Galopin Des Champs came roaring back to his scintillating best with a devastating performance in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.
The seven-year-old skipped Ireland's Christmas highlight en route to winning the Irish Gold Cup and the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season, but defeat at the Punchestown Festival in April, and again when only third in the John Durkan on his return to action in November, left one or two critics doubting his credentials. However, they were made to eat their words on Thursday.
This looked a strong field, despite the withdrawal of Galopin Des Champs' dual Punchestown conqueror Fastorslow on account of the heavy ground, but the well-backed 6/4 favourite showed a brilliant turn of foot to spread-eagle his rivals and bound to a 23-length success.
Townend took a wide course coming off the final bend and with just the last fence standing between him and victory, Galopin Des Champs flew it before pulling further and further clear.
Main market rival Gerri Colombe (7/4) jumped well and ran a bold race in second for jockey Jack Kennedy, but he simply didn't have the gears to match the Willie Mullins-trained winner, who was slashed in the antepost markets for a Gold Cup repeat. Paddy Power and Betfair go 5/4 from 3/1 with Sky Bet cutting the winner to 6/4.
After the front-running Conflated unseated at the final fence, third home was Capodanno with another Mullins-trained runner, I Am Maximus, back in fourth, but the winner was in another parish and looked right back to his very best.
Mullins said: “Paul was keen to change tactics today, he wanted to bounce out and let him enjoy himself over the first few fences. I said ‘let’s do that’ because the last twice he was beaten and things didn’t work out.
“I think the horse gave it back to Paul. When I saw him jumping the first the way he did I thought ‘right, game on here today’.
“He fiddled a few fences after that but Paul was very happy at all stages and he showed his absolute stamina in the the way he galloped away from the third last, down over the second last and then up over the last.
“He put everything to bed coming around the last bend. I was hugely impressed by him.
“I didn’t know what to expect as his work had been a little bit indifferent at home. We tried a few different things with him and obviously they must have worked.
“We had no winner the first day and people were wondering were things not going to happen for us over Christmas. Things came right on the second day and it’s been really good today as well.
“We had Appreciate It in the race, Capodanno and I Am Maximus, all Gold Cup standard horses and you never know what’s going to fire on the day. It’s like a player going out to play a rugby or hurling match, the ball has to bounce for them. This fella just made the ball bounce for himself today.
“Take him out and you still had a fantastic race, but he looked a class ahead of them.
“He put everything together, he really enjoyed himself, and Paul made the right decision to get him out early, get him up there and let him enjoy himself.”
On the possibility of running against Fastorslow in the Irish Gold Cup back at Leopardstown in February, Mullins added: “We’ll see, he obviously likes this place. The Irish Gold Cup is a great prize and I love having horses good enough to compete in it. We’re lucky enough we have him.
“We won’t make any decision about that until later on.”
Elliott could offer no excuses for the runner-up and said: “I thought he was a bit disappointing. The winner was awesome and I don’t think any horse would have beaten him on the day.”
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