Cromwell happy with Inothewayurthinkin ahead of Irish Gold Cup

January 22, 2026

Gavin Cromwell is happy with Inothewayurthinkin ahead of his revival mission in the Irish Gold Cup.

It’s been nothing short of a disastrous start to the season for the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero, failing to lay a glove in either start so far.

Fifth of ten in the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown, beaten over 52 lengths, could have been forgiven considering it was a trip much short of his optimum.

However what transpired ahead of the Savills Chase at Leopardstown raised serious alarm bells. Spirits were initially high in the Cromwell camp, confident the horse would take a big step forward from his reappearance effort.

The reality couldn’t have been more the opposite as Inothewayurthinkin took a significant walk in the market on the day of the race from 2/1 co-favouritism all the way out to 13/2.

The eight-year-old ran accordingly, trounced over 41 lengths and the last of nine finishers. That defeat meant he’d trailed the winners by a cumulative 94 lengths in two outings.

With the Irish Gold Cup on the horizon at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival next week, Cromwell issued a positive update on his stable star to the Press Association.

“We’re happy with him and hopefully we’re going to see him next week.

“I’ve got my fingers crossed and I’m happy with him at home. Hopefully he can bring that to the track and return to his best.”

The Navan handler revealed after the Savills his team did all of their usual post-race checks and didn’t discover any abnormalities, puzzled by the disappointing performance.

Galopin Des Champs has his day spoiled ❌

Inothewayurthinkin is a Gold Cup winner! 🏆#ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival | @gavincromwell1 pic.twitter.com/PZG6L2ycjm

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 14, 2025

The JP McManus-owned star completed his rise to the top of the staying chasing division last March when toppling Galopin Des Champs in his bid for a third straight Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The son of Walk In The Park has always put his best hoof forward in the spring, winning the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the Festival in a canter before maiden top-level success in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree.

It’s not ridiculous to think his Herculean performance in the Gold Cup has left a mark on him, one that could be very tough to recover from and he may struggle to reach those heights again.

Last season he slowly progressed with every run prior to hitting the big time, fifth in the Savills (beaten 15 lengths) and fourth in the Irish Gold Cup (beaten seven lengths) – both good performances with a concrete foundation to build from.

This time around there doesn’t appear to be any sign of life and he faces a stiff task to get back to being competitive, 10/1 in the ante-post market for the upcoming Leopardstown showpiece.

Inothewayurthinkin remains the joint-second highest rated National Hunt horse in Britain and Ireland alongside Il Etait Temps at 172, 3lbs adrift Galopin Des Champs.

Bookmakers are also taking zero chances on his back-to-back Gold Cup bid, priced as the 7/1 second-favourite with Jango Baie.