Best Mullins horse ever? Galopin Des Champs eyes Gold Cup treble

Paul Townend will once again be on Galopin Des Champs

"A third in a row would put him into a very select category of greats."

Looking at the odds for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, it isn't obvious that Galopin Des Champs is bidding to do something so rare.

Only four horses, including the legendary Arkle and Best Mate, have ever won a hat-trick of Gold Cups.

And yet the Willie Mullins-trained horse is the odds-on favourite for Friday's Gold Cup, which goes off at 16:00 GMT, and meaningful challengers seem thin on the ground.

So what makes Galopin Des Champs so special?

"I think he's got just lots of heart," Mullins told BBC Sport at his sprawling Closutton stables in County Carlow.

"He's obviously got athletic ability, he's better than average. But when push comes to shove in those last two furlongs, when you've got to dig deep, this guy seems to have reserves of energy.

"And it's also mental. It's his heart. He just gets down, you know, when the going gets tough, the tough get going and that's what he is. He's tough."

Mullins has more than 200 horses in training, and over the past 35 years has trained some stars of the sport.

But he said Galopin Des Champs - affectionately nicknamed "the good one" by stable staff - will rank as the best of them all if he wins the Cheltenham Festival showpiece on Friday.

"I've had some wonderful horses here. If he does the treble, we'll probably have to give him that accolade, but until then we'll wait," said Mullins, 68.

But does he know how good he is?

"The more he wins, the more bigger he gets in himself," said Galopin's groom Adam Connolly. "You'll be trying to wash him off and he'll be kicking and biting at you. And as the season goes on, he gets a bit bigger and he knows anyway."

Who can stop Galopins Des Champs?

Eight horses will be trying to deny Galopin Des Champs on Friday, as the nine-year-old bids to become the first triple winner since Best Mate in 2004.

December's King George VI Chase winner Banbridge is the closest rival according to the market, while the third favourite is the market leader in the Grand National - Inothewayurthinkin - whose owner JP McManus paid £25,000 to enter him for the Gold Cup.

There are only three British-trained runners - Ahoy Senor, The Real Whacker and Royale Pagaille - and they are all outsiders.

Mullins knows the hat-trick won't be easy, having come up just short when attempting the feat with Al Boum Photo, who won the race in 2019 and 2020 but finished third in 2021 and sixth in 2022.

However, no-one knows how to train a Cheltenham Festival winner better than Mullins, who celebrated a century of them last year and is the leading trainer so far this week.

Galopin Des Champs stormed to a seven-length victory in 2023, and defended his crown last year despite having to contend with the unwelcome presence of a loose horse.

Retired jockey Barry Geraghty, who rode 43 Cheltenham Festival winners, is confident he has what it takes to win it again.

"He's an absolutely brilliant horse. He's won good Gold Cups and has won them with authority as well," he told BBC Sport.

"There's no concern about his form this year. As a nine-year-old, he still looks to retain all of his ability and his runs leading into Cheltenham have been of a very high standard.

"If the same Galopin Des Champs turns up this year, he's going to be very hard to beat.

"He'll already be remembered as a high-class winner of the Gold Cup, as he's already in an elite club having retained it, but a third in a row would put him into a very select category of greats."

Mullins said he believes Galopin Des Champs is in better form than in previous years but will face stiffer competition as he tries to emulate some of racing's all-time greats.

So perhaps it will all come down to the "lucky charm" that has been brought over from Ireland - a red football in his stable.

Gold Cup runners - full list

1. Ahoy Senor

2. Banbridge

3. Corbetts Cross

4. Galopin Des Champs

5. Gentlemansgame

6. Inothewayurthinkin

7. Monty's Star

8. Royale Pagaille

9. The Real Whacker

How to follow the Gold Cup on the BBC

There will be full race commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and on BBC Sounds, with live text commentary, including build-up, on the BBC Sport website and app from 12:30 GMT.