Allegorie De Vassy leads the way, followed by Dinoblue.

All nine are still in contention with 10 to jump.

John Hunt
Horse racing commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

What a huge jump from Allegorie De Vassy. That was one of the most impressive leaps of the week.

Allegorie De Vassy, the second favourite at the start here, leads early.

This is a longer race, two miles and four furlongs over 17 fences.

John Hunt
Horse racing commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

This year, it seems as though every other race has had a problem with the start. It seems to be a lack of communication between the starter and the jockeys. The Champion Chase was started literally with the tape under the horse's nose.

So nine contenders here, all females.

They walk in and get away first time - three of three for clean starts today.

There's an issue with Je T'Ai Porte, one of the nine contenders here. It appears to have lost a horseshoe.

Jockey Shane Fitzgerald says they will run without.

Ding ding, race three.

Dinoblue, its jockey in the green and gold silks of JP McManus, is the well-fancied favourite.

But then again, what do the experts know...

Fenners: I'm sorry but these so called experts know pretty much nothing - the amount of big-priced winners this week has been ridiculous, all of whom were written off in the previews...

Galopin Des champs' groom Adam Connolly, speaking to BBC Sport's Laura Scott about his first impressions of the horse: "I remember when he first came. He was a big, tall, leggy, very athletic and you probably wouldn't have looked at him and known that he was a Gold Cup horse, but he turned into one in the end.”

Do you think he knows what he's achieved? “Oh yeah, he knows. The more he wins, the bigger he gets in himself. 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.”

Trainer Willie Mullins, speaking to BBC Sport's Laura Scott about whether this will be the most competitive Gold Cup that Galopin Des Champs has raced in: “It's a very competitive year. But his form going into the race is probably better than it had been before. So on one side you got better competition, but on the other side he looks better and his performances have been better so everything is up this year, but we'll see.

On whether the horse has any weaknesses: “We haven't seen it yet. You know, he does everything - gallops, jumps, stays. They are three things you need to win a Gold Cup.

If you had to liken him to a sportsperson in another sport, who would you say he might be?: “I suppose you'd liken him to Mo Farah. You know, he stays all day and he's got those battling qualities. And that's what this horse has.”

What it would mean to win three straight Gold Cups: "It's a generational thing, once in a, you know, a generation."

Image source, Getty Images

Trainer Willie Mullins, speaking to BBC Sport's Laura Scott about whether Galopin Des Champs is the best horse he has ever trained: “He's looking like he might be. I've had some wonderful horses here. If he does the treble, we’ll probably have to give him that accolade, but until then, until then, we'll wait.”

What is it about him that makes him special?: "I think he's got just lots of heart. I mean, 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 takes lots of work. And does it easily. That's the key. I mean, other horses just can't keep up to him."

Image source, Getty Images

The battle for top honours in this one could be between Willie Mullins and Gavin Cromwell.

Mullins saddles Dinoblue, who finished second to Limerick Lace 12 months ago, and Allegorie De Vassy, who finished fourth that day.

The pair met at Naas in February with Dinoblue winning by a neck on that occasion

Cromwell saddles Limerick Lace, who will have cheekpieces for the first time, and also Bride’s Hill who has plenty of improvement in her.

Frank Keogh
BBC Sport at Cheltenham

The going at Cheltenham is officially Good to Soft on a largely dry, cool day.

Temperatures went down to -3C overnight but have warmed up since.

In the Gold Cup, drier ground would be regarded as a positive for King George VI Chase winner Banbridge and a potential minor negative for treble-chasing Galopin Des Champs.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, PA Media

Cheltenham CEO Guy Lavender, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's been amazing. It's been epic racing with some enjoyable, good crowds. It's been a festival in its truest sense. I've loved it, it's been my first Festival in charge. I came from Lord's cricket ground so it's different but loving it so far and we hope we can cap it with a brilliant day today.

"I was pretty chilled out the fortnight before. The day before, the enormity of it sunk in. I walked the course the morning of the Tuesday and you start to get the sense of 'it's coming'. It's a massive racecourse but the team come in and we delivered really well. It was a difficult Festival last year, everyone acknowledged it and we've made a number of improvements. We're really smashing it out of the park so far this year.

"Start with the racing, we made some changes to the races to see it more competitive. There haven't been a lot of short-priced favourites winning everything. We've got 7,000 cars on hard standing, people can take more drinks to watch the racing.

"There are a lot of discounted tickets for other meetings. They come here and they have a great time even if they are not hardcore racing fans. It's vibrant and an iconic sporting event."

In honour of the gold cup of the Gold Cup being raced for today, we would like to hear your picks for your favourite pieces of sporting silverware - the stranger looking, the better.

And if there's a picture of you posing with that trophy, feel free to send it in.

This is the trophy being raced for at 16.00 GMT today - the gold cup of the Gold Cup.

For such an iconic race, would you know it by sight in a pub quiz?

Image source, Getty Images

Organisers seem to be banking on people knowing the Gold Cup with the mascot who has been doing the rounds throughout the Festival.

Would you pose for a pic?

Image source, Getty Images

Is this the best view in sport? A man and his dog follow the racing from high above Cheltenham. Hopefully he's got BBC Radio 5 Live in his ear!

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

The most wins Willie Mullins has had at any Cheltenham Festival is 10, in 2022. The Irish trainer picked up nine last year.

With Poniros and Kargese triumphing in the opening two races today, Mullins is up to eight so far in 2025.

Andrew Thornton
Former jockey on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

When you get to the big meetings like this, you have to trust your own judgment. Paul Townend gets it wrong very rarely. He's not had the best week but he's still the best rider and got Galopin to come.

Winning jockey Paul Townend on ITV Racing: "She was keen today. She has the heart of a lion. I was in front sooner than I wanted but that helped me and she was able to get a breath of air which helped her at the last."