Willie Mullins felt Galopin Des Champs was never jumping well enough to enable him to win a third Boodles Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
On a day when the champion trainer won the first four races on the card, the one who looked head and shoulders above the rest failed in his bid to join a very select club of triple Gold Cup heroes.
Paul Townend was never where he wanted to be in the race until he got to the heels of the leaders coming down the hill, but turning into the straight he looked like he might indeed record a historic success.
However, tracking him all the way was Gavin Cromwell’s Inothewayurthinkin, supplemented for the race last week and who powered away from the 8-13 favourite to win by six lengths.
Willie Mullins
“I just thought he was never happy until he got to the fourth-last,” said Mullins, who ended the week equalling his own record of 10 winners.
“During the race he was too far out of his ground and he wasn’t jumping well enough to be in the race, so he was uncomfortable.
“I just felt he wasn’t jumping, maybe the drying ground mightn’t have been a help.
“I didn’t think when Ahoy Senor fell it affected him too much, I felt he missed it all and I was hoping it might wake him up because I thought he was laboured.
“He was jumping too big, he just wasn’t jumping well enough so I was hoping something would get beside him to wake him up, but he wasn’t racing.
“The only time he looked competitive was at the fourth-last at the top of the hill and then it looked all right, but he’d used up too much of his powder jumping too big – but a good horse won.”
Paul Townend
Townend, who also came up short in Al Boum Photo’s attempt to win three Gold Cups, concurred that he was never really happy throughout.
“He tried his heart out and he’s home in one piece. He’ll go again,” Townend said.
“He was just not happy, everything was a bit of an effort. He still gave it a crack and gave them something to shout about for a long way.
“A couple of jumps back up to the top of the hill, I was hoping rather than feeling confident that he was going to come alive for me there to be honest. He’s run a blinder.”
Owner Audrey Turley was proud of her runner: “He ran a fantastic race and we could not be more proud of Galopin Des Champs.
“He’s a superstar in our world and always will be and I think in the racing world he will be seen as a star as well. He’s won two Cheltenham Gold Cups and now come second when trying to make history – he’s run a fantastic race and we’re thrilled.
“He really gives his all and tries so hard, you couldn’t ask anymore of him, I’m just so proud of him and love him to bits. I’m already dying to go down to Closutton when we get back and give him a good cuddle and a snuggle.
“I still think he will be talked about amongst the likes of Best Mate and other great Gold Cup winners and we love him, people love him and I think maybe he could come back and do it again. We’ll enjoy him and it would be brilliant if h
READ MORE: Inothewayurthinkin tears up the Gold Cup script at Cheltenham
