Only last Thursday had owners Audrey and Greg Turley confirmed his retirement, after an injury prevented his attempt at securing a third consecutive Gold Cup title in March
Dual Gold Cup champion Galopin Des Champs has died tragically just days following the announcement of his retirement from the sport.
The Cheltenham hero of 2023 and 2024, who claimed 12 Grade One victories throughout his career, succumbed to injuries suffered in a field accident on Wednesday morning at Ruby Walsh’s County Kildare farm.
Only last Thursday had owners Audrey and Greg Turley confirmed his retirement, after an injury prevented his attempt at securing a third consecutive Gold Cup title in March.
Ruby Walsh released a statement to Racing TV saying: “Sadly Galopin Des Champs suffered an injury in his field this morning and could not be saved.”
The champion had been sent to Walsh’s care with hopes of beginning a new chapter in equestrian sport alongside his eldest daughter Isabelle, reports the Irish Mirror.
Walsh continued: “He was checked a few times throughout the morning but late in the morning when I went to get him for exercise I found him with a severe injury, high up on his near front leg.
“He was attended to by our vets immediately but x-rays revealed extensive unrepairable damage.
“He was a fabulous racehorse whose short time with us has left lots of broken hearts but none more so than those of Greg, Audrey and Sarah Turley and Adam Connolly who looked after him for so long.
“He will be sadly missed.”
Under Willie Mullins’ training, Galopin Des Champs achieved three Cheltenham Festival victories, including the 2021 Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle before his subsequent Gold Cup triumphs. Having triumphed in 15 of his 26 career races, the horse etched his name into the record books with a remarkable hat-trick of Irish Gold Cup victories at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival, celebrated in truly memorable fashion.
Widely regarded as one of the finest chasers of the 21st century, his retirement last week prompted his owner Audrey Turley to reflect fondly: “We’ve had the best time of our lives, we really have.
“We never thought this would happen to us. We’ve had the most wonderful time.”
When pressed on whether a single occasion stood out, she remarked: “Three Irish Gold Cups and the two at Cheltenham, it’s hard to pick out one. Every time it was just a wonderful surprise, it was just magnificent.
“I don’t know if I could say one day, maybe the first Cheltenham Gold Cup as that was just extraordinary – like something out of a dream, the joy it brought.
“The other day was in Leopardstown when he won the third (Irish) Gold Cup. Everybody was singing, `ole, ole, ole’ and that just made the hair stand up on the back of our necks.
“People love him and we still have people coming up on Instagram and TikTok saying, `we miss him, we miss him’. He was so well loved and deserved to be loved, he was just wonderful.
“Everybody did take to him and he was an unassuming character really when you think of it, but he just loved it – I think he enjoyed every bit of it himself.”


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