A couple of the most important three-mile steeplechases outside of the Cheltenham Gold Cup were run over Christmas. How did the too contenders perform, and where does it all leave the blue riband ante-post odds for the big one on Friday, March 13th.
Affordable Lands Savills Chase, Galopin Still Going Strong
| Position | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Affordale Fury | Noel Meade | Sam Ewing | 7/1 |
| 2nd | I Am Maximus | Willie Mullins | Derek O’Connor | 50/1 |
| 3rd | Galopin Des Champs | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend | 6/5 |
The Grade One Savills Chase was staged at Leopardstown on December 28, won by Noel Meade’s 7/1 shot Affordable Fury. Most eyes however were on Willie Mullins’ dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs.
The former champ, now about to turn 10, was a 6/5 shot for the race but many expected him to be well beaten. How wrong they were.
Galopin Des Champs ran an excellent third in the end, beaten only three lengths. Trainer Mullins was clearly thrilled with his latest comeback run despite the fact that his star gelding’s long winning run at Leopardstown finally came to an end.
Arguably, this result did confirm the very gradual decline in Galopin Des Champs’ form. He’d won this race the past two years and was now beaten, a pattern which follows his Gold Cup form having run second at Cheltenham in March. In the end, the younger and very progressive Affordable Fury simply galloped all his rivals into the ground.
It’s the way in which the race was run in fact that shines Galopin Des Champs in such a good light. The winner, already race fit and with youth on his side, set the fractions perfectly but Galopin Des Champs was never far away under Paul Townend.
Will the apparent gradual decline continue? We get to find out soon. Galopin Des Champs has won the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown during each of the last three seasons and he will return for another go during the Dublin Racing Festival on Saturday, January 31.
Willie Mullins and Paul Townend were both clearly happy with his latest performance and look forward to his next start. We await that race with great anticipation.
Was the King George Form Good Enough?
| Position | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | The Jukebox Man | Ben Pauling | Ben Jones | 7/1 |
| 2nd | Banbridge | Joseph Patrick O’Brien | Sean Bowen | 16/1 |
| 3rd | Gaelic Warrior | Willie Mullins | Paul Townend | 9/4 |
Outside of the Gold Cup, there isn’t a more prestigious chase on the circuit than Boxing Day’s King George VI Chase at Kempton. The race itself was an absolute cracker, but was the form good enough with the Gold Cup in mind?
The brilliant Ben Pauling was responsible for the winner, The Jukebox Man (7/1), much to the delight of popular owner and former football manager Harry Redknapp. A game winner from last year’s scorer Banbridge (16/1), The Jukebox Man got home by a nose with joint-favourite Gaelic Warrior the same distance bank in third.
In a bunched finish, the other 9/4 market leader Jango Baie was somewhat eye catching and is the one to take out of the race. Not always fluent over his fences, he was a couple of lengths down when jumping the last much better. After a rousing finish, Nicky Henderson’s young start almost got there and was denied by just half a length at the line.
Jango Baie is only just about to turn seven having only run in six chases to date. There is plenty more to come.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds 2026
Current best prices for the next running of the Gold Cup on March 13:
| Horse | Trainer | Guide Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Galopin Des Champs | Willie Mullins | 6/1 |
| Inothewayurthinkin | Gavin Cromwell | 6/1 |
| Jango Baie | Nicky Henderson | 8/1 |
| The Jukebox Man | Ben Pauling | 8/1 |
| Gaelic Warrior | Willie Mullins | 10/1 |
| Grey Dawning | Dan Skelton | 12/1 |
| Haiti Couleurs | Rebecca Curtis | 14/1 |