Kevin Blake's Big Race Verdict: Back Embassy Gardens to be Galopin Des Champs' nearest rival

• Galopin Des Champs is at his brilliant best at Leopardstown 

• Mullins runners dominate at two day Dublin Racing Festival

• Get Kevin's prediction and best bet for Irish Gold Cup

• Our Cheltenham offer is live! Get a completely free bet every weekend until the Festival

Rachael Blackmore Superboost

Betfair Ambassador Rachael Blackmore has some decent chances on the first day of the Dublin Racing Festival today, including one on Monty's Star in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at 15:30.

The horse has never finished outside of the top four when completing in his whole career, and today you can back him at the super-boosted price of 1/12.00 - from 4/61.67 - to finish in the top four again. To take advantage, just click on the odds in the bet banner below to go directly to the pre-loaded betslip.

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The Dublin Racing Festival is here! Mind, with Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead, Joseph O'Brien and the island of Great Britain largely sitting out the meeting in terms of their big guns, there will be widespread anticipation that Willie Mullins' utter dominance of last year's meeting, at which he saddled the winner of all eight of the Grade 1 races, might be repeated.

Leopardstown are likely to be asking themselves why Gordon Elliott in particular has shunned the meeting as much as he has. It is likely to be sour memories of this meeting a few years ago when the ground was perceived as being firmer than reported and led to a few of Elliott's big guns being jarred up.

With much more rain knocking about in the last couple of weeks, the hope was that Elliott might sling more of his big guns into battle, but alas it hasn't happened. Trainers can often be like large ships, slow to change direction.

Mullins runners dominate field for Irish Gold Cup

Mind, one race that all the biggest National Hunt trainers in the country are having a crack at is the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup (15:30) on Saturday. Elliott, de Bromhead and Cromwell will all be having a go at Willie Mullins who runs no less than six of the 10 runners. No one said it would be easy.

From a pace perspective, Mullins holds many of the more obvious pace cards. Galopin Des Champs has always seemed at his best when ridden positively, be it making the running or racing prominently. Embassy Gardens produced a career-best effort when switched to front-running tactics in the O'Driscoll's New Year's Day Chase at Tramore last time. Grangeclare West likes to race prominently and can push the pace.

Away from Mullins, Conflated has often made the running. Hewick and Monty's Star are often prominent and can make the running.

All told, there's loads of potential pace in the race and, while Mullins controls most of it, there is enough independent pace to suggest that the race is more than likely to be run at least at an even and potentially faster tempo.

Galopin Des Champs dazzles at Leopardstown

Where else can we start on the contenders but with Galopin Des Champs. The nine-year-old can gamely claim to be one of the very best staying chasers of recent decades. Now a 10-time Grade 1 winner (nine of them over fences), he has proven to be particularly brilliant at Leopardstown where he has accumulated a highlight reel of ultra-impressive victories in establishing an unbeaten six-race run over fences at the track.

His most recent victory in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown's Christmas meeting was right up with his very best performances. On that occasion he saw off the up-and-comer Face To File with great authority and there is no doubt or question that he sets the bar very high indeed.

His stable mate Fact To File is perceived to be the biggest threat to Galopin Des Champs, but having been beaten 7½ lengths by him in the Savills Chase a month ago, what can he do differently to close the gap?

In terms of areas for improvement, Fact To File jumped to his right to an extent and raced more freely than ideal. With plenty of pace on paper, Mark Walsh might well drop him into deep cover in an effort to get him settled and jumping straighter. Even if he does things more professionally, 7½ lengths is a lot of lengths and with Galopin Des Champs having never even threatened to fluff his lines over fences at Leopardstown, it will be a very big ask of Fact To File to reverse the form.

Embassy Gardens is best bet without the favourite

If Galopin Des Champs is too short of a price to tempt one into a play, there are other ways to play the race. The place-only market and the without-the-favourite market are both interesting options in the circumstances. If one is that way inclined, the one to be interested in might well be the Mullins-trained Embassy Gardens.

The nine-year-old has only had five starts over fences and three of them produced impressive victories that stand up well in form terms. Most recently, he made a winning seasonal reappearance when giving 6lb and a five-length beating to the high-class Monty's Star in the O'Driscoll's Irish Whiskey New Year's Day Chase at Tramore a month ago.

Now, Monty's Star, which will be ridden by Betfair Ambassador Rachael Blackmore, didn't look to be enjoying the tightness of Tramore and seems sure to be better around this track. But a five-length beating when giving away 6lb is a big old gap for Monty's Star to close back at level weights. Embassy Gardens looks likely to be uphold that form if turning up in the same order.

The reputation of Embassy Gardens seems to be suffering due to his defeat when well fancied for the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and his subsequent poor run at the Punchestown Festival. He looked to not stay the trip in the former contest and might well have still been feeling the effects of that run when disappointing at Punchestown.

The strength of his other three runs over fences are enough to make him very interesting at this higher level and a big run from him seems likely, for all that Galopin Des Champs seems sure to take all the beating.

Selection: Embassy Gardens without the favourite or each-way at 12/113.00.

Kevin Blake's Irish Gold Cup prediction

1. Galopin Des Champs

2. Embassy Gardens

3. Monty's Star

Now read Daryl Carter's Tips: Double down with Saturday's Sandown NAP