'It'll be some spectacle' - get ready for Bob Olinger v Galopin Des Champs

Thursday: 1.30 CheltenhamTurners Novices' Chase (Grade 1) | 2m4f | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

Let us look on the bright side: if you are going to test the theory that you do not need loads of runners to make for compelling races, then this is the match-up you would choose.

Not only were Bob Olinger and Galopin Des Champs the two most exciting novice chasers around coming into Cheltenham, but their respective styles should ensure the sort of tactical intricacy that is common to all the great races.

Sometimes you can tell from the comparisons what sort of race is in prospect. It is not hyperbolic, from the 'Envoi Allen is the best ever to look through a bridle' school, to say that in a different timeline Bob Olinger might have won this year's Champion Hurdle, while Galopin Des Champs is already being touted for the 2023 Gold Cup.

Considering those billings, it is a little counter intuitive who is cat and who is mouse in this match-up. What is expected, betting without some sort of Mullins team relay, is for Galopin Des Champs to make the running and Bob Olinger to be asked how he can sting after going hard at it for nearly five minutes.

Bob Olinger is a horse who finishes fast, as opposed to stays on. When he won the Ballymore last year, the overall time was good but he still finished quicker than would be expected up the hill.

He has run twice over fences and only one of those really offered any clues. That was in the Grade 3 Kildare Novice Chase in January, when he opened up from Capodanno only on the run to the last.

Such limited experience inevitably invites criticism, a related contingency with the scrutinising of small samples. Bob Olinger's fans could note that he was much more fluent at Punchestown than at Gowran on his chasing debut, but on neither occasion was he chasing a horse like Galopin Des Champs.

Few have pointed to Galopin Des Champs' relative inexperience over fences, for all that he too has only had two runs over fences. That is because he has cleared almost every fence with room to spare.

There was little pressure on him when he made his debut at Christmas and he also had a clear path in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival, when he regularly jumped out of Paul Townend's hands. His jump at the ninth that day, the only thing approaching a mistake that Galopin Des Champs has made in his chasing career so far, underlines that a chaser taking matters into their own hands is a great asset, right up until the point that it isn't.

If Townend is to control this race, he will have to hope that his mount knows who is boss. It is for this reason that he might look to stablemate El Barra, a prominent racer who made all over 2m1f last time, for assistance in setting the gallop. He might also hope that Busselton takes up his usual prominent pitch.

Neutrals and everyone who has backed anything but Bob Olinger should expect and be heartened by this historically small field going a solid gallop. In spite of the poor turnout, it should help us decide the most exciting novice chaser in training.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

Jumping concerns linger for Ballymore hero

Roll the clock back 12 months and think of the devastating manner in which Bob Olinger filleted high-class prospects Gaillard Du Mesnil and Bravemansgame – among others – in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle. He looked an absolute superstar.

The prospect then of him returning to the Cotswolds a year on having won both of his starts over fences by an aggregate of more than 11 lengths, the second in Graded company, yet still being considered vulnerable would have seemed unlikely.

In short, Henry de Bromhead's talented six-year-old has not convinced with his jumping in those two starts. De Bromhead is renowned for teaching his horses to jump well, and he and his team at Knockeen have put a lot of work into fine-tuning Bob Olinger's technique. With Rachael Blackmore back in the saddle at Punchestown in January, having missed his Gowran Park debut, he certainly posted an improved round.

The main shortcoming seems to be a lack of fluency when he is in close, spending a little longer in the air than you would like. While the small field will allow him plenty of space to manoeuvre, if Galopin Des Champs – or something else – sets a furious pace then economy will be at a premium and Bob Olinger will need to think and move quicker on his feet.

If he does, and it's perfectly conceivable that he will improve as much for his second run as he did for his first, then he is going to be a formidable rival once more.

For all of the talk about his jumping, he has still readily dispensed with horses like Capodanno, Bacardys, Master McShee, Coqolino, Diol Ker, Gaillard Du Mesnil and West Cork Wildway over fences. The bottom line is the engine is there, and he will arguably be better suited by the intermediate trip than his main rival.

"Bob's great," De Bromhead said on Wednesday. "He travelled over really well and exercised this morning so I'm very happy with him.

"The rain that's arrived will definitely suit him. I was glad to see it coming for him. Everything has gone well with him in the lead up to the race and his work has been great. It's going to be some spectacle between himself and Galopin Des Champs and I'm really looking forward to it."

Fences bringing out best in Mullins star

In contrast to his main opponent, all the evidence suggests pretty overwhelmingly the switch to fences has seen Galopin Des Champs in an even better light. The temptation to state categorically at this remove that he has improved for fences is tempered by what he achieved over flights.

Remember, this is a horse who bolted up in the conditional jockeys' race here last year and then thrashed Gentlemansgame, Stattler, Vanillier and Telmesomethinggirl by 12 lengths and more in a Punchestown Grade 1.

He progressed into a really smart novice hurdler last term, but there is no doubt he has taken to chasing like an old hand. At Leopardstown on his debut, he was electric under Paul Townend, showing the sort of scope and efficiency that suggested jumping would be his forte. When he went back there for a Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival, that exuberance caused a couple of heart-in-the-mouth moments, and one in particular.

Such is his love for the job, he didn't pay any heed to Townend when his rider looked for a short stride at the second fence down the back straight. He let fly out of his hands and gave us all reason to gasp, but he got to the other side without too much drama and soon they were back on an even keel together.

Galopin Des Champs went on to dispose of Master McShee and Gaillard Du Mesnil by nine lengths and more at his leisure, and you can see why Willie Mullins has opted to go back rather than up in trip with him now.

While that Punchestown Grade 1 last spring was over three miles, he is such a strong traveller and attacks his fences with such gusto that it’s as well to use those traits to his advantage.

That said, this is a slight shorter trip than we usually associate with intermediate distances. Galopin Des Champs’ form figures over 2m4f or further are 11111; his figures over shorter than that are 2PF.

It makes for a slight caveat, especially if both horses are still there and eyeballing each other when they swing for home. At that point, a turn of foot might be the difference.

"This is a match between Galopin Des Champs and Bob Olinger," Townend said in his Ladbrokes blog. "The speed Bob Olinger showed winning last year was very impressive. It's going to be the biggest test for both of them so far. However, you have to be able to jump around here and I think my horse has the edge."

What they say

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Busselton
There is good prize-money on offer. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the top two will be difficult to beat but we're hoping that, because he's a very solid horse, he deserves to take his chance.

Expert views

Frank Berry, former champion jockey
Galopin Des Champs is very impressive but I like Bob Olinger. He probably needs to smarten up his jumping a bit but if he does he will be hard to beat.

Robbie Power, jockey
I never thought I'd see a four-runner novice chase at the festival, but it will be very straightforward tactically because Galopin Des Champs will jump off and make the running. Bob Olinger will follow, and I have a slight preference for him. I think he'll have more gears. I schooled him around Navan and he jumped absolutely brilliantly.

Kevin O'Ryan, broadcaster and agent
I think Bob Olinger will be very hard to beat. People have been critical of his jumping but I don't think that's an issue at all. He's the best horse in the race.

Ted Walsh, trainer
I think Galopin Des Champs will give Bob Olinger a belly full of it. Chasing is about jumping and Galopin Des Champs is a brilliant jumper. Bob Olinger might have been a better hurdler but jumping can close the gap over fences and I think Galopin Des Champs loves it.
Reporting by Richard Forristal

Thursday's Cheltenham Festival previews:

2.10 Cheltenham: 'A Grade 1 winner carrying 10st, it's up to him' – clues for the Pertemps Final

2.50 Cheltenham: 'Everybody is up against it' – is there any stopping Ryanair banker Allaho?

3.30 Cheltenham: Paisley Park 'likes to have a laugh' but can he produce another miracle?

4.10 Cheltenham: 'He looks to have been overlooked' – analysis and trainer quotes for the Plate

4.50 Cheltenham: Dinoblue heads seven runners for Willie Mullins in bid to resume normal service

5.30 Cheltenham: 'He's really turned the corner' – key quotes and insight for the Kim Muir

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