IT looks very possible that Galopin Des Champs could face a single figure field in opposition when he bids for his third successive Gold Cup at Cheltenham this March. There were 20 entries for the Festival feature last year and that has dropped to 19 this season, with five trained in Britain against 13 Irish-trained, as the entries for the three big Grade 1 championship races were released this week.

The sole French-trained entry is the King George runner-up Il Est Francais, but he is entered in all three of the Grade 1s, as is the King George winner Banbridge and Henry de Bromhead’s Jungle Boogie. Now 12, Jungle Boogie finished sixth in the Gold Cup last season, after travelling very well for a long way. Back in 2004, Best Mate only had nine rivals when he won his third Gold Cup.