Highlight of the week: Gold Cup preview on Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Gold Cup has always been the Festival’s main event and it’s the race in which legends are truly made. It’s the big race on Day 4 of the Cheltenham Festival so we’ve provided a comprehensive preview for the main event. Here are the main contenders, key trends, an outsider to follow and a big race verdict. Check out our free tips page for a tip in every race of the Festival.

Contenders

4. Galopin Des Champs

Willie Mullins’ superstar chaser won this race last year and was imperious at Leopardstown over Christmas. He’ll be primed for Gold Cup glory once again and it will take a good one to beat him.

3. Fastorslow

This horse showed monumental improvement after getting beaten in the Ultima last year. He has since beaten Galopin Des Champs at the Punchestown Festival and in the John Durkan but may struggle to do so here.

6. Gerri Colombe

Gordon Elliott’s eight-year-old look like a contender when winning at Down Royal in November but struggled at Leopardstown over Christmas and has a bit to prove now.

9. L’Homme Presse

Venetia Williams’ gelding is on the comeback trail after injury and he could surprise a few here. We still don’t know how good he is but he’s arguably the best British challenger.

1. Bravemansgame

Second in this race last year, he hasn’t been in the same form since and looks vulnerable with that in mind. Paul Nicholls hasn’t had the greatest of starts so far this week so Bravemansgame is best watched.

Trends and stats

1. Eight of the last 10 winners have been trained in Ireland and that’s not really expected to change here.

2. Willie Mullins (3) and Henry de Bromhead (2) have won the last five renewals of the Gold Cup and both stables have been in fine form so far this week.

3. Nine of the last 10 winners were seven or eight-year-olds and the last 10-year-old to win was Cool Dawn in 1998. This alarming statistic rules out three of the 12 runners.

Outsider to follow

Corach Rambler is perhaps vulnerable from a win point of view but then realistically, most of the field is. He is a two-time Cheltenham Festival winner and having won the Grand National at Aintree in April, will be staying on up the hill better than most.

Verdict

Galopin Des Champs is going to be very hard to beat here and the imperious form of the Willie Mullins yard so far further reinforces that theory. A more settled horse now than in his younger days, he’s much more tactically adaptable and that’ll make victory even easier to achieve.

If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.