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Galopin Des Champs
Galopin Des Champs (foaled 12 May 2016) is a French-bred, Irish-trained thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. Trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend, he won the 2023 and 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup. BackgroundGalopin Des Champs is a black gelding who was bred in France by Hubert Bunel, under the nom de plume of G A E C Des Champs.[1] He was sired by Timos and his dam is Manon Des Champs. Racing career2020/21 seasonOn 17 May 2020, Galopin Des Champs won on debut in his native France at Auteuil before he was sold to Mrs Audrey Turley in November 2020 and was transferred to the yard of Willie Mullins in Ireland.[2][3] His first win for Mullins came in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on 19 March 2021, which was followed with a victory in the Irish Mirror Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on 28 April 2021.[4][5] 2021/22 seasonIn his second season, Galopin Des Champs won the Dr P. J. Moriarty Novice Chase at Leopardstown on 6 February 2022, but fell at the final fence while leading in the Golden Miller Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on 17 March 2022, handing victory to Bob Olinger.[6][3] He finished the season with a victory in the Boylesports Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on 17 April 2022.[7] 2022/23 seasonGalopin Des Champs began the season with a win in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on 19 December 2022 and won the Irish Gold Cup on 4 February 2023, successfully adapting to a step up in trip.[8][9] His next race was the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup on 17 March 2023 in which he started as the 7/5 favourite and went on to win by seven lengths, with Bravemansgame in second place.[10] His final race of the season was the Punchestown Gold Cup, in which he started odds-on favourite and was beaten two and a quarter lengths into second place by 20/1 chance Fastorslow.[11] 2023/24 seasonOn 26 November 2023, Galopin Des Champs attempted a second consecutive victory in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, but was beaten one and three-quarter lengths into third place by Fastorslow and Appreciate It.[12] A month later he won the Savills Chase at Leopardstown by an impressive 23 lengths, before going on to secure back-to-back Irish Gold Cup victories at Leopardstown on 3 February 2024, beating Fastorslow by more than four lengths.[13] On 15 March 2024, Galopin Des Champs defended the Cheltenham Gold Cup, starting odds-on favourite in a field of eleven. In spite of having to contend with loose horse Fastorslow, who had unseated his jockey, he went clear before the last fence to beat Gerri Colombe by three-and-a-half lengths, with Corach Rambler in third place. His trainer said: "I think he just put himself into the superstar category, to do what he did and the way he did it with the loose horse".[14] Galopin des Champs' final outing of the season was the Punchestown Gold Cup. Starting odds-on favourite, he was beaten one-and-a-quarter lengths into second place by Fastorslow in a repeat of the previous year's result.[15] 2024/25 seasonThe eight-year-old began his campaign with a third appearance in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, on this occasion being beaten into third place by Fact To File and Spillane's Tower.[16] On 2 December 2024, Galopin Des Champs beat a strong field that included City of Troy and Kyprios to be crowned horse of the year at the Horse Racing Ireland awards.[17] Pedigree
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