Inothewayurthinkin wins Cheltenham Gold Cup to deny Galopin Des Champs a third straight victory

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Mark Walsh on Inothewayurthinkin celebrates winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup during the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

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Inothewayurthinkin, ridden by Mark Walsh, wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup during the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

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People arrive to watch the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

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People arrive to watch the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

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Mark Walsh kisses the trophy after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Inothewayurthinkin during the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

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Inothewayurthinkin, trained by Gavin Cromwell and ridden by Mark Walsh, has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup during the final day of the British Horse Racing Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

CHELTENHAM, England (AP) — Galopin Des Champs was denied a third straight win in horse racing’s Cheltenham Gold Cup when he was beaten by Inothewayurthinkin in the prestigious jumps race on Friday.

Only four horses, including greats Arkle and Best Mate, have won three Gold Cups in a row in the race’s 101-year history.

Galopin Des Champs, the 8-13 favorite, was put in a great position to become the fifth but was overtaken at the last fence by Inothewayurthinkin, which pulled away to defeat the champion by six lengths.

“He was just not happy, everything was a bit of an effort,” said Paul Townend, the jockey for Galopin Des Champs. “He still gave it a crack and gave them something to shout about for a long way.”

Galopin Des Champs’ trainer, Willie Mullins, was looking to claim a remarkable fifth straight race victory on the final day of the festival. His first was a 100-1 shot, Poniros, belonging to Brighton soccer club owner Tony Bloom.

Soon after the race finished, Cheltenham said in a statement — on the X account of ITV, the British broadcaster for the festival — that one of the runners, Corbetts Cross, died after falling at a fence during the Gold Cup.

“Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections,” the statement read.

It wasn’t a clean run by Galopin Des Champs, which was forced wide to the right to avoid an earlier faller — the leader at the time, Ahoy Senor — at the eighth-to-last fence.

Galopin Des Champs only pulled clear of Gentlemansgame just before the second-to-last fence and couldn’t hold off Inothewayurthinkin (15-2) ahead of the last.

Gentlemansgame wound up in third place.

Mullins was denied a fifth win in one of British horse racing’s biggest races.

However, it was still a good day for the Irish trainer, thanks to victories for Poniros in the Triumph Hurdle — in his first ever race over hurdles — then Kargese in the County Handicap Hurdle, Dinoblue in the Mares Chase and Jasmin De Vaux in the Novices’ Hurdle.

That took Mullins to 10 wins for the week, tying his own record at a single Cheltenham Festival.

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