Road To Cheltenham 2024: Galopin Des Champs to go back-to-back in the Gold Cup?

The Cheltenham Festival is just one week away which means our final The Road to Cheltenham episode is here. It's the one we've all been waiting for as they discuss their tips for the biggest spectacle of the week - the Gold Cup.

Thousands upon thousands will be flocking to Gloucestershire for the greatest show on turf next week, itching to win some big bets, enjoy some beverages, and above all, see some incredible jump racing. The latter of which everyone is hoping is on display in Friday's showpiece, the Gold Cup.

There is a lot to like about some of this year's contenders. You have last year's champion Galopin Des Champs trained by the notorious Willie Mullins, and ridden by superstar jockey Paul Townend. The eight-year-old is the 11/10 favourite to join the likes of Best Mate, Al Boum Photo in winning consecutive crowns.

Foster was firmly in his corner and given the excellence we have seen from this horse, you would be brave to turn your back on him this year.

Ross likes the look of the current second favourite, Fastorslow (9/2), particularly as he has proven to have got the better of last year's champion twice in the past, and believes that he will be much fitter for his appearance in the Festival's spectacle.

O'Hara certainly lived up to his name as Long Shot Value on X as he made a strong case for The Real Whacker at 33/1. He is a horse that likes to lead and may appear to fade as the race goes on, but then will push hard towards the last and in this iconic race, we have witnessed plenty of surprises in the past.

Even taking away the Gold Cup in particular and just focusing on some epic late pushbacks across the whole Festival, the Cheltenham hill up towards the winning post can throw up incredible drama. Given his stamina, The Real Whacker could be one to thrive here.

Hulmes is in support of the reigning Grand National winner Corach Rambler, who narrowly defeated Fastorslow in the Ultima at the Festival last year. He's a horse who loves the course and knows exactly how to win there, and given how his past year has gone, why couldn't he collect another of jump racing's biggest prizes? He is at the enticing price of 20/1 at the time of writing.

In the bumper final episode before the Festival, the quartet delve into all their personal selections for the big races and one of the most interesting discussions follows their Gold Cup chat.

Following the news that Nicky Henderson-trained Constitution Hill will not be running in the Champion Hurdle this year, the race is wide open, making it a much more interesting field than it was a few weeks ago.

Tune into the final episode below.