Dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs is set to return to the Blue Riband event of the Cheltenham Festival, bidding to win the most prestigious jumps race in the world for a third time.
Willie Mullins’ runner was successful in 2023 and 2024, while in 2025, he finished runner-up in the race behind Inothewayurthinkin. If victorious, he will become only the fifth horse in history to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup on three occasions.
Irish Horse Often Peaks at Cheltenham
Galopin Des Champs has featured just once so far this season, finishing third at Leopardstown in the Grade One Savills Chase. He is now the +500 favorite in the Cheltenham betting odds for the Gold Cup following that return to action.
Those placing a horse racing bet on the Gold Cup will note that Galopin Des Champs sits ahead of last year’s winner in the betting, with the defending champion available at +600. Mullins’ chaser finished six lengths behind the younger horse in 2025, so he will need to reverse that form if he is to land his hat-trick.
As the horse racing results show, Galopin Des Champs is often at his best in the final months of the season. His record at Cheltenham is excellent, as he has won three of his four appearances at the Gloucestershire-based venue in the UK.
Inothewayurthinkin Yet to Fire So Far This Season
Since winning the Gold Cup in 2025, Inothewayurthinkin has yet to record a victory. He has featured twice so far this season but has been beaten in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase and Savills Chase.
Gavin Cromwell’s runner ran over the shorter distance of 2m3f at Punchestown back in November in the race won by Gaelic Warrior, so there were excuses for that performance. However, much more was expected from him at Leopardstown during their festive meeting, but he finished a long way behind Affordale Fury, who landed the Grade One contest to put himself in the Gold Cup mix.
Cromwell will be hoping a return to Cheltenham will help his talented horse find his spark again. The eight-year-old was supplemented for the race in 2025, and he repaid that confidence in him with a superb round of jumping, adding his name to the roll of honour at the meeting.
New Challengers Emerge from King George
This year’s King George VI Chase has been one of the standout races in the 2025/26 National Hunt calendar. The feature race at Kempton produced a stunning finish, with four horses in with a chance after the final fence. It was eventually won by The Jukebox Man, who is one of the leading British contenders at Cheltenham.
Banbridge, Gaelic Warrior, and Jango Baie were second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the King George, and they all did enough in that race to enhance their Gold Cup claims. The last horse to win the Kempton feature and the Gold Cup in the same season was Kauto Star in 2009.
This year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place on March 12, and it could prove a crucial race in determining the leading 3m chaser this season.
There are more interesting articles in our section on Racing & Wagering.
