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The making of a champion: Ruby Walsh, Patrick Mullins and Paul Townend tell the incredible story of Galopin Des Champs
Richard Forristal speaks to the team around the dual Gold Cup hero who stands on the cusp of history
On Friday week Galopin Des Champs will strive to seal his place among steeplechasing's most exalted icons by securing a third successive Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Under the exquisite stewardship of Willie Mullins, Greg and Audrey Turley's nine-year-old has emerged as the outstanding stayer of his generation, his ten Grade 1 victories over fences encapsulating three Irish Gold Cups and two Savills Chases along with his two contrastingly emphatic triumphs in the sport's pinnacle event in the Cotswolds.
As he stands on the cusp of history, we spoke to some of those around him about how the son of Timos, handsome without being especially regal or magnetic, went from relatively inconspicuous origins to become jump racing's poster boy.
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Published on inThe Big Read
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Copy- 'The National wasn't long after my son died - and the night before I just had the weirdest feeling I had to get my other son over for it'
- ‘You’re always thinking about it. Why would I ride X over Y? Will X be better on the ground? Where is Willie going to run X and Y? It’s mental’
- ‘He felt like a machine’ - Paul Townend’s rich praise for a Cheltenham loser he can’t bring himself to feel sad about
- 'It was quite a night, sambucas all round - not everyone gets the magnitude of a Cheltenham winner, you have to bring them in on that tide of emotion'
- 'There have been darker moments, lots of messages from Mr Angry Punter, but you have to try to make everyone feel positive'
- 'The National wasn't long after my son died - and the night before I just had the weirdest feeling I had to get my other son over for it'
- ‘You’re always thinking about it. Why would I ride X over Y? Will X be better on the ground? Where is Willie going to run X and Y? It’s mental’
- ‘He felt like a machine’ - Paul Townend’s rich praise for a Cheltenham loser he can’t bring himself to feel sad about
- 'It was quite a night, sambucas all round - not everyone gets the magnitude of a Cheltenham winner, you have to bring them in on that tide of emotion'
- 'There have been darker moments, lots of messages from Mr Angry Punter, but you have to try to make everyone feel positive'