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A short walk from Cheltenham's winners' enclosure is Golden Miller Road, just around the corner from Arkle Close and Cottage Rake Avenue. You can even toast your successes, or drown your sorrows, in the Best Mate Inn.

If Galopin Des Champs joins those immortals as a three-time winner of the Gold Cup, the Festival's most storied race, they’ll need to start redrawing the map, as well as redrafting history.

Trained by Willie Mullins, ridden by Paul Townend, and owned by a still-disbelieving Audrey Turley, this horse of a generation is equally loved by a legion of fans.

And victory on Friday will further cement his status as the ‘people's horse’ — and, aged just nine and relatively lightly raced, who’d bet against him coming back for more in 12 months’ time?

However, before we start focusing too much on the future, let's live in the moment. A thrilling crack at a third Gold Cup is something that needs to be savoured and enjoyed.

Galopin Des Champs is odds-on for a reason, but this is a week that has seen not one, not two, but three red-hot favourites left just red-faced. It’s worth remembering his only fall in 22 starts came at this meeting three years ago too.

Mullins, though, knows what it’s like to fall short in the quest for three consecutive wins — Al Boum Photo, a two-time winner, finished a distant third in his bid four years ago.

"To have a horse in the same sort of conversation as Arkle or Best Mate — that's something that is just unbelievable for us," said Mullins.

"These things don't happen very often in our sport, which underlines just how special it is. I'm not even daring to dream about it. If you spend too much time thinking about it, then it probably won't happen, so I'm going in the opposite direction.

"It's just a huge honour really, being associated with him and trusted to have a part of his story. Hopefully, the dream stays alive.

"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime job, isn’t it? Arkle, Best Mate, hopefully this horse — if he can do that. There were many years between the first two — 1966 to 2004 — so maybe we’re a generation too soon.

"He has his own piece of history already, but hopefully there will be more to come."

Mullins has long been the undisputed King of the Cotswolds and will almost certainly lift the top trainer title for the 11th time in 14 years. His domination of jumps racing is so total that he was the top handler in both Ireland and Great Britain last season — an unprecedented achievement.

He is famously not superstitious and unfailingly polite, though alongside his close-knit team, he takes nothing for granted each springtime in Gloucestershire.

"My theory in life is that if you’re not going up, then you’re going down, and I try and learn lessons from other sports, from other trainers over the years," he adds.

"I’m always amazed how some trainers get to a pitch and then it goes wrong. Why do they reach a plateau and then go down? I look at that and then try to put that into our game and try to get around that, which I think has been working so far. That’s why we are where we are. The same options are open to everyone else, but we just happen to be the team on top at the moment — though I’m sure that’ll change."

Townend admits he is not the most animated, but his raw reaction after a recent historic third Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown underlined why this one simply means more.

He'll be out on the gallops with his charge shortly after eight on Friday morning and then back eight hours later in front of heaving and expectant grandstands, the pressure gauge of the moment blinking on maximum.

"He is everything you want in a racehorse, and to find one like him means so much. Hopefully, we let no one down on Friday," he said.

"The public are right behind him, and that adds a little bit of extra pressure, so when you win you just feel relief. He gives you an amazing feel, and I've a special rapport with him."

Turley speaks about her horse like he's a pet Labrador and is more than happy to share him with the expectant hordes too.

The late Jim Lewis, the last owner of a three-time Gold Cup winner, said he got the most pleasure from watching people cheer on the legendary Best Mate — the last horse to do the treble 21 years ago — and feeling he was theirs too.

"We adore this horse and always have. He has the most beautiful personality; he is brave, strong, and so kind," said Turley.

"He loves to play with his ball in the stable, but he comes out as a hero and legend when he's racing, and he just adores his fans. He stands in front of thousands of people and just soaks up the admiration — he loves it. The people have taken him to their hearts and enjoy him as much as we do. We just feel unbelievably lucky to be living these moments along with everyone else."