While the day seemed destined to belong to Willie Mullins as we headed toward Cheltenham Gold Cup time – along came a certain Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin (15/2) and Mark Walsh to spoil the party and deny Galopin Des Champs a third successive title.
Galopin Des Champs was seemingly set to strike for history, but Inothewayurthinkin’s challenge was timed to absolute perfection and he struck to bolt home up the straight to a commanding six lengths success.
Mark Walsh said: “I’m dancing inside. I can’t believe it. They went a nice gallop and they jumped well as a whole. In fairness to this fella, he’s done some growing up in the last year and Gavin Cromwell’s a genius in the way he’s trained him.”
14 March 2025; Jake Cromwell, son of winning trainer Gavin Cromwell, kisses the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, watched by Kiva Cromwell, after they sent out Inothewayurthinkin to win the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Steeple Chase on day four of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Galopin Des Champs’ trainer Willie Mullins added: “He was too far out of his ground, wasn’t jumping well enough to be in the race. I thought he was uncomfortable. I just felt he wasn’t jumping. Maybe drying ground mightn’t have been a help. I thought we missed all the trouble from Ahoy Senor’s fall. But I was hoping that might wake him up because I thought he was just idle. When he jumped off, he was only, what seventh? He wasn’t jumping well enough, so I was hoping something would get beside him and make him jump. To me, he wasn’t racing. The only time he got competitive was coming around the fourth-last at the top of the hill and then it looked all right, but I think he’d just used up too much of his powder, jumping too big. But a good horse won.”
It wasn’t all spilt milk for the Closutton maestro however – he struck early on with a hurdling debutant in the Triumph Hurdle as the Jonjo O’Neill-ridden Poniros at odds of a whopping 100/1 stung Lulamba by a neck to spring a shock in the opener.
Mullins was soon back in the winners’ enclosure as Kargese justified 3/1 favouritism with an imposing display in the County Hurdle with Paul Townend aboard, and 40 minutes later – it was that all familiar treble territory once again as Walsh rode Dinoblue (6/4) to a resounding 8-and-a-half length success in the Mares’ Chase.
A four-timer arrived on the eve of the Gold Cup as Jasmin De Vaux and Townend (6/1) battled valiantly in the home straight to see off the Henry de Bromhead-trained The Big Westerner and land the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
14 March 2025; Jasmin De Vaux, with Paul Townend up, left, on their way to winning The Albert Bartlett NovicesÂ’ Hurdle Race, ahead of The Big Westerner, with Darragh O’Keeffe up, who finished second, on day four of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
The Hunters’ Chase went the way of Wonderwall at odds of 28/1 for jockey Rob James and trainer Sam Curling as It’s On The Line was once again beaten at the finish – while the closing race of the week, the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle has gone the way of the Gordon Elliott trained Wodhooh (9/2) who remains undefeated to ensure a clean sweep for the Irish – 7 out of 7 on Gold Cup day. Another Cheltenham Festival to remember.
