Cheltenham, 25 Jan 25 (East India Dock)
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BetMGM Juvenile Hurdle, Ascot, 18 Jan 25 (Lulamba, Mondo Man)
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Spring Juvenile Hurdle, Leopardstown, 1 Feb 25 (Hello Neighbour)
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O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle, Leopardstown, 26 Dec 24 (Hello Neighbour, Lady Vega Allen, Willy De Houelle)
Cheltenham Gold Cup day race schedule
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1.20 JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)
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2.00 William Hill County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
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2.40 Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Registered As The Liberthine Mares’ Chase) (Grade 2)
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3.20 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Spa Novices’ Hurdle)
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4.00 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1)
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4.40 St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase
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5.20 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
Official going news from the Jockey Club.
Friday 14th March
The going for day four of The Cheltenham Festival 2025 today, Gold Cup Day, is:
Good to Soft
Action takes place on the New Course today, which was also in use yesterday (St Patrick’s Thursday). The first two days of The Festival, Champion Day and Style Wednesday, took place on the Old Course.
Jon Pullin, Clerk of the Course at Cheltenham Racecourse, said this morning: “We have had three fantastic days of racing so far. We are very much looking forward to another good one today and hoping to see Galopin Des Champs join greats of the past in winning three Cheltenham Gold Cups.
“There are seven races again today, with the first off at 1.20pm and the first six races live on ITV.
“The going for today is Good to Soft. Temperatures dipped down to -3.5C overnight, but we had covered yesterday’s racing lines, so it’s all systems go for the day ahead.”
Greg Wood
And unlike Mullins’s Al Boum Photo, who came up short as a 9-4 shot when attempting a third straight win in 2021, it is very hard to see Galopin Des Champs being beaten.
With the sole exception of his stumble three years ago, Galopin Des Champs has scarcely made a mistake in any of his previous starts at the festival, but the real secret to his dominance, the special power that sets him apart not only from the current crop of chasers but all but a handful of the greats of the past, is the raw finishing power that kicks in as he closes out a race.
Greg Wood
Cheltenham 1.20 James Owen’s East India Dock has already posted two outstanding performances for a juvenile at this track when successful at both the November and December meetings. Both wins were recorded in notably fast times and a repeat of either performance would probably be enough here, although further progress from this hugely promising four-year-old would be no great surprise either.
Preamble
Greg Wood
Good morning from Cheltenham on one of the most eagerly-awaited days of the racing year: Gold Cup day at Cheltenham, the pinnacle of the National Hunt season and this year a very rare opportunity to see a two-time winner of the race attempt to join the tiny band of immortals – Golden Miller, Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate – with three Gold Cup victories to their name.
We have been here once before quite recently, as another Willie Mullins-trained chaser, Al Boum Photo, went for the three-timer just four years ago. But even with the benefit of hindsight – he finished third as the 9-4 favourite – his tilt at racing history lacked conviction. Galopin Des Champs, by contrast, will be long odds-on to get the job done this afternoon, even with the Grand National favourite, Inothewayurthinkin, in the field as a late supplementary.
He is also a festival stalwart, making his fifth visit to the meeting and looking for his fourth success (the only blip being a bizarre stumble after the last when victory seemed assured in a novice chase here three years ago).
Banbridge, the King George VI Chase winner, is another live rival, but his stamina at this extended three-and-a-quarter miles is far from assured, and Galopin Des Champs will set off at around 4-7 to secure his membership of a very elite club.
The going remains good-to-soft, the covers on the track did their job after temperatures dipped to -3.5C overnight, and the gates have opened to welcome what is certain to be the biggest crowd of a week when attendance has been a concern. When Cheltenham is packed, the customer experience is not always what it should be, but for many National Hunt fans, the chance to be here on one of those festival days that no-one will ever forget is simply too much of a draw.
You can follow all the action live as the final day of the meeting unfolds here on our live blog, and we are underway at 1.20 with the juvenile hurdling championship, the Triumph Hurdle.
