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Dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs dies after field accident
Galopin Des Champs, the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, has died at the age of 10, just five days after his retirement was announced. Ruby Walsh reported that the horse suffered a fatal injury in his field, leading to his euthanasia.
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Galopin Des Champs, the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner and one of the most popular steeplechasers of recent times, has died at the age of ten, less than a week after his retirement was announced. Ruby Walsh, the former champion jockey who had been given the horse to retrain, said the gelding suffered a severe injury in the field on Tuesday morning and could not be saved.
A fatal accident
In a statement, Walsh said: "Sadly, Galopin Des Champs suffered an injury in his field this morning and could not be saved." He explained that the horse had been checked several times during the morning, but when he went to get him for exercise he found him with "a severe injury, high up on his near front leg." Vets attended to him immediately, but X-rays revealed "extensive, unrepairable damage," according to Walsh.
Galopin Des Champs had only been retired last week by trainer Willie Mullins, who cited the horse's age and a belief that he could no longer compete at the highest level. Mullins, who made his comments when announcing the retirement, said: "We took a collective decision to retire Galopin Des Champs at his age because we felt he could not do himself justice at the level he was used to." He added that the horse retired "a good, sound horse" who would hopefully have a good second career as a sport horse.
The horse was moved to Ruby Walsh's yard, where his daughter Isabelle planned to retrain him for an eventing career.
A stellar career
Owned by Greg and Audrey Turley, Galopin Des Champs was a 10-year-old gelding who won 15 of his 26 career races and earned over €2 million in prize money. His victories included 12 Grade 1 races, with the most famous being the back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cup titles in 2023 and 2024.
He also won the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown three times in a hat-trick between 2023 and 2025. His final race was at Leopardstown in February, where he finished third in the Irish Gold Cup behind Fact To File. In the 2025 Cheltenham Gold Cup, he was narrowly denied a third, finishing second to Inothewayurthinkin. He missed this year's race due to injury.
Walsh noted that Galopin Des Champs 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 Connelly, who looked after him for so long." He added, "He will be sadly missed."
Tributes from connections
Audrey Turley, the horse's owner, also paid tribute. As reported by The Irish Times, she said: "He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, hugely popular, and he gave us more than we ever dreamt of. He was a joy and a privilege, and we are so heartbroken at losing him."
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Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimGalopin Des Champs died aged ten, five days after his retirement was announced.
ClaimWillie Mullins said: "We took a collective decision to retire Galopin Des Champs at his age because we felt he could not do himself justice at the level he was used to."
ClaimGalopin Des Champs won the 2024 Savills Chase, the Ladbrokes Novice Chase, BoyleSports Gold Cup, John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase in 2022, and the 2025 Punchestown Gold Cup.