Champion chaser to step away from racing
Galopin Des Champs, the Willie Mullins-trained chaser who captured back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cups in 2023 and 2024, has been retired from racing at the age of 10. The announcement brings to a close a decorated career that also included three Irish Gold Cup victories and a total of 12 Grade One successes.
Final appearances and the decision to retire
The black gelding’s last outing came in February when he finished third while attempting a fourth consecutive Irish Gold Cup. He was subsequently withdrawn from a planned sixth Cheltenham Festival appearance in March after a setback, and connections have now confirmed he will not return to competitive racing.
Career record
Across 26 starts, Galopin Des Champs won 15 times. His record of top-level victories featured the two Cheltenham Gold Cups and three Irish Gold Cups delivered in successive seasons from 2023 to 2025, cementing his position among the leading chasers of recent years.
Connections reflect on a special horse
Owner Audrey Turley paid tribute to the gelding, describing the joy he brought to the Turley family and to racing supporters. She singled out the first Cheltenham Gold Cup and the third Irish Gold Cup in Leopardstown as particularly memorable moments, noting how widely the horse was loved by the public.
Turley also acknowledged the emotional impact of those big festival days, saying the events produced scenes that will remain with them. She stressed that Galopin Des Champs had an appealing, unassuming nature and appeared to enjoy life on the racecourse.
Plans for a second career
Rather than immediate retirement to pasture, Galopin Des Champs will begin a period of retraining. He has gone to the family of Ruby Walsh, where Walsh’s daughter Isabelle will assess whether the gelding is suited to a new equestrian role. If retraining proves unsuitable, alternative plans will be considered with the horse’s welfare as the priority.
What this means for festival racing
Galopin Des Champs’s withdrawal from future Festival entries marks the end of one of the recent era’s most compelling Cheltenham narratives: a chaser who repeatedly delivered on sport’s biggest stages. His absence will be felt by racegoers and the Cheltenham crowd in particular, where his Gold Cup victories provided defining moments over successive years.
For trainer Willie Mullins and the Turleys, the retirement concludes a chapter that brought significant profile and silverware. Turley indicated that, although the owners have other promising horses in training — notably King Rasko Grey, a recent Festival winner in a novices’ event — Galopin Des Champs was unique in his type and achievements.
Looking ahead for the owners
- King Rasko Grey, another member of the Turley string, has returned from a summer break and is reportedly in good order; connections will hope he can continue to perform at festival level.
- Galopin Des Champs will enter retraining rather than immediate retirement to a paddock; his future activities will be guided by his response to new disciplines.
As the Cheltenham Festival and other major spring meetings look forward to fresh contenders, the sport will also reflect on the legacy left by a horse who carried the sport’s colours with distinction across several landmark days. Galopin Des Champs departs the track with a record that places him among the memorable Gold Cup winners of recent years.
This article may have been prepared in whole or in part with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
