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The Punchestown Gold Cup’s just a matter of hours away, and horse racing enthusiasts from across the UK and Ireland alike are watching with great anticipation to see which horses are on top form ready for the big race. Indeed, though there’s only a couple of racers, but the anticipation’s still incredibly high - and so we’re exploring the current favourites in the run up to the event itself!

Who is Today’s SP Favourite for the Punchestown Gold Cup?

At present, Galopin’ Des Champs, ridden by the infamous Paul Townend, is the bookies’ strong favourite for the upcoming race. Currently, odds for him to win are sitting at 11/10 (2.1) with Bet365, Ladbrokes, and BetVictor alike. However, with the main event just hours away, odds are changing on a dime!

This exceptional horse definitely has form behind him ready for the event, with excellent results in his last few outings. Most recently, he ran at Cheltenham on the 14th March, where he placed second out of nine in the Gold Cup Chase (baten by Inothewayurthinkin). Prior to this, he also pulled off back-to-back wins on the 1st February 2025 and the 28th December 2024 at Leopardstown in races of ten and nine horses.

Can Galopin’ Des Champs Pull Off a Win?

Given this, it’s easy to see why Galopin des Champs is the bookies’ current pick of the pack to win; however, there are concerns regarding his previous vulnerability at Punchestown. This does open up a new opportunity for another horse to come through, and with only four racers in total, any of the other three could pose strong contenders. This is undoubtedly reflected by the available odds, which don’t show a huge amount of variation (especially when compared to some of the other races at Punchestown today!)

After Galopin des Champs, the next favourite is Spillanes Tower, who’s currently got odds of 11/4 (3.75) with all three aforementioned major bookies. Following in third is Banbridge at odds of 11/4 (4.5) with Bet365, Ladbrokes, and BetVictor.

The main outsider of the day is Monty’s Star, but even then, odds aren’t all that extreme! Ridden by Rachael Blackmore, odds are currently resting at around 8/1 (9.0). Given he came second to Spillanes Tower at Punchestown last year, he could very well pull off a surprising result. Only time will tell, in the end.

Final Thoughts

With only four racers in the Punchestown Gold Cup, there’s everything to play for, and it wouldn’t be hugely surprising if Rachael Blackmore managed to push Monty’s Star on for a surprise win. Nevertheless, it’s also easy to see why Galopin des Champs is the strong favourite at the minute, given his recent form. Spillanes Tower and Banbridge are also in excellent form, though, so there really is no way to say for certain which horse is in the best position.

The Punchestown Gold Cup kicks off at 5:30pm today (Wednesday 30th April), and we’ll all undoubtedly be watching with great excitement to see what happens!