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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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)
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)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson scored his career-best 33rd goal of the season and the Washington Capitals wrapped up the top spot in the Eastern Conference by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in a shootout Thursday night.
Pierre-Luc Dubois scored the shootout winner after the Capitals rallied from a 2-0 deficit, then blew a 4-2 lead with Carolina's Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis scoring in the third period to tie it. That came after Washington's scoring spree in the second, with Dylan Strome, Nic Dowd and Tom Wilson all putting goals past Frederik Andersen.
Alex Ovechkin assisted on Strome's goal, his 26th of the season, after getting being in a pregame ceremony for scoring his 895th career goal to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record on Sunday at the New York Islanders.
Dubois also scored in regulation, while Charlie Lindgren made 31 saves and stayed in the game after a nasty collision seven minutes in on Carolina’s second goal.
The Hurricanes, who are locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup against New Jersey, got to overtime but lost their fourth in a row. Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake also scored, and Andersen allowed four goals on 28 shots in regulation.
Brandon Duhaime and Jalen Chatfield dropped the gloves early to settle a score from the teams’ game last week. The Capitals were unhappy with Chatfield’s takedown of Connor McMichael at the end of their fight.
Hurricanes: Goaltending may be an issue, and coach Rod Brind’Amour may need to consider Pyotr Kochetkov over Andersen in the playoffs.
Capitals: After moving past Ovechkin getting the record, this was more the kind of hockey they want to be playing this late in the regular season.
Lindgren did not allow a goal in the shootout.
Ovechkin has 23 points in his past 19 games dating to March 1.
Hurricanes host the New York Rangers on Saturday, just after the Capitals play at Columbus.
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Washington Capitals center Lars Eller (20) tries to get the puck past Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) and Mark Jankowski (77) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) waves to the crowd as he takes part in a pre-game ceremony to honor him for scoring 895 career NHL goals before an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren reaches for the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) stands next to one of his gifts as he takes part in a pre-game ceremony to honor him for scoring 895 career NHL goals before an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals right wing Brandon Duhaime (22) and Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield, right, fight during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd (26) celebrates after his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois, center, celebrates his goal with left wing Andrew Mangiapane (88) next to Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
