Galopin des Champs produced one of the best performances by a chasing debutant this century when running out an effortless 22-length winner at Leopardstown on Tuesday.
A smart novice hurdler last season, signing off with victories at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals, Galopin des Champs made his debut over fences in a race Willie Mullins regularly targets with one of his better novice chase prospects, with Djakadam (2013), Bleu Et Rouge (2016), Easy Game (2019) and The Big Getaway (2020) all featuring on the roll of honour in the last decade.
Mullins is already responsible for Ferny Hollow (165p), Timeform’s highest-rated novice chaser so far this season, and he could have another top-notcher on his hands if the scintillating display Galopin des Champs produced at Leopardstown is anything to go by.
Sent straight to the front by Paul Townend, he travelled strongly and jumped fluently throughout, in command from an early stage and not needing to come off the bridle to power clear after the last, ultimately winning by 22 lengths from Ain’t That A Shame.
The timefigure backed up the visual impression created by Galopin des Champs and a Timeform performance rating of 153 immediately puts him in some illustrious company.
For context, only six horses have bettered that effort when making a winning start to life over fences since the turn of the century.
The pick of them all is Bacchanal, formerly a high-class staying hurdler for Nicky Henderson. Bacchanal ran to a rating of 161 when dishing out a comprehensive beating to Wahiba Sands (who developed into a very smart chaser himself) on his chasing debut at Newbury in November 2000, already around 20 lengths clear at the last before being eased across the line.
Bacchanal is not the only horse trained by Henderson to have made a big impression on chasing debut. Bobs Worth, for example, ran to a rating of 157 when beating Cue Card in a Grade Two at Newbury in November 2011, while Sprinter Sacre earned a figure of 154 when winning by 24 lengths at Doncaster just a few weeks later.
The David Pipe-trained Grands Crus also featured in a vintage crop of novice chasers that season. He ran to a rating of 155 when making a winning debut at Cheltenham in October 2011, his first of three successive victories over fences before he was well held behind Bobs Worth in the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
That leaves just two more horses who ran to a higher rating than Galopin des Champs when making a successful chasing debut this century. The first of them is Saint Calvados, who earned a figure of 154 when winning a novice handicap at Newbury in December 2017, easily defying a BHA mark of 143 by nine lengths.
The other is a certain Bob Olinger, who also made a striking start to his chasing career just a few weeks ago, a stark reminder to British yards as to the current strength in depth in the division in Ireland.
Bob Olinger ran to a rating of 155 in winning what looked a very strong race of its type at Gowran Park in November, needing no more than hands-and-heels riding to beat Bacardys by six and a half lengths with plenty in hand. Back in third and beaten over 16 lengths was Master McShee, who gave the form a significant boost when winning a Grade One at Limerick on Boxing Day.
Master McShee is now up to a Timeform master rating of 152p after that success, but he will probably need to avoid his Gowran conqueror, as well as Galopin des Champs, to have any chance of adding to his tally at the top level in the novice chasing ranks.
With a Timeform master rating of 157p, Galopin des Champs is now ranked behind only Ferny Hollow (165p) and Edwardstone (159) amongst the highest-rated novice chasers we’ve seen so far this season. He has been pushed above Bob Olinger (155p) largely due to the style of his Leopardstown success, looking value for any amount extra over the bare result.
Clearly progressing at a rate of knots, Galopin des Champs will take all the beating back in Grade One company on this evidence. He is blessed with plenty of speed, but a return to three miles won’t be an issue either should connections opt to avoid a clash with Bob Olinger for now.
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