Cheltenham 2025: Key rival to Galopin Des Champs ruled out for rest of season
Cheltenham 2025: Key rival to Galopin Des Champs ruled out for rest of season
Share:
Galopin Des Champs’s bid for a hat-trick of wins in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup has been made even easier. Willie Mullins’s best chaser amplified his challenge for an historic third victory in the Cheltenham Festival’s blue riband event when winning the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup for the third time on Saturday. He went odds-on to do the same at Cheltenham in March after defeating stablemates Grangeclare West and Fact To File at Leopardstown.
On Monday his price shortened even further after Gordon Elliott announced that Gerri Colombe, who was last year’s Gold Cup runner-up will not take his chance. Gerri Colombe had finished three and a half lengths behind Gaolpin Des Champs at Cheltenham, then won the William Hill Bowl at Aintree. He had run only once this season, finishing third behind Envoi Allen in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal in November.
Elliott had been considering taking Gerri Colombe to Windsor last month after he missed the Christmas Festival at Leopardstown but he did not run and now the trainer has revealed the nine-year-old has met with a setback. He said: “Unfortunately Gerri Colombe has met with a setback which means he will not run again this season. “It’s not career ending or especially serious but it’s come at the wrong time of the season so we’re going to have to rule him out of the spring festivals.
“It’s a big blow for ourselves and the Robcour team but we will concentrate on getting him right for next season when hopefully all roads will lead back to the Gold Cup.”. Gerri Colombe had been a 9-1 chance with Coral and as a result of his withdrawal Galopin Des Champs shortened to 4-7 (from 4-6) favourite. "Gerri Colombe was the rival who got closest to Galopin Des Champs in last year's Gold Cup, so the news he won't be taking him on again in this year's renewal has seen the reigning champion shorten further at the head of the betting," said Coral's David Stevens.
