Irish jockey Paul Townend was named the leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023 as he had five winners. The Irish Champion Jockey looks set for another big meeting, with some strong rides booked across the week.
Townend is the retained jockey for Irish Champion Trainer Willie Mullins, so the leading rider will get the pick of the horses from the Closutton Stables.
Galopin Des Champs The Biggest Ride of The Week
The highlight for Townend in 2023 was his victory on board Galopin Des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was his third success in the race, as he also prevailed in 2019 and 2020 with Al Boum Photo.
Galopin Des Champs has been installed as the evens favourite in the Paddy Power horse racing betting for this year’s feature race. He comes into the meeting on the back of a victory in the Irish Gold Cup.
Today’s horse racing results show that Galopin Des Champs has won two of the leading Grade One races in Ireland in the 2023/24 campaign, including the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. He will be bidding to become only the fourth horse since 2000 to win the blue riband event more than once.
State Man Has Strong Champion Hurdle Claims
Townend will be hoping to get his week off to a great start in the Champion Hurdle, the opening Championship race of the meeting. He rides State Man in the day one feature. As the BBC report states, the pair finished second in the 2m contest in 2023.
State Man has been unbeaten in the latest campaign, with three victories from three outings. He was victorious in the Irish Champion Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival in February. Mullins’ hurdler won that race by five lengths in what was an emphatic display.
With 10 wins from 13 appearances, State Man has an excellent record over hurdles. He will be taking on the biggest name in the sport in Constitution Hill in the 2024 Champion Hurdle, and should he get the better of the champion, it will be his biggest achievement so far.
El Fabiolo Fancied in Queen Mother Champion Chase
Two-mile chaser El Fabiolo is a horse Townend has had a lot of success with over the last couple of seasons. The pair won the Arkle Trophy Challenge at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival in the horse’s novice campaign.
Since stepping out of novice company, the Irish horse has won the Grade Two Hilly Way Chase and Grade One Dublin Chase at Cork and Leopardstown respectively. He still has a 100% record over fences, and he goes into the Queen Mother Champion Chase as the warm favourite.
El Fabiolo is set to take on Jonbon in the day two Championship race in what is one of the duals of the week at the meeting. The pair met in the Arkle last season, with the Irish horse getting the better of his rival by just over five lengths.
Townend goes into this year’s Cheltenham Festival with 28 winners at the meeting and with another big week, he will move up the all-time leaderboard.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
