Paul Townend ''Galopin Des Champs is a horse I’ll never forget''

Although I can't quite remember the first time I sat on Galopin at Willie's, I can remember how gutted I was when we got beat on his first start for us at Gowran Park, so I'd say he was showing us plenty at home in the build-up to that.

The truth is, you get spoilt at Willie's when it comes to sitting on exciting young horses, so while I remember thinking he was a horse with plenty of potential that day at Gowran, I'd be lying if I said I expected him to go on and achieve what he did.

It's incredible to think that he was sent off at 100/1 for a Grade 1 Novice Hurdle a few starts later, and although he was only sixth that day, he wasn't that far behind Appreciate It, Ballyadam and Blue Lord, who were the real top novice hurdlers at that time.

I know people like to suggest he was one of the ‘good things' of all time when he headed to Cheltenham for the Martin Pipe off a mark of 142, but people forget that he was giving weight away to horses like Gentleman De Mee and Langer Dan, so it was a serious performance on his first visit to the Festival, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit jealous of Sean O'Keefe who got to ride him that day.

He was a good novice hurdler for sure, but it was when a fence was put in front of him that he really became the superstar that we all know him as now. From the minute we schooled him over fences at home, it was like a switch had been flicked with him, and he absolutely blew us away in his Beginners' Chase at Leopardstown when obliterating Ain't That A Shame, who was a good horse within his own right.

I've been fortunate enough to have some unbelievable days at Cheltenham over the years, but the day he came down at the last in the Turners when having the race at his mercy is certainly one I'd like to forget. It's not a race I can say I've watched back all that much, but I can remember getting an almighty fright as I'm rolling around on the floor after coming off him because he'd got his leg stuck in the reins, and I thought he was injured for a split second. It was then a massive relief that he was ok, despite the devastation of falling in the manner that we did.

It was a peculiar fall as well, because he jumped the fence fine, and just crumpled on landing, but that's novice chasing for you, and thankfully he didn't do it again. Although he was exuberant and we let him get on with it as a novice, he was never a runaway, but I was thrilled when he settled a bit when he went into open company, and we never looked back after that.

The Gold Cup wins were really special, and you'd struggle to choose between them now because he was so good on those big days. That first one was an incredible feeling, because it felt like redemption after what happened in the Turners the year before. But then again, not many horses win back-to-back Gold Cups, so to write his name alongside some of the greatest staying chasers we've ever seen at Cheltenham was incredibly special.

Leopardstown was his playground though, and I know many people look back on that Savills Chase where he obliterated Gerri Colombe as his best performance, but there were so many occasions there that he blew me away that I'd struggle to pick just one. I don't know why he was so good there, but he just loved it, and you could ride him round there without a bridle because you could just point him and he'd know where to go.

He's a horse that'll leave big hole for a lot of us, and while he was exuberant and always wanting to get on with it on the racecourse, at home, he's just the kindest horse of all time. He knew he was good though, and he loved the attention he'd get on that front line at Willie's, but he's such a gentle horse with everybody, and you wouldn't mind if they were all like him.

He's undoubtedly one of the horses I'll look back on at the end of my career and feel so fortunate to be associated with, and it was really fantastic to see how much racing fans loved him on both sides of the Irish Sea. There was a day at Leopardstown we jumped the last down the back straight, and I could hear the roars from the crowd coming off the stands, and you'd never hear that from that far out. It's a day that will live with me forever, and Galopin Des Champs is without doubt a horse I'll never, ever forget.

Paul Townend is a brand ambassador for Betway