Inothewayurthinkin was given a hero’s welcome on Tuesday afternoon as the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero enjoyed a homecoming parade in a sun-drenched County Meath. The JP McManus-owned gelding proved too strong for dual winner Galopin Des Champs in the feature event on the fourth and final day of last week’s Cheltenham Festival, rocketing six lengths clear on the run-in under a jubilant Mark Walsh.
After initially posing for photos at trainer Gavin Cromwell’s yard alongside his Glenfarclas Chase-winning stablemate Stumptown, the pair made their way to the Skryne Gaelic Football Club where fans of all ages were able to cast their eyes over Inothewayurthinkin. He completed multiple laps of the pitch alongside his groom Caoimhe O’Brien, with Meath GAA legends Colm O’Rourke and Trevor Giles among those in attendance along with Cromwell’s family, who were there to savor the moment.
Although his charge was well beaten by Galopin Des Champs in successive races at Leopardstown prior to his trip to the Cotswolds, Cromwell never stopped believing he could have a genuine Gold Cup contender on his hands, which ultimately led to connections supplementing him for the race the previous weekend.
“For quite a while I felt he was a horse who could make up into a Gold Cup horse. It all depended on what way the year developed and thankfully it went the right way,” he said.
“After the Dublin Racing Festival (fourth in the Irish Gold Cup), he was only beaten just over seven lengths and hit the line really well. I thought coming out of there we should be considering supplementing for the Gold Cup.”
Cromwell emphasized that the decision to supplement was not immediate and depended on the horse's performance in the following weeks, but he became increasingly confident as the date approached. “JP and Frank Berry (racing manager) didn’t take much convincing to supplement him and thankfully it came off,” added Cromwell.
Gavin Cromwell is no stranger to big-race success, having previously enjoyed a Champion Hurdle victory courtesy of Espoir D’Allen and two Royal Ascot triumphs with Chesham Stakes heroine Snellen and Quick Suzy in the Queen Mary.
When asked if he could compare winning the Gold Cup to those achievements, he stated, “They were massive days, but there is only one Gold Cup and it’s unbelievable to win it.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Cromwell confirmed that Inothewayurthinkin would not bid to complete a historic double at Aintree next month, as connections ultimately decided against a “tempting” tilt at the Randox Grand National.
“It was tempting,” Cromwell remarked, “but I’m very happy with the decision not to go there. He’s only a seven-year-old; we’ve worked hard on his jumping this season and it’s progressed.”
“Keith Donoghue has been a big part of that as he rode him all season and has got the horse jumping really well. We’re in a good place and I don’t think it would be the right thing to do to go to the Grand National and potentially unravel that.”
Instead, Cromwell is looking forward to targeting the Punchestown Gold Cup as his end-of-season aim, although he remains non-committal at this stage. “It’s a possibility, but far from definite. We’ll see how the next few weeks go and make our decision then.”
