Ross Millar: Galopin in class of his own and Monday tips

For all the excellent racing at the Dublin Racing Festival there was one standout performance. I said after his win in the Savills Chase at Christmas that Galopin Des Champs was the best staying chaser I’d seen and on Saturday that opinion hardened further. 

He was flawless in landing his third Irish Gold Cup, delivering a devastating performance of pace, powerful jumping and seemingly bottomless stamina. He also has a tremendous will-to-win, with his head carriage on the run to the line being textbook perfect. 

Mark Walsh, rode a more patient race on Fact To File and he certainly settled better than he had when beaten in the Savills. He closed menacingly on the home turn but again could sustain his run. 

I’ve been convinced since his Brown’s Advisory Chase win that he isn’t a strong stayer at this trip and, with my ante-post hat on, I dearly hope they pass-up the Gold Cup challenge and reroute him to the Ryanair Chase. If they do, I expect to see an Allaho-esque display. 

The novice races also produced some standout performances. 

Final Demand looked a horse with immensely promising future as he destroyed the field in the Grade One Nathaniel Lacy Hurdle. 

He travelled with ease and stayed on powerfully over this trip of 2m6f. He could comfortably drop back in trip to take in the Turners Hurdle at Cheltenham or step up to the 3m trip of the Albert Bartlett. 

Willie Mullins said on Racing TV it would be the former. He reminds me of Denman and, wherever he goes, I’ll be with him. 

Kopek Des Bordes won his maiden hurdle at Christmas when looking like a hybrid of a bulldozer and an F1 car, barely jumping a hurdle but showing a tremendous engine. 

On Sunday, he had morphed into a jet. His jumping was transformed and with the benefit of race fitness behind him he produced a scintillating effort to run out a wide margin winner of the Grade One Novice Hurdle over 2m without really coming off the bridle. 

It’s taken a while for the Closutton maestro to sort his novice team this season, but this fine-looking son of No Risk At All is by a clear margin their leading Sky Bet Supreme Novice Hurdle contender. It’s hard to see what can beat him. 

Majborough won the Irish Arkle in a canter and confirmed his chase debut promise. His jumping was not as slick and fluent as it was on debut but he did show an ability to be intelligent when required which is no bad thing. 

I am not sure quite what he achieved here. Runner-up Touch Me Not had been beaten by L’Eau Du Sud in the Henry VIII and does not look top class while disappointment of the race Ile Atlantique seemed to sulk when not allowed to dictate the pace. 

Majborough is just a five-year old, and a lightly raced one at that, so is open to plenty of improvement. The Arkle in March will be a fine race but I think he will have a job to master Sir Gino. 

Majborough might not have jumped as well as he had on his latest start but stable mate Ballyburn is certainly improving his jumping with practice. 

Up in trip he looked far more composed jumping from a more sedate gallop than he had faced when run off his feet at Kempton on his last start. 

He still divides opinion, but I viewed this as a positive performance. I particularly liked his attitude on the run to the line. 

The defection of The Jukebox Man this week has weakened the Brown’s Advisory Chase. On pedigree he could even improve again for the extra distance and now he is getting his jumping together it would be a braver soul than me that would lay him. 

The best result of the weekend was Lossiemouth getting to her feet after taking a crashing fall in the Irish Champion Hurdle. 

In doing so, she nearly brought down stablemate and rival State Man, who having survived cantered home alone to take this for a third successive year. 

This result did little to clear up the Unibet Champion Hurdle picture. 

Heading into a Champion Hurdle on the back of a fall is far from ideal for Lossiemouth, but equally she has not shown herself not to be up to this class. 

This result also showed State Man was well below his best when beaten by Brighterdaysahead on his last start. The one thing I can say with certainty is that connections of Constitution Hill will not be unduly worried by what they saw. 

Soft ground will ensure that this 2m5f is an exacting test of stamina. That will suit the Stuart Coltherd-trained Similar Story. 

She won on her chase debut at Kelso in October, staying on well over the 2m7f trip. 

Similar Story ran with credit when dropped back to 2m4f at this track on good ground on her next start, narrowly failing to run down Divas Doyen in the closing stages. 

She has been highly tried on two starts since most notably in a class two at Fakenham on her latest start. This will be her second start after wind surgery and crucially she drops significantly in grade. Divas Doyen reopposes but a healthy 8lb pull at the weights can see Similar Story reverse that form. 

Tom Symonds’ gelding made a disappointing start to life in handicap hurdles at Ascot last time, beating only four rivals home, but he is worthy of a second chance. 

The Ascot race was run at a frenetic pace, and he could never find a rhythm and was in trouble from some way out 

It is also the second time he has run poorly at the track, with the poorest of his four runs in novice hurdles coming at Ascot last March.  

On the evidence of his best form, when third at Worcester, beaten ten lengths by The Kemble Brewery, now rated 128 and Jurancon now rated 127, this mark of 116 looks workable. 

He steps up half a mile in trip and that should allow him to find a better early rhythm. His trainer is enjoying a productive season and can add to his tally of winners.