Punters edge Cheltenham Festival battle with bookmakers

PA Sport Reporters
March 15, 2024 6:57 pm

Galopin Des Champs hits the layers on final day.

Galopin Des Champs’ brilliant Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup double left bookmakers licking their wounds at the end of the Cheltenham Festival.

Willie Mullins’ defending champion was sent off the well-backed 10-11 favourite and barely gave his supporters a moment of worry as he stormed to back-to-back triumphs in the blue riband.

It means that three of the four feature-race favourites obliged over the four days and although the layers received temporary relief on day two when El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Champion Chase, Galopin Des Champs’ victory only compounded the misery inflicted by State Man and Teahupoo earlier in the week.

Paul Townend and Galopin Des Champs were the toast of punters at Cheltenham (David Davies for the Jockey Club/PA)

“When the Festival’s leading trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Paul Townend team up on the reigning Gold Cup champion and hot favourite in the biggest betting race of the week, victory for the combination is never going to be anything other than bad news for the bookmakers,” said Coral’s David Stevens.

“Overall it’s been a rollercoaster week for us, but Galopin Des Champ’s Gold Cup double means plenty of punters have ended this huge week on a high.”

BoyleSports were another firm losing on the Gold Cup, with spokesperson Lawrence Lyons adding: “It was already a bruising week with so many Mullins winners going in, but he rubbed salt in our wounds on Friday and Galopin Des Champs was the knockout blow as he was the best backed horse of the week.” 

However, it was not all bad news for the old enemy, with BetVictor relieved to escape relatively unscathed after an up and down week.

Bookmaker in action at Cheltenham (David Davies for the Jockey Club/PA)

Sam Boswell of the firm explained: “After a bruising day one and day two – which could have been much worse if El Fabiolo had obliged for the many multiple bets – days three and four proved fruitful for the bookmakers with only Galopin Des Champs being a significant negative result.

“It is safe to say both bookmakers and punters had lots of fun at this year’s Festival and it is more or less honours even, perhaps a small win for the punters, over the last four days.”

Paddy Power’s Paul Binfield echoed those sentiments adding: “El Fabiolo’s unfortunate defeat in the Queen Mother was the turning point of the week.

“It went downhill from there for punters and the books have come out on top after a rather worrying start.”