DELACROIX, Aidan O’Brien’s standout three-year-old colt of 2025, has been retired to stand at Coolmore for the coming season.

Described by connections as “a very important outcross for Coolmore and many of our clients”, the son of Dubawi bowed out from the racecourse after finishing fourth behind Calandagan in last Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot. It was his seventh start of a campaign that yielded four victories and a host of battles at the highest level.

The dual Group 1 winner memorably posted a sizzling performance on his penultimate start in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, joining stablemates such as Giant's Causeway, High Chaparral, Dylan Thomas, So You Think, Magical, St Mark's Basilica and Auguste Rodin to win the Leopardstown highlight.

That was a high point of his classic season, alongside a dramatic win in the Coral-Eclipse over Ombudsman, who he also finished second to in an unconventional running of the Juddmonte International at York in August. His Sandown heroics, when bouncing back from a blowout in the Derby, left O’Brien in amazement, noting: “What he did there, you don’t see horses do that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse do what he did.”

Reacting to news of Delacroix’s retirement, Coolmore’s David O’Loughlin said: “He is a gorgeous horse, undoubtedly the best-looking son of Dubawi we’ve ever seen. He’s out of one of America’s greatest racemares of recent times [Tepin] and was an exceptionally sound, tough and talented racehorse with a lethal turn of foot.

“Dubawi’s sons like Night of Thunder, Too Darn Hot, Zarak and New Bay are all excelling at stud and Delacroix was higher-rated and ran more times than any of them. His pedigree is free of Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, Danehill and Green Desert so he will be a very important outcross for Coolmore and many of our clients.”

Delacroix pedigree (Pedigree Query)

Delacroix is out of $8 million mare purchase Tepin, who was twice champion turf mare in North America. In 23 starts, she won no less than 13 races, including six at the highest level and defeated a top-class field in the Queen Anne Stakes over the straight mile at Royal Ascot. Sadly, Tepin only had four foals before her untimely passing but two have scored at the highest level, the other being Grateful, a Group 1 winner in France.

Having won last year’s Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket, Delacroix came within a nose of landing a Group 1 at two in the Futurity at Doncaster - his final start before back-to-back Derby Trial wins at Leopardstown this spring.

Jockey Christophe Soumillon was aboard for his final two starts (with Ryan Moore sidelined through injury) and felt the best of him was not seen at Ascot last weekend.

“We had a great race,” said Soumillon in the immediate aftermath of the Champion Stakes.

“The winner and the second were just behind us the whole way. The pace was on. He never really travelled like he did last time, especially when I came in the last turn. I tried to take him out a bit to make him sprint, but he never really reacted like he did last time.

“I don't know if it's the ground. We always want to fight for the win in these kinds of races, but he couldn't do it today."

A stud fee for Delacroix will be announced at a later date.