Cheltenham Festival 2023 LIVE Results! Gold Cup Day Result and Horse Racing News as Galopin Des Champs wins

In an eventful renewal, Ahoy Senor set a searching gallop until he got too close to the sixth fence from home and collapsed on landing.

Townend had bided his time and followed the early pace before getting into the fray as he came down the hill chasing Protectorate, Bravemansgame and Hewick who had been left in front.

He fell through third from last nearly cost him the race but recovered quickly and when American Grand National hero Hewick was injured twice Irish Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs had Harry Cobden and the Paul Nicholls upside down -trained Bravemansgame.

Both jumped last with a good stride, but the King George winner couldn’t find the same foot movement as Townend broke away.

Galopin Des Champs (7-5 ​​favourite) had seven lengths left at the finish line while Conflated was another six and a half lengths down in third place.

Mullins said: “I wasn’t aware of the pressure I was under. I’m really happy for Audrey Turley (owner), Paul was under a lot of pressure too and gave him a great ride.

“The plan was to let him in and come through, I said to him, ‘I think you’re on the best horse, the fastest horse, so as long as he’s not running with you, just put him in somewhere and put him down, he was asleep’ – and he did.

“It just worked, he gave it a brilliant, cool ride. Everyone was questioning the distance and his stamina, they would do it pretty quickly so I didn’t want him up there in the early transitions.

“If he has the class he’ll get through, if he doesn’t have it there’s no point.

“Every thought runs through your head, have we gone too far back? They had gone at such a gallop that something had to give way.

“One or two fell and we missed all that, we were very lucky. I think that man on board when the pressure is up he’s very good.”

He added: “I was surprised myself at how I got over the last two fences. With that horse we had chosen him as our Gold Cup horse while Al Boum Photo just happened. This guy, we thought he was good enough and that’s putting pressure on you.

“Every time we improved him in the trip, it wasn’t a problem. He’s got that bit of class, you could run him two miles, two and a half miles. He has that bit of speed when you want it.”

Townend – as Mullins, who won that third Gold Cup – said: “It was messy for me – I couldn’t get a clean passage early on and he started jumping a bit in the air but once I had a bit of space fair enough with him, he got back into a rhythm with me and was very, very brave.

“I think he honestly got me out of a fair hole – I was a lot further back than I wanted but it was just the drive I had to give him.

“There was so little new territory that everyone wanted to be there and the start was very chaotic.

“He was good and brave. There were horses walking to my left and right (when the two horses fell at the top of the hill) and he only ever found one leg and you need that luck in running.

“He missed one of the fences coming down the hill and I thought that would put me back on the back foot a bit but no, right back on the bridle for me. I don’t think the horse understands how good he is, to be honest.”

He continued: “The Gold Cup takes winning to another level. Cheltenham is very important but there’s just a little bit more spice to the Gold Cup.”