Road To Cheltenham: Galopin Des Champs has golden glow

This week’s column deals with the rescheduled fixtures staged in Ireland since the thaw began on Sunday. Tomorrow’s Road To Cheltenham show – on Racing TV at the usual time of 9pm – will address the most notable performances among them, and will also look ahead to the first three days of top-class post-Christmas action.

Galopin Des Champs belatedly returned to action at Punchestown on Monday with a performance worthy of a Gold Cup winner in waiting. He had swapped the unfettered flamboyance of his novice days in favour of a more business-like approach to racing. His tendency for emphatic success was unchanged, however.

His more mature demeanour was immediately evident when jockey Paul Townend was able to settle him easily behind clear leader Lifetime Ambition and on the inside of his primary threat, the four-time Grade One winner Fakir D’Oudairies.

Last term, Galopin Des Champs was sometimes keen – such as at Leopardstown over Christmas – or, more habitually, bounded off in front with an enormous lead. Neither of those habits was likely to cut it at the top table of staying chasing, so it’s a huge positive for his Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup prospects that he appears to have shed them over the summer.

I argued all last season that Galopin Des Champ’s manner of racing and jumping meant he should run in the Turners rather than the Brown Advisory at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. I do not anticipate making the same case for the 2023 Ryanair.

In the Grade One John Durkan, over 2m4f, Galopin Des Champs looked mildly rusty – even uncharacteristically careful – over the first four fences, but he soon got his flow on and started to travel and jump with conspicuous ease. Meanwhile, Fakir D’Oudairies made a sizeable error at the fifth and lost his pitch slightly soon afterwards.

Townend then asked his mount to attack the fourth-last and the next, which brought him easily to the hind quarters of the leader and caused Fakir D’Oudairies to be pushed along before the home turn. Hesitant jumper Vanillier was by then already detached and the inexperienced Fastorslow, who’d shown some mid-race verve, weakened.

Galopin Des Champs then breezed past the driven Lifetime Ambition into the straight, jumped the remaining two fences straightforwardly and ran away with the race, on the bridle, by 13 lengths. No wonder his efforts earned a spontaneous round of applause from the appreciative Punchestown crowd. Bookmakers tightened him to the 7/4 mark for the Gold Cup – and it will take a dominant performance in the King George or Savills Chase to rock him.

“He was very, very professional in everything he did,” Townend reported to Racing TV’s Kevin O’Ryan afterwards. “When I wanted him, he came alive for me – big jump up the side and then clever at the second last – so, you’d have to be delighted with it.”

Asked about how his mount had settled, he replied: “Unbelievable… He was just doing everything right. It’s brilliant to see him doing that and [to be able] to ride him normally. Look, it was brilliant last year – to go out, go a gallop and jump brilliantly – but he was able to do that today, too, which is a good sign.”

Fakir D’Oudairies worked his way into second, while the long-time leader recorded another solid effort after hitting the frame in both the Troytown and the Grand Sefton. Lifetime Ambition is definitely a Topham type. Back in fourth, Haut En Couleurs made a satisfactory seasonal debut, especially on a right-handed track – an orientation he is known not to prefer. He was outclassed and outspeeded when a well-beaten sixth in last term’s Arkle behind Edwardstone but this opening bid suggests he can upgrade his form this season. Still only five, age is certainly on his side.

A trio of Willie Mullins two-mile novice chasers have made their much-anticipated debuts over fences in the past week – and earned mixed reviews. None produced a performance comparable to Jonbon’s polished start at Warwick, let alone his resounding Grade One success in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase, but for two of them it was nonetheless a good start to the discipline.

The 2021 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner, Appreciate It, made his chase debut 13 days shy of his ninth birthday at Punchestown’s rescheduled meeting on Monday. It was a straightforward victory in a beginners’ chase: moving into an unhassled lead from the second fence, controlling the race and then easing away after his sole rival attempted to mount a challenge two out.

His jumping was sound – he adjusted mildly left in the early stages, nudging runner-up Top Bandit at the first, and particularly so at the third, but this straightened out towards the end of the race. He got into the bottom of the last and pretty much hurdled it to get out of trouble – and that was the nearest he came to making an error.

“He was bone idle, to be honest, in front,” rider Paul Townend admitted. “The only scare was at the last. We were trapping down to it – we were only [truly] racing down the straight – and I suppose from popping everything, I asked him a big question at the last and he worked it out, which was brilliant. But I think that when he’s competitive throughout a race, he’ll have no bother standing [off] at the wings.”

Asked whether he had been saving something on Appreciate It when Jack Kennedy drove Top Bandit almost upsides two out, Townend replied: “He was filling himself up, to be honest. He was having a look everywhere and not doing a lot. But when Jack did come and got him competitive, it was always in control, I felt.”

Appreciate It missed most of last season, pitching up solely in the Unibet Champion Hurdle itself – where he jumped airily on the lead, was swallowed up on the home turn and faded steadily on the final hill. Built to be a chaser (as was Big Buck’s – Ruby ©), he’s coming to it relatively late in life due to sustaining an ill-timed but minor setback early last December which prompted trainer Willie Mullins decide to confine him to hurdles for a second season.

Despite that relative paucity of starts, Appreciate It was still rated 26lb higher over hurdles than Top Bandit and 28lb higher than third-placed Get My Drift, who – despite his greater experience over fences – made a couple of errors at Punchestown and was unable to hold his pitch. The winner is a year older than last year’s Arkle winner, Edwardstone, who was generally considered to be a senior-citizen novice.

Immediately following this can-jump-a-fence exercise, Appreciate It was installed as second favourite in the Sporting Life Arkle ante-post market behind Jonbon and also trimmed around four points behind 4/1 favourite Mighty Potter for the Turners. He’s now a standout 12/1 with bet365 for the longer race but was eased by up to a point (mark the date and time: is this historic? – Ed.) to a best-priced 6/1 with William Hill in the Arkle market following the entrance of his stable companion El Fabiolo two days later.

That horse started off against four rivals at Fairyhouse’s rescheduled meeting – and it should be noted that, like his two stable companions under discussion here, he had a ‘British-type’ experience on debut in that he faced a single-figure field rather than Ireland’s signature cast of thousands. Appreciate It faced eight opponents and Flame Bearer seven.

El Fabiolo set off in front on the inside of fellow debutant, the Noel Meade-trained Highland Charge, who’d twice been withdrawn due to unsuitable ground this season. The two with chase experience, Colonel Mustard and Percy Warner, were settled in mid-division and towards the rear respectively, and newcomer Harvey’s Quay, who would make the most errors, sat in last.

The winner established a decisive lead from the first, where Highland Charge was careful, and drew further clear at the second, where that rival ballooned and pecked. Thus, Townend was able to school him round, but that didn’t prevent his mount from making a few mistakes – most notably when getting in tight to the fourth and the second last, on the latter occasion his rider slamming on the brakes and his mount landing untidily flat-footed.

It didn’t matter because El Fabiolo didn’t look likely to fall and none of his rivals was placed to trouble him. Colonel Mustard jumped past the slow lefthand-jumping Highland Charge at the last for an uncompetitive 19-length second.

“It wasn’t perfect but it was a beginners’ chase,” Townend admitted to Racing TV’s Donn McClean. When I wanted him, he was very good, standing off. He got in tight to a couple and in a better race, where you’re jumping and going on [at pace] I think he’ll be very good . . . It’s no harm for him to make a mistake and learn that he has to jump them.”

As a result of this no-more-than-satisfactory display, El Fabiolo vaulted Appreciate It to trade as second favourite in the Arkle market at prices ranging from 7/2 to Bet 365’s standout 11/2. There was only a neck between him and Jonbon in Aintree’s Top Novices’ Hurdle in April and – as Ruby argued in last week’s show – Townend’s mount lost ground when hampered three out. But he recovered to hit the front at the last and had every chance to beat the winner, for my money. I doubt he'll prove Jonbon’s primary rival over fences, even though some bookmakers eased the favourite to an ambassador-you’re-really-spoiling-us 11/8.

On the evidence of Naas at Tuesday, however, the newly Mullins-trained Flame Bearer won’t be doing any leap-frogging any time soon. A wise-guy horse over the past few weeks but boasting less decorated hurdles form than his aforementioned stablemates, he couldn’t even hang on for third ahead of Brides Hill – a mare rated 137 over hurdles – let alone hold his own against the apprehensive jumper Journey With Me in a beginners’ chase.

Early on, Flame Bearer took turns on the lead with the eventual winner, neither horse jumping with any fluency but both perhaps going a shade more quickly than turned out to be prudent in the prevailing conditions. Turning for home, Townend brought his mount towards the stands’ rail whilst Rachael Blackmore kept wider on Journey For Me – as both horses are keen types, neither rider had wanted to get too close to each other for fear of lighting up their mounts further.

The mistake Flame Bearer made at the second last was chance ending but he was already showing signs of pressure on the approach. He ran down the obstacle to his left before getting in too close, bundling himself over and landing statically. Journey With Me negotiated it more cleanly and Townend accepted inevitable defeat.

But Blackmore’s mount was soon hanging and needing constant taps down the shoulder approaching the last, which he almost ran into and hurled himself over on instinct, before landing jelly-legged and then putting one foot in front of the other until he got to the line 13 lengths clear. Brides Hill hauled herself over the last and was able to plod past Flame Bearer. All three quickly slowed to a walk past the line.

“We were a bit sketchy over the last,” Blackmore later reported. “His jumping took a little bit of time to warm up, maybe after the fall the last day… He settled really well – I didn’t think we were going a mad gallop but we did all finish pretty tired.”

It was good to see Journey With Me complete, given he’d hit the deck on his chase debut, but I wouldn’t be crediting this form with Grade One relevance over fences just yet – despite the undeniable innate quality of the principles. Interestingly, on his first start since leaving Pat Doyle’s yard, Flame Bearer wore a first-time hood to combat his keenness but lacked the tongue-tie he’d worn on all bar one previous start under Rules.

Perhaps more concerningly, Mullins continues to be “not quite happy” with last season’s Ballymore winner, Sir Gerhard, as reported via Twitter by Andrew Blair White (soon to be of this parish):

Mullins first mentioned Sir Gerhard underwhelming him in training back on 20 November (as reported Road 3, column and show). As observed at the time, the longer this goes on with a horse yet to make his chase debut, the more likely sticking to hurdles for another season becomes – not that this plan B worked well for Appreciate It, mind.

However, there is a two-mile novice event at Naas on January 8, won by the stable’s Blue Lord on his second chase start last season, that might yet provide Mullins with enough time also to take in the Dublin Racing Festival, if he opts to stick to fences with what would then be an eight-year-old. You can get 25/1 about Sir Gerhard for the Unibet Champion Hurdle. #justsaying

On Sunday at Thurles, the Mullin-trained Ramillies made a winning chase debut, beating fellow inmate Tenzing by two-and-a-quarter lengths. Oddly, the latter was sent off favourite despite first jockey Townend opting to ride the winner when rerouted from Navan’s abandoned fixture and Tenzing’s scrappy round of jumping behind Gerri Colombe on debut – albeit that’s not an interpretation shared at Closutton.

“It was a hard enough decision on Tenzing’s run the last day but I went for Ramillies and thankfully I was right,” Townend later volunteered. “There wasn’t one element [that swung it]; just a lot of different things – this lad had been campaigned fairly high and his jumping had been quite good at home, but the lack of the run was the worry.”

His mount was notably sure-footed at his fences, often clearly measuring the obstacles and displaying agility when getting in close. It looks like chasing is his bag – and Townend hopes his technique will enable Ramillies to deliver on the expectations his homework has long created.

“I think that’s going to be his biggest asset and hopefully that will bring him a bit higher over fences than he was over hurdles because even as a bumper horse he showed us a nice level of ability at home, but he was disappointing on the track. So, I think the way he jumps a fence will be a big help to him,” Townend said.

“He’s been to all the big places when you look down through his form – it’s all Punchestowns, Cheltenhams, Leopardstowns beside his name. So, he is holding good company and winning will do him the world of good as well. He was like a handicapper – a bit fresh early on, I suppose, for his first run of the season but with that run under his belt hopefully he can show us [on the track] what he’s been showing us at home.”

Mullins admitted he had assigned Townend to Tenzing before his rider requested otherwise. “His reasoning was right,” the trainer said. “Ramillies had been running in better-quality races than Tenzing and Ramillies’s homework was always better, but he had been disappointing us. We did think he was going to be better over fences.

“Paul thought he jumped very well, and he also thought the nicer ground here, too, was a big help. He’s probably not going to be a real winter horse… he likes a nice bit of ground. Maybe that’s why he works so well at home.”

Mullins also revealed that Joe and Marie Donnelly, owners of Ramillies, had considered selling but were persuaded by their trainer to “let him have a run or two over fences”. He’s clearly going to have to keep improving to hold his place in their elite squad, however. “We’ll continue on for another few months and we’ll see how he is,” he concluded. “He looks like one going forward.”

Of Tenzing, who was never travelling or jumping fluently prior to staying on late, Mullins added: “He just jumps too big and careful for these fences here. He was getting into the race later on and probably wants a longer trip. He’s probably going to be a National horse in time, something like that. Once he gets the hang of it, I think he’ll be all right – he’ll pay his way.”

Back in third, Ballykeel was beaten more than 17 lengths on his third chase start but shaped as though he could have finished closer – the leaders got away from him entering the straight and rider Jack Kennedy accepted his fate. His mount jumped very well, however, and looks well equipped for handicapping assignments.

Finally, the 2m5f rated novice chase transferred from Navan to Fairyhouse on Wednesday went to another Mullins-trained inmate in Ha D’Or. A steady improver as a second-season novice hurdler last term without ever making it to the highest grade, he looks better suited to fences and jumped his rivals into submission with a largely flawless round.

The only wobble came when, approaching the last, he started to wander and received taps down the shoulder from Townend to maintain his concentration. But he hadn’t seen another horse since the first fence and might just have found his fitness running out on his first start of term.

Runner-up The Goffer, a winner at Thurles last time, gave vain chase but lacked the fluency of the winner – reaching for a few fences when trying to get on terms and getting in too close to the second last when already held.

Third-placed Marvel De Cerisy jumped left and couldn’t get competitive. Hallowed Star, a dual winner at Galway in the summer and autumn, appears to have lost his confidence after falling at Punchestown last time and was pulled up.

Inthepocket clung on for victory from Three Card Brag and two other Gordon Ellliott-trained rivals in the rescheduled 2m4f Tote Navan Novice Hurdle Grade Two at Naas on Tuesday (watch above), having nosed into an unexpected gap between the leaders as they bypassed the two omitted flights in the straight. There are two ways of reading what happened next.

One is: had Adrian Heskin on the runner-up stuck closer to Jack Kennedy on third-placed Absolute Notions, they would have forced Rachael Blackmore to navigate around them on the winner and the ground that manoeuvre would have cost amounted to more than the rapidly diminishing winning margin of a neck.

The other is: had Blackmore been forced to delay her challenge for longer and therefore hit the front later, her mount’s turn of foot would have been saved for a more decisive unleashing closer to the winning line and the winning margin would therefore have been wider.

Blackmore was clearly inclined towards the latter interpretation. “I was lucky, now,” she admitted to Racing TV’s Kevin O’Ryan. “I actually should have held onto him a lot longer than I did. It’s a long way up the straight in that ground, so I was fairly relieved when I heard my number [called as the winner]. The gap’s opened but it doesn’t mean you have to go! He’s a tough horse – he’s was just idling there without the hurdles. I dropped my reins for measure, as well!”

To be fairer to Blackmore than she is likely to be to herself, Inthepocket travelled into the gap without his rider asking, as fourth-placed Deeply Superficial – re-routed here from the Listed mare’s event at Punchestown the previous day – dropped away bypassing the second last. The two leaders either side of the winner then immediately came under pressure and Blackmore was left in the lead without any choice about the matter, so she pragmatically shook up her mount to extend his advantage.

Inthepocket then moved into a lead of at least two lengths before paddling and seeking to hang left… and that’s when it all got a bit panicky from Blackmore, enabling the staying-on Three Card Brag to have another pop in a slow-motion finish. A few strides past the line, the rallying runner-up – who’d also made a sizeable blunder at the third last – was in front.

Inthepocket is now unbeaten in two starts for Henry de Bromhead, having also won his point-to-point, and holds an entry in the Grade One Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle on January 8. He shaped as though two miles might suit better, however, whereas Three Card Brag was rightly shortened into third favourite – 25/1 into 14/1 best – for the Albert Bartlett.

The latter will first be of distinct interest in the 2m6f Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, perhaps ridden more positively – they crawled around here.

The following 2m3f four-year-old maiden hurdle announced a new hurdling talent for the Willie Mullins yard when Impaire Et Passe made a winning Irish debut, drawing clear in the obstacle-free straight to win by 18 lengths from For Fear Of Frost. He was immediately shortened from 40/1 into 12/1 best for the Ballymore, shorter in many books than Inthepocket’s trimmed odds.

“The way the ground is today, I don’t think there will be many galloping out through the line and he did it, so that’s a good sign,” Townend later reported. “He had a lovely way of racing throughout the race. A great jumper – he left me behind at one, even, when he’d seen a stride that I didn’t!”

The winning trainer indicated that the Grade Two Moscow Flyer at Punchestown could be Impaire Et Passe’s next stop, where he’d meet the likes of recent wide-margin Cork winner Arctic Bresil.

The form of Magical Zoe’s impressive Grade Three success at Down Royal was twice franked during the past week, with both Saylavee and Liberty Dance – respectively fifth and sixth behind Henry de Bromhead’s mare in early November – winning in Listed company.

Saylavee triumphed over (pretty much) 2m4f at Punchestown on Monday and was ridden both patiently and wide, on less chewed-up ground, by Townend. She asserted at the last, drew clear by two-and-a-half lengths and appeared suited by the step up in trip. Her rider testified that she’d “toughed it out really well”.

Third-placed and beaten 8/15 favourite Harmonya Maker had pressed the keen-going outsider Ballycashin in the early stages until the latter blundered at the fifth. The recent 18-length Fairyhouse winner moved decisively on two hurdles later but was reeled in relatively readily by Saylavee on the home turn and narrowly worn down for second after the last by Bella Scintilla. The runner-up had last been seen when three lengths behind Pied Piper at Cheltenham in October – she was another to enjoy a greater accent on stamina.

Liberty Dance will forever be remembered as the last mount of jockey Davy Russell’s outstanding career when providing him with signing-off victory in Thurles’s Listed mares novice hurdle last Sunday. Trainer Gordon Elliott had helped to orchestrate this curtain-call success by agreeing with owner Tim O’Driscoll earlier in the morning that the acclaimed rider would replace Kennedy. The mare then played her part without hesitation.

Always prominent, she got a bump from long-time leader Rocco Boy at the fourth when the latter got in too close at the fourth and landed awkwardly to her left. Otherwise, there were neither alarms nor surprises. Liberty Dance moved narrowly into the lead two out, adjusting slightly leftwards, before bounding away from her opposition – jumping the last well and running on emphatically.

Runner-up Belle The Lioness was already being nudged along by Rachael Blackmore on the home turn and then almost tripped over the second last, leaving her stuck behind rivals in a pocket as the winner cleared away. Switching around horses and surviving another error at the last, she was able to scurry into second ahead of The Model Kingdom, who was trying to concede 3lb all round, and was caught flat-footed and wide entering the straight.

Elliott believes Liberty Dance – who debuted over hurdles in that Grade Three won by Magical Zoe before getting off the mark in a Thurles mares’ maiden – will improve further for a greater test of stamina. The third brought a high level of form to the table, having previously beaten the poor-jumping Halibut in an open novice at Punchestown.

Later on the same card, Grand Soir ground his way to victory in the 2m7f rated novice hurdle, looking as if he was going as fast as he could for most of the contest. Simon Torrens had been chivvying away from an early stage and his work bore fruit in the straight when his mount stayed on past the duelling and more prominently ridden pair, awkward-looking Level Neverending and utter gawk Camino Rock, on the approach to the last. The winner then idled in front.

Punchestown’s two-mile rated novice hurdle the following day went to Itswhatunitesus, who’d previously won at Cork and is learning to settle better with experience. He made the running at a glacial pace and was hesitant – slowing for a good look at the third and responding only adequately when asked at the fifth.

“There was no pace and my lad, who can be keen, was sort of lairy in front there today,” Jack Kennedy reported. “So, I didn’t want to go lighting him up – we went very steady but he has plenty of gears. He sprinted away… I was actually surprised with how relaxed he was today. He jumped great, never put a foot wrong.”

Itswhatunitesus pulled away from Evens favourite Carnfunnock – a six-length winner on hurdles debut at Ayr last time, who’d previously finished a place ahead of the winner at the DRF Grade Two bumper in February. The runner-up was consistently slow away from his obstacles and could never quite mount a challenge.

Four-year-old Invictus Machin, who’d previously beat The Wallpark by five lengths in a Down Royal maiden, was already struggling to hold his pitch when blundering two out. Leaden-footed, he couldn’t even get past 250/1 outsider Maggie Walsh for third, but the market was unsurprised as he’d drifted from 6/4 favourite early in the day to a starting-price of 7/1.

Finally, returning to the mares, Halka Du Tabert won their maiden hurdle at Naas on Tuesday in resounding fashion. Kennedy made plenty of use of her, connections having learned plenty from her scrambling debut success over the same course and distance last month. Stamina is clearly her forte.

The winner chased Take My Hand until taking over on the lead at the fourth obstacle, by which time the field was well strung out. Evens favourite Eabha Grace and Broomfield Bijou made inroads to the winner’s heels on the home turn, but the latter blundered two out when already held and the former was emphatically outstayed from the last flight.

“She has a good cruising speed but just gallops too,” remarked winning trainer Gordon Elliott. “I like the way she galloped from the second last to the line and I would say she’s smart.”

Law Ella, beaten by Deeply Superficial on her hurdling debut and thumped by Harmonya Maker on her previous start (albeit she made a mistake and stumbled two out), was well below form in a distant fourth here. Got To Fly, who made headway from well in rear to finish a never competitive eighth, is now qualified for handicaps and can do better at that level.

Advised 01/12/22: Noble Yeats at 66/1 for the Boodles Gold Cup with William Hill

Advised 01/12/22: Ahoy Senor at 25/1 for the Boodles Gold Cup with various bookmakers

Advised 14/12/22: Hiddenvalley Lake at 8/1 with Bet365 or William Hill for the Albert Bartlett