Irish Gold Cup

The Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup is the feature on the opening day of the Dublin Racing Festival and while it hasn’t exactly been the prolific indicator to the Cheltenham Gold Cup, it has been won by some of the biggest names in Ireland. 

The last horse to have won both races in the same year was Sizing John in 2017 and he remains the only horse to have completed the double since 1996, in which Imperial Call achieved the feat. 

This year’s field will consist of just the seven runners, with last year’s impressive winner Conflated not declared and will instead head straight to Cheltenham. 

His deflection means a new winner will be crowned this weekend and while it is a shame he won’t bid to defend his title, the great news is that current Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs will be in the line-up and is the odds-on favourite to take the spoils. 

Irish Gold Cup 2023 Runners

Any Second Now 

  • Trainer: Ted Walsh 
  • Jockey: Mark Walsh
  • Odds: 33/1
  • Form: 396122

 

Ted Walsh’s Any Second Now is proving age is no barrier, as the older he has got, the better he has become. The 11-year-old, who won the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival four years ago, was in excellent form last year. 

He beat Escaria Ten in the Grade 3 Bobbyjo Chase and then finished an excellent second in the Grand National behind Noble Yeats. He made his seasonal debut in a Hurdle event at Punchestown and ran with credit to finish second to Saint Sam, a horse half his age. 

It is highly likely his whole campaign is being built around a return trip to Merseyside to contest the Grand National for a third time, the race has finished third and second in for the last two seasons. 

That said, he does have plenty of smart form around Leopardstown, as he was twice placed in Grade 1 company as a novice chaser and ran a huge race when third of 24 at this meeting three years ago in the Leopardstown Handicap Chase. 

He is a tough and honest horse, who stays forever, and is only rated a pound lower than Stattler at 162 but the combination of this three-mile distance, which is sure to be on the short side plus this calibre of opposition might find him out here. 

I’ll be surprised if he did win this but, at the same time, his owners have won this three times in the last eight renewals, twice with double-figure odds runners (Edwulf and Carlingford Lough), so they are no strangers to success with outsiders. 

For what his owners have achieved in this prestigious event numerous times, he isn’t to be underestimated. If there were eight runners, he would come under some consideration each-way but given it’s only seven, I’ll oppose him. 

Franco De Port 

  • Trainer: Willie Mullins
  • Jockey: Danny Mullins
  • Odds: 50/1
  • Form: 034554

 

Franco De Port will probably be the biggest priced runner of the Willie Mullins quartet and has plenty to find on official ratings being the lowest rated runner in the race at 157 but he wasn’t beaten far when fourth in the Savills over course-and-distance last time. 

The eight-year-old was a Grade 1 winner as a novice chaser at this course and has placed efforts in an Irish Arkle and the Gold Cup Novice Chase with his more recent best efforts coming in the Thyestes when second and when third in the Grand Steeple-chase De Paris in France.   

His fourth behind Easy Game on his return and decent efforts the next twice in Auteuil were respectable but nothing noteworthy of making him a serious challenger to his two stablemates, Stattler and Galopin Des Champs. 

He is a good horse in his own right but he has yet to win beyond two-miles one-furlong let alone three-miles and it is hard to see him breaking his duck in the big league in open company in this race. He is overlooked. 

Fury Road

  • Trainer: Gordon Elliott
  • Jockey: Davy Russell
  • Odds: 25/1
  • Form: 152313

 

With Jack Kennedy unfortunately sidelined with another leg break, there’s every chance Davy Russell, who won the race for connections last year, will take the ride on Fury Road. The nine-year-old is only rated a pound higher than Franco De Port but, in addition, has won over the trip.

That win was coincidentally over course-and-distance in the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase when he won that race seven-lengths, while his form figures over three-miles over fences, reads a solid 1233, all of which have been at the highest level. 

He falls short on ratings but isn’t out of this by any means for place purposes plus his owners, Gigginstown Stud, have won four of the last 10 renewals of this contest and he is their only representative in this year’s field, which makes him of some interest. 

He scraped home on his return in a Grade 2 at Down Royal and was last seen running his usual solid race when third in the Savills Chase behind stablemate Conflated. He will need to step up on that effort to trouble the favourite but I don’t think he has finished improving just yet.

His trainer Gordon Elliott has won two of the last three renewals and it’s not out of the realms of possibility about Fury Road running really well here, especially as Conflated was only rated 157 when he won this last year and the former is rated 158. Each-way contender. 

Galopin Des Champs 

  • Trainer: Willie Mullins
  • Jockey: Paul Townend 
  • Odds: 4/11
  • Form: 111F11

 

Inevitably, Willie Mullins is responsible for more than half of the field with his main hopeful being the current Cheltenham Gold favourite Galopin Des Champs who, in theory, should be arriving into this race with an unbeaten record over fences.

He would have returned one of the most impressive winners of the week at last year’s Cheltenham Festival in the Turners Novices’ Chase until falling at the last fence with the race at his mercy. He made amends a month later on his final start of the season though, winning by 18-lengths.

What is surprising about this race though is there hasn’t been a winning favourite in the race in 11 years but surely if any horse is to break the trend, it will be this talented seven-year-old, who’s already bagged three Grade 1 events in this sphere (should be four). 

He has looked an absolute monster since tackling the bigger obstacles and while this weekend’s race will prove inconclusive as to whether he’ll stay the Cheltenham Gold Cup distance, it will definitely tell us more about him if he can beat this field in good style. 

He won over three miles on his only go at the distance over hurdles, so the trip won’t be of no issue here and his 13-length victory in the Grade 1 John Durkan Chase on his return bolstered his position at the top of the market for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. 

The form has worked out well, given the runner-up Fakir D’Oudairies won since, albeit with a bit of fortune as the horse who was back in fourth in the formerly-mentioned race behind Galopin Des Champs, Haut En Couleurs, would have won without returning a final-fence faller when well clear. 

Despite his prohibitive odds for this weekend’s feature, he is difficult to oppose. He is currently 13/8 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and should he produce another excellent display in the Irish Gold Cup, he is expected to go odds-on for the big one in March. 

Kemboy 

  • Trainer: Willie Mullins
  • Jockey: Rachael Blackmore
  • Odds: 14/1
  • Form: 462222

 

Kemboy won this race back in 2021 and whilst he could only manage fifth in it last season, the 11-year-old has been extremely consistent in defeat in his last four starts, finishing second in all of them, including in the Grade 1 Savills Chase over track and trip last-time-out.

He proved no match for Conflated but still ran his usual solid race. He still remains a force at the highest level but the issue I have with him though, is that his win in this two years ago remains his last success and he has found it difficult to get his head in front ever since. 

Incidentally, three of his runner-up efforts this season, with exception of last time, have seen him beaten by stablemates Easy Game (twice) and Envoi Allen and, let’s face it, Galopin Des Champs is the best horse out of all of them, so he has a mountain to climb to beat his stablemate and is rated 15 pounds lower than him as well. 

He is presumably going to be the stable's third string based on expected jockey bookings and is likely to go forward, which will only benefit Galopin Des Champs chances too. The Betfair Bowl at Aintree is likely to be his main goal instead of the Gold Cup, so he should run his race but wouldn’t be for me from a win point of view. 

Stattler 

  • Trainer: Willie Mullins
  • Jockey: Patrick Mullins
  • Odds: 5/1
  • Form: 431112

 

Speaking of the Closutton maestro, Mullins, he could also be represented with last year's National Hunt Chase scorer and recent Tramore runner-up Stattler, who is one of two ante-post tips for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March and is second-favourite behind stablemate Galopin Des Champs this weekend. 

The eight-year-old has yet to finish outside the frame in all starts under rules and while he didn’t achieve the highest of heights over hurdles, he has developed into a high-class staying chaser, winning three of his four starts, including the National Hunt Chase at last season’s Cheltenham Festival by eight-lengths. 

He made his return in the Grade 3 Savills New Year's Day Chase and ran a great race to finish a neck second to former Gold Cup winner, Minella Indo. His performance can be up marked too, as he was forced to challenge wide and was attempting to give the winner eight-pounds in weight. 

He is undoubtedly the biggest danger to stablemate Galopin Des Champs this weekend if he does line-up but with conditions drying all the time, it is possible he will be declared a late non-runner by his handler, so bear this in mind. That said, he is still in the final field and a major each-way contender if he does feature. 

If he gets beaten by Galopin Des Champs but runs well, I wouldn’t write him off for the Gold Cup, as that race will put more emphasis on stamina, which should ideally suit him better. He was 12-lengths behind Galopin in a Grade 1 over hurdles but has improved enormously since and Patrick Mullins rides.

The Big Dog 

  • Trainer: Peter Fahey 
  • Jockey: Keith Donoghue
  • Odds: 40/1
  • Form: 0P6113

 

The final runner of the seven declared is Peter Fahey’s The Big Dog, who is a fascinating runner and could easily run the race of his life here. He is the outsider of the party but the ten-year-old is a strong stayer and has been in fantastic form already this season. 

He won the Munster National at Limerick over three-miles on soft ground and then returned a good winner of the Troytown Chase at Navan before running a huge race off top-weight in the Welsh Grand National when third in a race when only seven finished. 

He is behind the big guns on ratings but deserves to take his chance. However, connections have stated that this race is being used as a stepping-stone to the Grand National at Aintree in April. He would be a shock winner here but a big run wouldn’t come as a surprise. 

Irish Gold Cup 2023 Tips & Prediction 

The likelihood is Galopin Des Champs will win this race, who is the clear highest rated of these at 175 and this isn’t the strongest of renewals either. He has the world at his feet in this sphere and it is hard to see him being beaten with more to come and being unexposed over three-miles.

However, at the odds, I am going to recommend STATTLER (5/1), each-way, who is fancied to strengthen his Gold Cup claims with a big effort here. The last time he was partnered by Patrick Mullins, the pair won the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and I think he will provide the most resistance to the favourite in this race. 

Also available on the market via oddschecker is “top 3 finish” and I think FURY ROAD (best price 13/8) makes a lot of appeal for this bet. I can’t see him beating the top-two in the market but he has won a Grade 1 over track and trip and has excellent claims of finishing third or even better should one of the main two underperform.