Racing fans are in for a double dose of top-quality action this weekend, with Grade 1 fare on Saturday and Sunday. The Betfair Chase from Haydock lights up Saturday, whilst, on Sunday, attention turns to Punchestown for the return of a rather special horse.
Such is the wealth of talent at his disposal that it isn’t straightforward to select a stable star at the yard of Willie Mullins. However, landing back-to-back editions of the classiest staying contest of the season is enough to earn you top spot at any training operation. And so it is that a horse by the name of Galopin Des Champs reigns supreme as the king of the Closutton Hill. This Sunday, the eight-year-old takes his first strides of the 2024/25 campaign.
Third Crack at the John Durkan Memorial Chase
Adopting an “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” approach to Galopin Des Champs schedule, the prodigiously talented star will make his seasonal return in the John Durkan Memorial Chase – just as he has in his Gold Cup-winning seasons of 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Paul Townend’s regular partner may be imperious in the showpiece at the Cheltenham Festival, but that hasn’t been the case in this contest. Whilst his first John Durkan outing resulted in a 13-length stroll to victory, he managed only third in 2023, when finishing behind Martin Brassil’s Fastorslow and fellow Mullins runner Appreciate It.
John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase 2023 Result
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | SP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Fastorslow | J J Slevin | Martin Brassil | 9/1 |
| 2nd | Appreciate It | Patrick Mullins | Willie Mullins | 6/1 |
| 3rd | Galopin Des Champs | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 1/2 |
| 4th | Blue Lord | Daryl Jacob | Willie Mullins | 6/1 |
| 5th | Asterion Forlonge | Michael O’Sullivan | Willie Mullins | 18/1 |
| 6th | Stattler | Rachael Blackmore | Willie Mullins | 28/1 |
Whilst a shock at the time, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that a horse who thrives over 3m2½f should come up short in this 2m3½f event. Will he prove vulnerable once again in 2024?
Old Rival Leads the Opposition
With that 2023 defeat lingering in the memory, the nine-time Grade 1 winning Galopin Des Champs is only third in the betting for the 2024 edition of this €150,000 event. Sitting ahead of him in most betting lists are a couple of familiar faces.
Not many horses have lowered the colours of Galopin Des Champs in recent seasons. The Willie Mullins star has tasted defeat in only five of seventeen completed outings. However, three of those defeats came at the hands of the same horse. Namely, the Martin Brassil-trained eight-year-old Fast Or Slow.
Significantly, all three of those defeats have come at Punchestown. Just over two lengths adrift of Fastorslow in the 2023 Punchestown Gold Cup, Galopin Des Champs edged half a length closer when third in the 2023 edition of this race and half a length closer again when second in the 2024 Punchestown Gold Cup.
Heading into Sunday’s race, the overall head-to-head score between this talented duo stands at three wins apiece.
Big Day for the New Kid on the Block
In landing a second Gold Cup in 2024, Galopin Des Champs followed in the hoofprints of Al Boum Photo, who registered back-to-back victories for Mullins in 2019 and 2020. On the endless conveyor belt of talent at the Mullins yard, there will no doubt be another to take up the baton from the current champ. Fact Or File may be that horse.
Long held in high regard by his trainer, this JP McManus-owned seven-year-old delivered on the hype in some style in his debut season over fences. In common with Galopin Des Champs, Fact Or Slow was beaten on his seasonal return but bounced back with a 17-length romp at Leopardstown and a Grade 1 double in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase and Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He faces far more experienced rivals on his first appearance in open company but possesses all the tools to succeed.
Festival Winner Adds to Enthralling Edition
The trio mentioned above are the undoubted headline acts in the 2024 John Durkan. However, other runners lurking lower down the betting list will head to Punchestown with a realistic dream of causing a shock.
The James Joseph Mangan runner Spillane’s Tower rounded off 2023/24 with a Grade 1 double, Grangeclare West has been off for almost a year but hacked up in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase, and Inothewayourthinkin is considered a potential Gold Cup contender in many quarters following his impressive victories in the Kim Muir Conditional Jockey Handicap Chase and Grade 1 Mildmay Novices Chase.
All of the above equates to the 2:25 pm contest at Punchestown on Sunday afternoon being the must-watch Grade 1 chase of the season to date.