Golden era for the Irish at Cheltenham continues
Itās hard to believe it now, but there was a time when Ireland couldnāt win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Several times, in fact. And not all in the distant past.
Lord Windermereās Gold Cup win in 2014 was Irelandās first since War Of Attrition eight years earlier.
There was a nine-year gap between Imperial Call in 1996 and Kicking King in 2005. Before Imperial Call, you had to go back to Dawn Runās iconic win in 1986.Ā
Before thatā¦ Well, you get the picture.
Now? Well, now things are very different and, today, six Gold Cup wins in seven years became seven in eight as the Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs justified 7-5 favouritism in the race that matters most to racing folk. Thatās some way to celebrate St Patrickās Day.
For Midleton-born jockey Paul Townend, a third Gold Cup win in five years was just as sweet as the two he enjoyed with Al Boum Photo.
āThe Gold Cup brings winning to a different level,ā he said. āCheltenham is very important, but the Gold Cup just has that little bit more spice to it.ā
For his part, Mullins admitted to feeling a level of pressure he has never previously experienced ahead of Galopin Des Champsā date with destiny.
āI think what stands out is the pressure I put myself under. I was surprised actually coming to the third-last [fence] how much I started to feel it,ā he said.
āWhen he went through the third-last and I saw Paul back on the bridle again I thought: āWow, this could happenā, and I was amazed how much it meant to me. I didnāt think it would.
āThe pressure was coming from the fact that we had so much confidence in the horse. We nominated him for the Gold Cup, we thought we had a Gold Cup horse, and lot of people were saying he wasnāt because he has too much speed and no stamina.
āThere was pressure because we disagreed with everyone. So many people said he wouldnāt stay, which surprised me.
āIt was our word against others and it wasnāt like he was a 10-1 shot. He was a hot favourite and people backed him in the belief that I was right, I suppose.ā
Mullins will swap one sporting cathedral for another on Saturday as he will be among those at the Aviva Stadium hoping Ireland can complete a Grand Slam by beating England in the Six Nations finale.
āIāve got a ticket anyhow so Iām not going around bumming one here,ā Mullins joked. āI got a ticket the other day, so Iām flying back for that.ā
Asked if an Ireland victory would make it a perfect week, Mullins replied: āIāve had the perfect week, winning the Gold Cup is just fantastic and I donāt need any more highs. It would be great if they do win, and hopefully they should.ā
After a tortuous Thursday for punters, the opening race on the Gold Cup day brought some much-needed respite as Lossiemouth justified 11-8 favouritism to win the JCB Triumph Hurdle to get Mullins and Townend off to a flying start.
The County Hurdle summed up a frustrating week for Davy Russell as the Gordon Elliott-trained Pied Piper was thwarted by 33-1 British-trained outsider Faivoir after a ding-dong battle up the hill.
Another shock followed in the Albert Bartlett Novicesā Hurdle where British horse Stay Away Fay, another big-priced winner at 18-1, got the better of Noel Meadeās 150-1 rank outsider Affordale Fury.
The honour of the final Irish-trained winner of the week went to Wexford handler Colm Murphy when Impervious took the penultimate race, our 18th of another hugely successful trip to the Cotswolds.Ā
The Golden era goes on.
