Galopin Des Champs cemented his status as the sport’s best steeplechaser when putting stable companion Fact To File firmly in his place with a superb Savills Chase success at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Billed as a classic head-to-head between Willie Mullins’s two stars, the proven article trumped potential as Galopin swept away from the final fence to beat Fact To File by a seven-and-a-half length margin that was only widening at the line.
It was a 10th career Grade One for the dual-Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and he was cut to as low as 5/4 for a ‘Blue Riband’ hat-trick in March.
Last month’s John Durkan result, when Fact To File had Galopin Des Champs back in third, got comprehensively reversed over the longer three-mile trip. The younger horse didn’t help his chance by running keen at times but ultimately came up against a champion at his peak.
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“It’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen around here,” said Mullins, who reckoned the idea that Ireland’s reigning Horse of the Year might be still improving is “frightening”.
Galopin Des Champs is unbeaten in six starts over fences at Leopardstown and just as in last year’s 23-length Savills rout, at no point did he appear stronger than at the line.
It means the route to Gold Cup immortality, and triple-status alongside legendary names such as Best Mate, Cottage Rake, and even the peerless Arkle, looks wide open.
That Galopin dominated from the front throughout came in a context in which mutterings about the Mullins team’s overall form this Christmas made the performance even more impressive.
Impaire E Passe supplied the sport’s most dominant figure with a first Christmas Grade One in Limerick’s Faugheen Chase less than an hour beforehand. But there had also been an odds-on failure at Leopardstown too.
It was Paul Townend’s first day at Leopardstown over the festival period having produced a patient masterclass to come from last on Banbridge in the King George 48 hours earlier. This time he enjoyed an armchair spin from the front on the highest-rated horse in training.
“When he heard them coming, he picked up and powered away,” said the exultant jockey.
“I thought something would have to be really special to beat us here. He has a great will and love for racing, he’s the real article and the complete package.
“There’s a good crop of horses coming but that performance today and the feel I was getting off him today he’s going to take a lot of beating anywhere,” Townend added.
Mark Walsh, who completed a Leopardstown double on the JP McManus pair Kaid D’authie and Win Some Lose Some, had to settle for second on Fact To File.
“He just did too much. You’re not going to beat Galopin Des Champs if you’re doing too much through the race,” he remarked.
In contrast to Mullins, practically every Christmas move made by Joseph O’Brien with his small National Hunt team has come up trumps.
Following Banbridge’s King George, and Solness on Friday, O’Brien made it three Grade One’s in three days as Home By The Lee repeated his 2023 success in the Savills Hurdle.
JJ Slevin guided the 15/8 favourite to perhaps the most impressive success of his career as he swept past old rival Bob Olinger after the last. Rockys Diamond made a mockery of 66/1 odds to fill third.
“I’d say that was close to a career-best from him. He’s been around for a number of years now and will go back to Cheltenham with an each-way chance.,” O’Brien commented.
“It’s been a really good week. Solness has been a good consistent horse, but JJ found a good strip of ground all the way and Banbridge was going to be in the mix if he stayed and Paul gave him a fantastic ride.
“Rarely things fall into place the way like you dream they could, but this week it has for us,” he added.
In comparison, Daryl Jacob has been fighting an uphill battle against injury for much of the year. However, it culminated in a landmark high in Limerick on board Impaire Et Passe for his bosses Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.
Afterwards, the Grand National winning jockey announced his retirement with his last ever ride to be on Mr Percy at Leopardstown on Sunday.
“It’s the right decision at the right time. I’ve worked very hard to get back from injury this season and I knew I had some good opportunities this Christmas including in the Grade One.
“To ride Impaire Et Passe there to win the Grade One, it will be very difficult to beat that now and finishing at Leopardstown, where I won my first Grade One, feels right.
“I’ve always wanted to retire on my terms, riding good horses, and Impaire Et Passe has been one of our best horses. He’s very special to me,” said the 41-year-old rider from Wexford.
“It has been wonderful. I’ve ridden a Grand National winner (Neptune Collonges in 2012), now 31 Grade One winners, I’ve ridden over 1,000 winners.
“I’ve been very lucky. I’ve battled with my weight over the years, I’m not getting any younger, I’ve had to work hard with my weight, and it doesn’t get any easier. I’m looking forward to new opportunities, being part of the Double Green team going forward,” he added.
Mr Percy, trained by Joseph O’Brien, is set to line up for the €100,000 handicap hurdle at 3.05pm on Sunday.
Gordon Elliott upset the odds-on Quai Bourbon with Dee Capo at Leopardstown and concluded Day Three of the festival at the Foxrock track with bumper success through the evens favourite Kovanis for Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown team.
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