Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup |
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| Grade 1, Punchestown 17:30 €275,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m 1f, Class 1  |
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1 Galopin Des Champs 5/6F
2 Spillane's Tower 4/1
4 ran Distances: 22l, 2¼l, 23l
Time: 6m 19.70s (slow by 14.70s)
HE IS BACK! 👑
— Punchestown (@punchestownrace) April 30, 2025
An amazing front-running jumping performance by Galopin Des Champs who shows his class in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup under Paul Townend! pic.twitter.com/X67Wb1zYGH
Twelve months on from a narrow defeat and just weeks after the disappointment of Cheltenham, Willie Mullins' nine-year-old silenced any doubters in emphatic style—striding clear under a supremely confident Paul Townend to finally claim a prize that had twice eluded him.
From flagfall, there was a swagger in the champion’s step. He travelled with zest, ears pricked and feet dancing, bossing the pace in a manner that left rivals floundering. Where Cheltenham saw hesitancy, here he was foot-perfect—jumping like he meant it, galloping like he owned it.
Monty’s Star was the first to wave the white flag, Rachael Blackmore recognising the game was up. Banbridge, the King George hero, never looked at ease and found himself paddling when the tempo lifted. It briefly looked as though Spillane’s Tower might offer a challenge, cruising into it with a degree of menace four out—but the mistake came at precisely the wrong time, and with it, the challenge crumbled.
Sensing the moment, Townend didn't hesitate. He pressed the button, and the response was electric. Galopin Des Champs soared over the last as if spring-loaded, galloping on with daylight—and then some—between himself and the rest. Twenty-two lengths the official margin, but the statement was even bigger.
“He was back to his best,” beamed Mullins, clearly as proud as he was relieved. “Paul was brimming with confidence, and once he jumped the first like that, I thought we were in business.”
It was not just the performance, but the manner of it—the fluency, the ease, the glint in the eye. Townend, ever the master of timing, later admitted there was no Plan B. “He was never going to take no for an answer.”
With the sun baking the Punchestown turf, it was the sparkle in the horse that mattered most. The joy, the rhythm, the sheer sense of occasion. Mullins summed it up best: “You’ve got to run good horses in good races. Never be afraid to be beaten. I’m not.”
And on this evidence, neither is Galopin Des Champs.
Punchestown Gold Cup
€275,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m 1f, Class 1
4 ran
Going: Yielding
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Galopin Des Champs 9 11-10 W P Mullins Paul Townend 5/6F
2 22 Spillane's Tower 7 11-10 James Joseph Mangan Mark Walsh 4/1
3 2¼ Monty's Star 8 11-10 Henry De Bromhead Rachael Blackmore 13/2
4 23 Banbridge 9 11-10 Joseph O'Brien J J Slevin 4/1
Age: 9
Wt: 11-10
Owner: Mrs Audrey Turley
Trainer: W P Mullins
Jockey: Paul Townend
Age: 8
Wt: 11-10
Owner: Sean & Bernardine Mulryan
Trainer: Martin Brassil
Jockey: J J Slevin
Age: 7
Wt: 11-10
Owner: Sean & Bernardine Mulryan
Trainer: Martin Brassil
Jockey: J J Slevin
Age: 8
Wt: 11-10
Owner: Cheveley Park Stud
Trainer: W P Mullins
Jockey: Paul Townend
Age: 9
Wt: 11-12
Owner: Mr & Mrs P K Barber, G Mason & Sir A Ferguson
Trainer: Paul Nicholls
Jockey: Sam Twiston-Davies
Status: Covid-19
Age/Wt: 7-11-10
Owner: Kemboy/Brett Graham/Ken Sharp Syndicate
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: R Walsh
Age/Wt: 8-11-10
Owner: Andrea & Graham Wylie
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: DJ Mullins
Age/Wt: 7-11-10
Owner: Ann & Alan Potts Limited
Trainer: Mrs J Harrington
Jockey: R M Power
Age/Wt: 10-11-10
Owner: J P McManus
Trainer: John Kiely
Jockey: Barry Geraghty
Age/Wt: 8-11-10
Owner: Gigginstown House Stud
Trainer: Gordon Elliott
Jockey: Paul Carberry
Age/Wt: 9-11-10
Owner: Andrea & Graham Wylie
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Age/Wt: 7-11-10
Owner: Gigginstown House Stud
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Davy Russell
Age/Wt: 9-11-10
Owner: Michael O’Flynn
Trainer: Mouse Morris
Jockey: Barry Geraghty
Age/Wt: 8-11-10
Owner: Redgap Partnership
Trainer: Oliver McKiernan
Jockey: Tom Doyle
Age/Wt: 8-11-10
Owner: Charles Lloyd-Baker
Trainer: Philip Hobbs GB
Jockey: Richard Johnson
Age/Wt: 8-11-10
Owner: Tilly Conway
Trainer: Jim Dreaper
Jockey: Andrew Lynch
Age/Wt: 7-11-10
Owner: John Hales
Trainer: Paul Nicholls GB
Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Age/Wt: 6-11-12
Owner: John Hales
Trainer: Paul Nicholls GB
Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Age/Wt: 7-11-12
Owner: Gigginstown House Stud
Trainer: Mouse Morris
Jockey: Conor O’Dwyer
Age/Wt: 7-11-12
Owner: Conor Clarkson
Trainer: Tom Taaffe
Jockey: Barry Geraghty
Age/Wt: 8-11-12
Owner: Joe Craig
Trainer: Michael Hourigan
Jockey: Timmy Murphy
Age/Wt: 10-12-00
Owner: J P McManus
Trainer: Francois Doumen FR
Jockey: Thierry Doumen
Age/Wt: 10-12-00
Owner: Violet O’Leary
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Barry Geraghty
Age/Wt: 9-12-00
Owner: John Corr
Trainer: Frances Crowley
Jockey: Barry Geraghty
Age/Wt: 7-11-09
Owner: Dermot Desmond
Trainer: Ted Walsh
Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Age/Wt: 10-11-09
Owner: Lisselan Farms Ltd
Trainer: Raymond Hurley
Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Age/Wt: 8-10-12
Owner: English Badminton P’ship
Trainer: Nigel Twiston-Davies GB
Jockey: Carl Llewellyn
Age/Wt: 7-11-01
Owner: C H McGhie
Trainer: Richard Fahey GB
Jockey: Norman Williamson
Age/Wt: 7-11-03
Owner: Peter Cooper
Trainer: David Nicholson GB
Jockey: Richard Johnson
Age/Wt: 6-10-07
Owner: Bridget Kennedy
Trainer: Pat Fahy
Jockey: Francis Woods
Age/Wt: 6-12-00
Owner: Herb M Stanley
Trainer: Jim Dreaper
Jockey: Kevin O’Brien
Age/Wt: 7-11-01
Owner: Delton Syndicate
Trainer: Harry de Bromhead
Jockey: Graham Bradley
Age/Wt: 7-11-00
Owner: Hugh McMahon
Trainer: Arthur Moore
Jockey: Richard Dunwoody
Age/Wt: 7-10-07
Owner: Mrs Chris Harrington
Trainer: Arthur Bunyan
Jockey: Tommy Carmody
Age/Wt: 8-11-00
Owner: J Spearman
Trainer: Mouse Morris
Jockey: Charlie Swan
Age/Wt: 9-11-09
Owner: Mrs M Marshall
Trainer: Jerry O’Neill
Jockey: Padge Gill
Age/Wt: 12-10-07
Owner: E Morrissey
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Jockey: Conor O’Dwyer
Age/Wt: 7-10-13
Owner: Brigadier B Fowler
Trainer: John Fowler
Jockey: Anthony Powell
Age/Wt: 8-10-01
Owner: N Coburn
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Jockey: Tony Mullins
Age/Wt: 8-10-01
Owner: Miss A Collen
Trainer: Miss A Collen
Jockey: M Cummins
Age/Wt: 7-9-09
Owner: Mrs M Farrell
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Jockey: Tony Mullins
Age/Wt: 7-10-08
Owner: William W Brainard Jnr
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Jockey: Tony Mullins
Age/Wt: 7-10-09
Owner: M Aherne
Trainer: Francis Flood
Jockey: Frank Berry
Age/Wt: 7-10-01
Owner: John Brophy
Trainer: Paddy Mullins
Jockey: T V Finn
Age/Wt: 11-9-07
Owner: Mrs Charmian Hill
*Run at Fairyhouse
