WHAT sadness greeted the news of the untimely death of the dual Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs this week, just days after the announcement of his retirement from racing at the age of 10, and with a roll of honour that was a credit to all his connections.

The French-bred winner of 15 races, all but one of which were gained in the care of Willie Mullins, Galopin Des Champs firmly established himself as a great favourite with racegoers, brought huge joy to his owners, Audrey and Greg Turley, was cared for with great love by Adam Connolly, and was ridden to victory in all but one of his Irish and British wins by Paul Townend.

Sean O’Keeffe partnered him to his first win after France when the gelding recorded a Cheltenham Festival success in the 2021 Martin Piple Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle, winning with lots in hand from Langer Dan, later to become a dual winner at the meeting and who came close to winning the Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle, beaten a nose and short head by the Irish duo of Impaire Et Passe and Bob Olinger.

We cannot leave out some others who played a part in the Galopin Des Champs story. Harold Kirk, often described as the “eyes and ears” for Willie Mullins, sourced the gelding in France after he won a 16-runner, two-and-a-quarter mile conditions hurdle at Auteuil on his debut. This was for owner Damien Bonne who had previously raced the gelding’s full-sister Flute Des Champs, Arnaud Chaille-Chaille who trained both of them, and that day Galopin Des Champs was ridden by the claimer, and later Grade 1-winning jockey, Thomas Coutant.

Hubert Brunel

Galopin Des Champs and his full-sister, a listed chase winner at Auteuil, were bred by Hubert Brunel at his Haras des Champs, in the Calvados region of France. Brunel is best-known as a breeder of trotters. They are the only two blacktype runners sired by Timos, a son of Sholokhov (Sadler’s Wells). He was bred in Germany by Gestut Etzean, out of a daughter of the German Derby winner, champion three-year-old there, and six-time German champion sire Surumu (Literat), whose sire sons included Acatenango.

Timos sold as a yearling at the BBAG September Sale 20 years ago for €46,000. He was trained in France by Thierry Doumen for the Marquesa de Moratalla, and was a listed winner at three and four, but he actually put in his best career performances at five, and in defeat. His listed wins, among five career successes, were at Saint-Cloud. He was beaten a length by Allied Powers in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly before running third to Duncan in the Group 2 Prix Foy at Longchamp. He failed to attract decent-sized books of mares, and had a handful of winners from limited runners.

Top-class

Timos was one of three blacktype winners for Triclaria (Surumu), and she herself won four times. Her other stakes winners were the top-class Sea Calisi (Youmzain), and the Italian and German Group 3 winner Tareno (Saddler’s Hall). Sea Calisi was a Group 2 winner in france, placed in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille behind Treve, and ran third to Jim Bolger’s Pleascach in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks. Sea Calisi left Francois Doumen to race for Chad Brown in the USA and won the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes.

She is not the best runner in the family. That honour belongs to a granddaughter of Timos’ full-sister, three-time winner Ticana (Sholokhov). Last year Tamfana (Soldier Hollow) sold at the December Sale to M.V. Magnier for 2,600,000gns, having won the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at three.

Galopin Des Champs is the last of seven foals out of Manon Des Champs (Marchand De Sable). She won four times on the flat in France and once over hurdles, and placed on multiple occasions under both rules. Her only three runners all won. The pedigree has been lacking for some generations, but if you go back to Galopin Des Champs’ fifth dam, Black Perfume (Sayani), you find a plethora of blacktype. Mind you, Black Perfume was foaled 71 years ago!

A trouncing

For the record, Galopin Des Champs won three of his six starts over hurdles, and followed up his first Cheltenham Festival win in the Martin Pipe with a 12-length trouncing of Gentlemansgame in the Grade 1 Irish Mirror Novice Hurdle at Punchestown. The rest of his racing career was over fences, starting 20 times. Apart from his fall at the last in Cheltenham 2022, he was in the first three every time, winning a dozen races. A dual Gold Cup winner at Cheltenham and second once, he was even more successful in the Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup, taking the prize three times, and placing once.

Leopardstown was a happy hunting ground for Galopin Des Champs as he won back-to-back editions of the Grade 1 Savills Chase in 2023 and 2024. In the course of amassing £1,960,000 (about €2.27 million), he won four more Grade 1 races, the John Durkan Memorial and Punchestown Gold Cup, the Gold Cup Novice Chase at Fairyhouse and Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Incredibly, 19 of his 20 starts over fences were in Grade 1 races.

A once in a generation runner, Galopin Des Champs is a fine example of a horse with a modest pedigree truly outperforming his breeding. Were he to have gone to a store sale at the age of three, few would have dogeared his page. Thankfully, horses don’t know how they are bred.