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GG Going For Gold – Galopin The Great Shines Again, But Despair For Gerri Colombe Supporters

With such a strong Irish contingent in the Cheltenham Gold Cup entries Saturday’s Irish Gold Cup was always going to have a notable effect on the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup betting, but yet again the cream rose to the top again as Galopin Des Champs claimed a third Leopardstown crown and cemented his place as the king of the staying division. We take a look back at another spectacular performance from ‘Galopin The Great’, while also talk about an injury to a big rival that rules him out of the race on Friday 14th March.

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Saturday, 1st February – Irish Gold Cup @ Leopardstown

There were bits of 4/5 around prior to Galopin Des Champs‘ imperious four-and-three-quarter length victory in Saturday’s Irish Gold Cup, but the industry best price you can get now about the Willie Mullins-trained nine-year-old claiming a third Gold Cup is 8/13 with the Betfair Sportsbook.

The Closutton crackerjack yet again produced a performance of sheer brilliance and domination as having been sent to the front in the early stages of a quality renewal of the Irish Gold Cup the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup hero ground his rivals into submission one by one and pulled well clear at the finish.

Paul Townend had a stunning weekend at the Dublin Racing Festival and while others catapulted into the Cheltenham Festival picture with some fine victories, Galopin Des Champs simply did what Galopin Des Champs does. He jumps, travels, but most importantly finds enough under the bonnet to break the hearts of his adversaries.

Fact To File, who beat him in the John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown earlier in the season, was put firmly back in his horsebox when the pair met in the Savills Chase over Christmas, but having had another crack at him here the Co. Carlow-based stablemate offered no real challenge as his quest to real in the front-running star wilted away in the final two furlongs. Eased to 6/1 for the Gold Cup in six weeks, Fact To File will have his work cut out to try and emulate that John Durkan victory when the pair do battle at Prestbury Park.

In the aftermath of the event it was all about Galopin Des Champs, who yet again showed his brilliant bullying tactics to down his rivals, but it was his stablemate Grangeclare West that threw his hat into the Gold Cup ring, as he managed to battle his way into second place between Galopin Des Champs and Fact To File and the Cheveley Park Stud-owned raider was slashed from 66/1 to 16/1 for the blue riband event on day four of the Cheltenham Festival.

Monty’s Star and Embassy Gardens both took their chance in the line-up, but neither were able to deal with the elite winner and they are 20/1 and 33/1, respectively for the Gold Cup, while the outclassed Hewick is 50/1.

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Gerri Colombe Ruled Out For The Season

Challengers to Galopin Des Champs were already thin on the ground, but there was a big announcement on Monday 3rd February from Gordon Elliott’s yard who stated that Gerri Colombe has been ruled out for the season, so will now take his chance in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The former Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase and last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up has only been seen on the track once this season, and that performance was pretty lackustre after he was well beaten in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal by Envoi Allen and Hewick.

Eased to around 10/1 for Gold Cup glory after that run and subsequently taken out of the Gold Cup ante-post betting, Gerri Colombe will not line up at Cheltenham next month. The Cullentra House announced through their website the following.

Unfortunately Gerri Colombe has met with a setback which means he will not run again this season. It’s not career ending or especially serious but it’s come at the wrong time of the season so we’re going to have to rule him out of the spring festivals.

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Cheltenham Gold Cup Ante-Post Movers

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