Cheltenham Festival 2024 LIVE: Day 4 – Galopin Des Champs, Fastorslow, Corach Rambler all among the runners for the Gold Cup at 3.30pm

Galopin Des Champs hopes to join an elite club of multiple Gold-Cup winners this afternoon, including Arkle, Best Mate, Kauto Star and stablemate Al Boum Photo, but reaching the heady heights of Golden Miller remains a long way off.

The bay is the only horse to win the race as many as five times, in consecutive years between 1932 and 1936 – and in 1934 he also became the only horse to ever win the Gold Cup and the Grand National in the same year.

His statue now watches over the parade ring on the racecourse.

With just over an hour to go before we kick off in the Cotswold, why not browse Mail Sport’s tips for all the action of Day Four?

Racing tipster Robin Goodfellow, National Hunt legend Peter Scudamore and more offer their two cents’ worth below.

It may be hailed as the jewel in the crown of the National Hunt, but the prize money on offer for the winner pales in comparison to its rival for eyeballs, the Grand National.

Today’s winner will win £351,688, shared between owner, trainer, staff and jockey, compared to the £561,300 up for grabs at Aintree.

But both big cash prizes look paltry compared to the riches available in Flat Racing – with Ascot’s Champion Stakes worth £737,230 to the winner, and the Epsom Derby delivering the biggest purse on offer in Britain – with £892,160 goes first to the horse. beyond the post.

It’s not as muddy as the tough ground Dessie had to endure 35 years ago, but persistent rain has made the Chase course soft and tough in places ahead of the day’s main race.

On the plus side, the turf is ultra-fresh and has been untouched by shoe or hoof since May last year, and the Gold Cup is the first chase of the day.

St. Patrick’s Thursday got a touch of a cup final as the legendary blunders won three of the seven races – both owners winning for the first time at the festival.

Mail Sport’s Dominic King looks back on a day for football fans below.

During the 1989 race, Desert Orchid, one of the sport’s most beloved horses, battled through the difficult conditions to ultimately defeat Yahoo and cement himself as one of the most successful – and popular – horses in National Hunt history .

If you’ve never seen his miraculous winning run, I implore you to watch the clip below.

2:50 p.m – Albert Bartlett’s Obstacle for Beginners

4:10 p.m – St. James’s Place Hunters’ Chase

5:30 PM – Martin Pipe Handicap obstacle

We’ll be heading out on day four in just over an hour and a half – plenty of time to read what our expert tipsters at Paddy Power have to say about each day’s race.

You can read their full thoughts below.

Talk of a green-wash could resurface tonight as night falls, but after a strong Thursday, a top routine that surpasses last year’s has been canceled in an impressive twist from British trainers.

That means the standings before Day Four are as follows: Ireland 12-8 Great Britain.

This is in no small part due to a heroic effort from Dan Skelton’s yard, with brother Harry on board the winners Protektorat, Monmiral, Langer Dan and Gray Dawning.

For those looking to support the glowing trainer runners today, keep an eye out for the following:

• Faivoir and L’Eau Du Sud in the County Hurdle
• Jay Jay Reilly at the Martin Pipe

L’Eau Du Sud has certainly boosted its prospects after an impressive festival for the yard – Paddy power has him as favorite in the 2.10pm on 7/2.

Former festival jockey Lizzie Kelly has been on fire this week and her predictions remain essential viewing.

She and Mail Sport’s Marcus Townend share their thoughts on Galopin Des Champs, Triumph Hurdle prospect Kargese and Readin Tommy Wrong in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.

Check out all their thoughts below.

The glorious prize of the afternoon, in all its glory, and no less gleaming against the gloomy gray sky above.

A new Gold Cup trophy is released every year, with an estimated value of £10,000. FYI: This is what 10 ounces of gold looks like.

Last year’s Brown Advisory Novices Chase winner will move up to the big 12 months later, but as his trainer Patrick Neville explains, conditions may still prevent the horse from showing his best form.

The conditions there are tough. We’re really happy to be here, and it’s fantastic to be competing in the Gold Cup.

There is only one Gold Cup, so we have to take our chances. The circumstances are not really in our favor, but you never know.

The Willie Mullins-trained Gold Cup winner is in great form and returns to the match he lifted to victory last year after beating great rivals Fastorslow in their last meeting at Leopardstown in February.

Mullins was denied the chance to surpass his 100-race milestone yesterday, but there is little doubt he will add a few more winners to his festival collection today – and perhaps claim the biggest prize of all.

But then the heavens will normally open again. It’s been a soggy week in the Cotswolds, and as a result we’ve been denied a number of key competitors, including Gold Cup contender Hewick from John Hanlon’s garden.

Shishkin was also withdrawn earlier this week due to the mysterious condition that has decimated Nicky Henderson’s horses at the worst possible time.

The Mail Sport columnist is looking forward to a delicious celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Gold Cup this afternoon, but first a word about yesterday’s impressive British battle.

Things looked terrible for the home side on Wednesday evening, but after five winners were declared against Ireland’s two on Thursday, a real needle has been injected into the Prestbury Cup again.

You can read more from the ITV Racing host below.

In the second half of yesterday it started to rain again on Cheltenham, and last night there were some biblical looking images of Cheltenham High Street.

As such, yesterday’s Soft, Heavy in places has been updated to Heavy on the Hurdle course and Soft, Heavy in places on the Chase course, as Course Director Jon Pullin explains below.

First up, this is our daily Cheltenham Breakfast bulletin, bringing you everything you might have missed from a scintillating day three at the festival.

It was a day for football managers, outsiders and the Brits fighting back on St Patrick’s Thursday… and you can catch up on it all below.

Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of the big one – it’s Gold Cup Day at Cheltenham, with the main race taking place in just over five hours at 3.30pm.

We’ve got a whole host of tempting contenders in the mix, such as last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs, last year’s runner-up Bravemansgame and Grand National winner Corach Rambler.

But it could prove a curveball for the most coveted trophy in National Hunt racing after more rain in a swampy Prestbury Park that night.

Cheltenham Friday starts at 1.30pm, but before then we’ll be bringing you all the latest news, build-up and Gold Cup information here.