Neigh luck! Punter loses £50,000 on Galopin Des Champs at Cheltenham

Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs has failed to secure a hat-trick of year-on-year wins at Prestbury Park - to the chagrin of one punter who staked £50,000 on him to win.

It should have been a fifth win of the day for legendary trainer Willie Mullins today after Jasmin De Vaux stormed to victory in the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at 3.20.

But instead, the odds-on favourite couldn't match the pace of the Grand National favourite after losing to outsider Inothewayurthinkin, trained by Gavin Cromwell, which had odds of 15/2.

And it wasn't to be for one punter who had put £50,000 on Galopin Des Champs to win - hoping to secure an easy £25,000 profit.

Racing writer Simon Nott shared an image of one man's betting slip showing he had placed the startling wager on the favourite.

He captioned it: 'It's Cheltenham Gold Cup day alright.'

'Good bet that mate,' drolled one user on X in response. 

Inothewayurthinkin had been a late entrant, supplemented at a cost of £25,000, and stormed home by six lengths.

Mullins' thoroughbred struggled with the water and the early jumps, as well as Ahoy Senor taking a tumble.

But together with jockey Paul Townend he closed the gap within the last few hurdles - until Inothewayurthinkin took off after the last leap.

Cromwell told Racing TV: 'I'm absolutely speechless. We've had great faith in this horse.

'I was worried about the pace of the race on the better ground but he was only just hanging in there all the time, you know. He's a very good horse.'

Jockey Mark Walsh said: 'He jumped brilliant... everything went very smooth and a lovely position. I noticed Paul's horse wasn't carrying him and wasn't jumping so I thought, 'we could have a little show here'.'

Odds for Iknowthewayurthinkin at Aintree have been slashed following his unexpected victory at Cheltenham - from 7/1 to as little as 5/2 with some bookies.

The race winner was owned by JP McManus, whose glory has been overshadowed by the tragic loss of his other runner, Corbett's Cross.

The eight-year-old suffered a fatal injury after falling towards the back end of the race and could not be saved. 

A statement from the British Horseracing Authority read: 'In our fifth race of the day, Corbetts Cross was immediately attended to by our veterinary professionals, but sadly sustained a fatal injury. Our heartfelt condolences are with his connections.'