Galopin Des Champs facing stern examination in Savills Chase

Galopin Des Champs renews rivalry with familiar foes Inothewayurthinkin and Fastorslow in another cracking renewal of the Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs has landed this festive Grade One in each of the past two seasons and has won on seven of his eight visits to the Foxrock circuit for Willie Mullins, a record which also includes a hat-trick of victories in the Irish Gold Cup.

However, the nine-year-old was no match for Gavin Cromwell’s Inothewayurthinkin when bidding for a third win in the blue riband at Prestbury Park in March, while he has also been beaten by the Martin Brassil-trained Fastorslow on a few occasions and given both have a race-fitness advantage, the Mullins team appear more hopeful than confident he can again bring the house down on his favourite track.

“I’m looking forward to seeing him out and hopefully he can put in a good performance,” said the champion trainer.

“It’s going to be tough having a race like this on his first run of the season. I’m hoping he runs well, but I’m also hoping he comes back sound.”

Patrick Mullins echoed his father’s thoughts, adding: “It’s obviously his seasonal debut and it’s going to be hard.

“A lot of ours having been needing a run. We’d be expecting him to run very well, but would we be gutted if he gets beaten? No. I’d expect him to be bang there, but if he does get tired from the back of the last it won’t be the end of the world.

“Leopardstown at Christmas is where everyone in Ireland wants to be. It’s a big field with a lot depth to it and it won’t be easy, but you look back at the times of Hurricane Fly when he was getting that bit older as well and they can get a great reception if they do pull it off, so it would be great if Galopin can too.”

Galopin Des Champs disputes favouritism with Inothewayurthinkin, who can be expected to improve considerably on his comeback run when fifth over an inadequate two and a half miles in the John Durkan at Punchestown last month.

Fastorslow, a dual winner of the Punchestown Gold Cup, was third behind Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File in his bid for a second John Durkan success.

Mullins also fields Champ Kiely, Lecky Watson, Grangeclare West and I Am Maximus, Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe runs for the first time in 13 months and Henry de Bromhead is hoping Monty’s Star can raise his game following a below-par reappearance in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.

He said: “Monty’s Star is in good form and was probably a little bit disappointing in the Coral Gold Cup, but I would say needed the run.

“He had a setback last year and got kicked by another horse and we had to reconstruct a bit of his face. I would say he might just not be the horse he was.

“But we feel he’s better this year and more like himself, and he probably didn’t progress last year like we thought he would. Hopefully he is coming back to himself now.”