CHELTENHAM, England :Inothewayurthinkin, a 15/2 shot trained by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Mark Walsh, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday and denied odds-on favourite Galopin Des Champs a third successive victory.
Galopin Des Champs (1/2) finished second and 40/1 Gentlemansgame was third.
“I’m dancing inside,” said Walsh after his mount powered home from the final fence to win by six lengths. “Brilliant. I can’t believe it.”
Galopin Des Champs, trained by the dominant Willie Mullins and ridden by Irish jockey Paul Townend, had been chasing a place in history in the famed steeplechase and after running sixth early on moved into the lead with two fences to go.
As the crowd roared, hopes rising, Inothewayurthinkin stepped it up.
“He was only just hanging in there the whole time, he was flat out,” said Cromwell, whose winner was ‘supplemented’ – entered late in the day for a 25,000 pound ($32,280) fee – by owner JP McManus.
“He’s a very good horse. Going down to the second last I thought we had a good chance, what can you say? It’s brilliant, I’m just thrilled.
“Thankfully we got to supplement him and here we are,” he told ITV Racing. “We’ve had a brilliant year but we will get him home and see about the Grand National.”
Only four horses have won the Gold Cup three times or more, with Golden Miller winning five in a row from 1932-36 and Arkle a triple from 1964-66, and Galopin had looked set to join their ranks.
Townend, who won on Al Boum Photo in 2019 and 2020, could also have become the most successful jockey in the race’s history with a record fifth win.
“I just thought he was never happy until he got to the fourth-last,” said Mullins of Galopin Des Champs’ race.
“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.”
The race was tinged with sadness after organisers reported Corbetts Cross, also owned by McManus, had died after a heavy fall at the last fence.
Ahoy Senor, another earlier faller after leading, was reported unhurt.
The day started with 100/1 jumps debutant Poniros, also trained by Mullins, winning the Triumph Hurdle for Tony Bloom, chairman of Premier League soccer club Brighton & Hove Albion.
($1 = 0.7745 pounds)
