Final Demand sets high standard in novice division after recording best performance of the season in Britain or Ireland

They didn’t go a strong pace in Saturday’s Irish Gold Cup, which Galopin Des Champs won for the third time, resulting in a relatively bunched finish. The nine-year-old, who dictated from the front, recorded a Racing Post Rating of 173.

That was below his best and a lower mark than last year, but he is capable of much better and it looks more likely than ever that he will go on to win a third Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. 

The two most notable performances from the Dublin Racing Festival came from unexposed horses. First was Final Demand in the Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle.