Lydia Hislop: Who finishes second to the brilliant Galopin des Champs?

Majborough, Jonbon and Ballyburn all appeared pretty unassailable at the start of this week. Some would, understandably, have added Constitution Hill to that roll call. Yet beaten one way or another, they all were and (at the time of writing, prior to racing on Thursday) that makes for squeaky-bum time for fans of EAST INDIA DOCK like me – particularly as we’re set to have the largest field since Countrywide Flame won at 33/1 in 2012.

Yet this horse already boasts form good enough to win many a Triumph Hurdle. What’s more, he jumps, travels and stays well. The one concern is he’s only once encountered a field of this size – in Royal Ascot’s King George V Handicap – and got stuffed, but he was poorly drawn and not well-suited to that task, unlike this one. Stablemate Opec likely to front-run, so she should ensure there’s a good pace and therefore that a likely mixed-ability field gets streamed.

Despite upwardly mobile trainer James Owen having provably produced his team in good order for this meeting, with Burdett Road finishing a de facto second in the Champion Hurdle and Liam Swagger claiming third in the Fred Winter, I suspect East India Dock might drift on the day.

The Irish have won this for the past five years, four of those victories provided by Willie Mullins. Paul Townend has selected Lady Vega Allen from the trainer’s 11 declared runners – yes, you read that correctly – but, if you fancy one of her stablemates, this race would be a logical place to risk backing beyond the stable’s first string in a Grade One (usually a fool’s errand) because these are utterly unexposed juveniles.

I suspect Cromwell’s Hello Neighbour can maintain superiority over Townend’s mount – or even extend it, with a big field and likely strong pace to bring out the best in him. Unbeaten on the Flat and over hurdles, he’s the type merely to do enough to win and might yet prove a lot better than we’ve seen.

Ditto the Henderson-trained Lulamba, recruited from the French jumping scene rather than the Flat. This could be a culture shock for him despite a highly professional display at Ascot when conceding 10lb to classy ex-Flat act Mondo Man, who’s since upheld the form despite pulling too hard when third in the Adonis and is wearing a first-time hood here. Lulamba did beat 15 rivals for his racecourse debut success at Auteuil, though. 

Shout out to Gibbs Island, who has acquitted himself well in large fields on the Flat and taken well to hurdling. Again, the likely pace should help him settle better than he did at Haydock last time, where he was ultimately still very dominant. He’s underestimated by the market, perhaps because talented trainer Tom Lacey is not (yet) known for juveniles under Rules. With bookmakers offering four places, he’s worth an each-way dart.

This will be the smallest field assembled for the County Hurdle since 13 ran in 1976 – both a sign of the steadily dwindling (worldwide) foal crop in recent years and perhaps trainers of lesser two-milers not realising the five-start-minimum qualification terms would push so many horses (mainly novices) elsewhere. The latter might be different next year; the former will be likely worse.

Even in a field this relatively small, I can’t bring myself to tip Kargese at a rapidly disappearing 7/2. Clearly, the traditional set-up of this race – strongly run, albeit it wasn’t last year – should suit last year’s Triumph runner-up as settling remains her problem this season as last.

Having sweated up beforehand at Ascot on her return to action in January, she then pulled like stink. Paul Townend had mentioned she’d got much stronger over the summer, which makes the task of settling that much harder. Like Ballyburn in the Brown Advisory on Wednesday, this is a known drawback about a shorty.

LARK IN THE MORNIN has been given a similar Festival preparation by trainer Joseph O’Brien as younger stable companion Puturhandstogether – who followed in his footsteps by winning the Fred Winter here on Tuesday.

St Stephen sent fog at Leopardstown, into which this horse plunged. From what we could see, he could be spotted detached in second last in a 19-strong field before emerging and staying on inexorably for seventh in the straight. He’s proven at Cheltenham and surely well-handicapped, connections having taken the precaution of racing in Britain in the Swinton in May when fast ground probably didn’t suit. He’s only 2lb higher here.

Lightly raced McLaurey remains a threat, despite having his won his last two starts for his connections but live by the sword, die by the sword. Fellow novice Valgrand is interesting for a yard that specialises in this race and Hansard – who chased home Champion Hurdle 1-2 Golden Ace and Burdett Road in the Kingwell after getting bang upsides two out – has the chops to win a big two-mile handicap but (despite first-time cheekpieces here) perhaps that will be at a flat track.

Dinoblue is head and shoulders the best of these over two miles but I’m less convinced of her dominance over this longer trip. Yes, she might have won this race last year had she not conceded track position to an on-song Limerick Lace, but conversely you could argue she should have had the turn of foot to run down a mare with upper-end staying capabilities.

Mark Walsh’s mount seemingly returned to form last time, but that was a three-runner race over two miles and a narrow defeat of Allegorie De Vassy is not proof of stamina. That runner-up at Naas was second to Impervious in this Grade Two in 2023 and fourth last year but is not the most vigorous of battlers. She, too, has long looked most effective at two miles.

Money has come for the titleholder since the booking of Jack Kennedy,  but she has reverted to mulishness and added some on top this season. Plus, Keith Donoghue would have had his choice of conveyance for in-form Gavin Cromwell and he’s chosen BRIDES HILL.

Mild forgiveness is required here, his mount having twice been at odds-on when shipping to Britain this season. However, she made an ill-timed and rare mistake at Doncaster, and then handed the positional initiative to the useful Telepathique, who controlled the race from the front at Huntingdon last time. Brides Hill is better than that and can make it two years in a row for this team.

This looks a wide-open race. (Cue likeable mare The Big Westerner dotting up at short odds. Surely, she won’t like the likely-to-be drying ground?) WENDIGO’s Challow second only looks better since The New Lion flashed his class in Wednesday’s Turners Novices’ Hurdle, particularly given how he shaped like a thorough stayer there. He also consented to hold-up tactics, to which I’m counting on Gavin Sheehan to revert after making all to win at Wetherby last time.

I’m going to take him along with DERRYHASSEN PADDY, a raw baby of a horse who still managed to knuckle down to win at Windsor last time. He’ll have learned plenty from that experience and this more galloping track will suit him much better. Lucinda Russell got a winner on the board this week with Myretown in the Ultima and has won this race before with Brindisi Breeze in 2012.

Make sure you get a best-odds-guaranteed price on both these horses as I suspect they’ll both drift on the day.

This column has been a fully paid-up fan of GALOPIN DES CHAMPS since he soared over his first fence in public, so I’m hardly going to desert the best staying chaser I’ve seen since Kauto Star as he stands on the brink of rare achievement.

Only four other horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup three times – Golden Miller (who added two more for good measure 1932-36), Cottage Rake (1948-50), the unparalleled Arkle (1964-66) and Best Mate (2002-04). I expect this horse to join that great roll call.

He might even drift with the inevitable misplaced chatter about good-to-soft ground – I acknowledge that good ground would be an unknown, however – and the record of all but two short-priced favourites in this week’s graded events at the time of writing (before racing on Thursday).

From a betting perspective, I’m sticking with MONTY’S STAR as the likeliest horse to chase him home. Second to Fact To File in last year’s Brown Advisory in a contest that placed more emphasis on speed than a typical renewal, this metronomic jumper is still yet to encounter the thorough staying test he needs.

He surely had some sort of setback in the early part of this season, only making his return on New Year’s Day and then taking a palpable step forward when fifth in the Irish Gold Cup next time – again, neither race placing an emphasis on stamina. Cheltenham’s Gold Cup can finally provide a scenario in which he can excel.

The drying ground is a huge positive for Banbridge but I suspect this trip might be beyond him. I’ve gone off slow-jumping Corbetts Cross without headgear being applied and I worry whether, for all his steady improvement, Inowthewayurthinkin’s jumping will hold up early doors.

Last Saturday, I spoke to two experts on Point-to-Pointing and Hunter Chases from each side of the Irish Sea, Martin Harris and Richard Pugh. You can find their views here.

This looks typically impossible, with this year’s talking horse Kopeck De Mee making his debut for his yard and running for the first time outside France, and his equal and opposite force, the unbeaten much-raced mare Wodhooh, at the fore of the betting.

But I like ACT OF AUTHORITY to go out with a bang for Olly Murphy and Lewis Saunders. He’s built up a robust portfolio of work this season and, as a patiently ridden strong traveller, looks likely to enjoy this test. And he’s 33/1.