Inothewayurthinkin stunned champion Galopin Des Champs to win the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup for trainer Gavin Cromwell and jockey Mark Walsh at Cheltenham last week.
Inothewayurthinkin (Mark Walsh) wins the 2025 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup (Pic – Coolmore)
Supplemented at a cost of £25,000 by his owner JP McManus, Inothewayurthinkin challenged Galopin Des Champs at the final fence, before powering up the hill to a famous victory.
Galopin Des Champs was odds-on favourite to win a third Cheltenham Gold Cup and was settled in mid-field in the initial stages by his rider Paul Townend.
However, the Willie Mullins star didn’t jump with his usual fluency and raced wide on the first circuit of the race, suggesting all was not going to plan.
A couple of scruffy jumps, and a scare after being hampered when rival Ahoy Senor fell on the back straight were all forgotten when Galopin Des Champs loomed large as the horses cleared the third-last fence and headed for the home turn.
Galopin Des Champs led the field two out, but Inothewayurthinkin had followed him through heading for the final fence.
The young pretender challenged Galopin Des Champs and went clear over the last, securing a second Gold Cup in those famous gold and green striped silks.
Inothewayurthinkin was instantly slashed for the Randox Grand National at Aintree on April 5, a race he had been favourite for prior to the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Having been a general 8/1, Inothewayurthinkin was no bigger than 3/1 favourite for the world’s most famous race after his Cheltenham success.
His trainer Gavin Cromwell was delighted: “I’m absolutely speechless. We’ve had a lot of faith in this horse and a lot of credit has to go to Keith Donoghue. He’s rode him all the way along and done all the schooling. The pace of the race on the better ground was a worry, and he was only just hanging on in there the whole time. He’s a very good horse. I’m just thrilled.”
Inothewayurthikin is likely to run again this season, but his Randox Grand National backers are set for a nervous wait, with the Ladbrokes-sponsored Punchestown Gold Cup looking a serious alternative.
Gavin Cromwell told the media on Sunday that the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner had emerged in fine form after his victory last Friday and said he does not see why the seven-year-old wouldn’t be seen again before the season ends.
Inothewayurthinkin’s revised official rating is likely to be in the region of a stone higher than the 160 he was awarded when the National weights were revealed last month, making Aintree an obvious temptation for Cromwell and owner JP McManus.
Galopin Des Champs was gallant in defeat, twelve lengths clear of third placed Gentlemansgame on ground that would have been too fast for the now nine-year-old.
Paul Townend noted that Galopin Des Champs had never given him the same feel as he had in the previous two years: “He’s been beaten on the day by a better, younger one. Everything was a bit laboured on him, but he’s tried his heart out and owes no-one anything.”
“He came half alive at the top of the hill for the last time but initially the first thing I thought going around was that this [ground] is livelier than he appreciates, but he gave them something to shout about for a long time and went out on his shield.”
