Inothewayurthinkin and Galopin Des Champs have finished joint top of the end-of-season Anglo-Irish Jumps Classifications with a rating of 176.
Galopin Des Champs leads the rankings for the third consecutive year having achieved a rating of 179 in each of the two previous seasons, in which he landed consecutive editions of the Boodles Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
His quest to become the first horse since Best Mate to win the Cheltenham showpiece three years running was denied by Inothewayurthinkin in March, who landed the contest by a margin of six lengths.
That was the Gavin Cromwell-trained seven-year-old’s fourth and final run of his campaign, having been beaten by Galopin Des Champs on his previous two starts in the Savills Chase and Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.
The pair become the first horses to share top honours since 1999/00 – the debut year of the Classifications – when Looks Like Trouble and See More Business were unable to be separated on 174.
Shay Quinn, Senior National Hunt Handicapper at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), said:
“Ireland’s domination of the steeplechase Classifications continued for the 2024/25 season with all six categories topped by horses trained in Ireland.
“Galopin Des Champs was the highest rated horse in training for the third consecutive year, although this year he shared the honour with the impressive Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin.
“Fact to File (173) was the clear winner of the middle-distance division thanks to a scintillating display in the Ryanair, while Marine Nationale (170) cemented his position as the top two-mile chaser around following wins in both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Champion chases.
“The novice section was headed by Majborough (164), who was champion in the two-mile section courtesy of a devasting performance at Punchestown. He’s an exciting novice and if he continues to jump like that, has all the attributes required to go to the very top in open company.”
Chris Nash, Handicapper at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said:
“For the second year running the leading British-trained horse is Jonbon, but his figure of 168 is down from 170 last year.
“The leading British-trained novice is Sir Gino on 163 and he deserves a very honourable mention. He had just one run over fences and that resulted in an impressive Grade 2 success at Kempton over the Christmas period. He only beat three rivals on that occasion but one of those was Ballyburn (159) and the other two went on to place in a Grade 1 and win a Grade 2 respectively. He never got the chance to test himself at the top level later in the season.
“This time last year only six British-trained novice chasers featured in the Classifications but that number has increased to thirteen this year. They include three Grade 1 winners in Caldwell Potter, Jango Baie and Kalif Du Berlais who, along with a few others, provide some hope that, if they continue their progression next year, they might be capable of challenging the Irish domination in the chase rankings.”
State Man tops hurdle ratings
State Man (167) went back-to-back as Champion of the hurdle rankings following his 12th career Grade 1 win in the Boodles Champion Hurdle at Punchestown, providing Willie Mullins with the top-rated horse in both disciplines once again.
Ten-year-old Bob Olinger was second in the hurdling division with a rating of 164 after beating Teahupoo (162) in the Paddy Power Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham. That win extended his unbeaten record at the track and also provided Rachael Blackmore with a final top-level victory following her retirement earlier this month.
The leading novice hurdler was the Dan Skelton-trained The New Lion, who earned a rating of 159 after an unbeaten campaign that saw him land two Grade 1s in the Coral Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury and Turners Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival, while Lulamba (153) topped the juvenile rankings following his win in the Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown.
Mark Bird, Senior National Hunt Handicapper at the IHRB, said:
“State Man ended what had been a mixed campaign with a dominant end-of-season display at Punchestown.
“Prior to that success, the title of leading hurdler was very much up for grabs as most of the top hurdle races during the season seemed to leave more questions than they provided answers.
“However, any doubts following State Man’s disappointing run at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival, bloodless victory at the Dublin Racing Festival and a subsequent fall at the final hurdle when looking in control of the Cheltenham Unibet Champion Hurdle, were dispelled by his dazzling display at Punchestown, where he made all to achieve a season’s best rating over hurdles of 167.”
Michael Harris, Handicapping Team Leader (Hurdles) at the BHA, said:
“The two-mile hurdle division was one of changing fortunes throughout the season and ultimately it was State Man who takes top honours for the second year in succession.
“Constitution Hill was unable to show his best form towards the end of the season, but his success in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton still rated the best performance from a British hurdler at 162.
“In a strong looking novice crop, it is the unbeaten The New Lion who ranks highest on a figure of 159. His defeat of Final Demand (158) and The Yellow Clay (156) at Cheltenham looks a strong piece of form and hopes will be high that he can take the step up to open Grade 1 company next season in his stride.
“The leading juvenile hurdler was the Nicky Henderson-trained Lulamba, who achieved top billing courtesy of his success at Punchestown.”
Notes to editors:
1. View the full 2024/25 Anglo-Irish Chase Classification here.
2. View the full 2024/25 Anglo-Irish Hurdle Classification here.
3. This is the 26th full Anglo-Irish Jump Classification. It classifies the best steeplechasers and hurdlers that were trained in either Britain or Ireland during the 2024-2025 season, or in France if that performance was achieved in Britain or Ireland. It is not a handicap but a retrospective measurement of best sustainable performances during the recent season so there may be differences from current handicap marks.
4. The Classifications are for all chasers and hurdlers down to a rating of 150. Originally the Classification included horses rated 130 and above, which was later revised to 140 and above. 2020-21 was the first time the Classification has been limited to 150 and above.
5. Both the steeplechasers and hurdlers are divided into distance categories of 2 miles to 2 miles 2.5 furlongs, 2 miles 3 furlongs to 2 miles 6.5 furlongs and 2 miles 7 furlongs plus. They are included in the list in which the handicappers believe they have put up their best performance. This is the fourth season that the hurdlers have been divided into three categories to match the steeplechasing division.
6. The ratings were agreed and compiled by; Shay Quinn and Mark Bird (Ireland), Martin Greenwood, Michael Harris, Chris Nash, Graeme Smith, James Norris, Matt Gardner and Mark Olley (Great Britain).
7. View previous Anglo-Irish Chase Champions here.
8. View previous Anglo-Irish Hurdle Champions here.
