I've looked and looked for negatives - but I just can't see how this bombproof Cheltenham favourite can be beaten

This certainly won’t be the most original thing I’ll ever write, but I genuinely struggle to see how Galopin Des Champs can be beaten at Cheltenham next month.

When I first examined the sectional-times from his Irish Gold Cup victory at Leopardstown 11 days ago, I had hoped to find a fresh angle. That day, much as in the Savills Chase at Christmas, he was gifted an easy time in front.

Initially, I wanted to argue he might have been flattered by how those races unfolded. But the simple fact is he wasn’t. In reality, had Paul Townend set a stronger pace on either occasion, it’s easy to suggest Galopin Des Champs’s superiority would have been even more emphatic.