The two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs has died following an accident in field, less than a week after connections announced his retirement.
Ruby Walsh confirmed the news late on Tuesday evening, explaining that veterinary professionals concluded the 10-year-old gelding had sustained an unrepairable front leg injury.
“Sadly Galopin Des Champs suffered an injury in his field this morning and could not be saved,” Walsh said in a statement to Racing TV.
“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.”
Walsh paid tribute to a racehorse who won not only two Gold Cups at the Cheltenham Festival, but also three Irish Gold Cups at Leopardstown.
The statement continued: “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.”
Following his retirement from racing last Thursday, Galopin Des Champs was embarking on a new career in the equestrian world alongside the Walsh family.
The Willie Mullins-trained runner leaves the track as one of the most popular National Hunt horses in recent memory. His distinguished record includes 12 Grade One victories, highlighted by back-to-back Cheltenham Gold Cup triumphs in 2023 and 2024. He went for a hat-trick of victories in 2025 but had to settle for second place after finishing behind Inothewayurthinkin, who was ridden by Mark Walsh.
He also secured a hat-trick of Irish Gold Cup wins between 2023 and 2025.
His final appearance came in February when he finished third while bidding for a fourth Irish Gold Cup. A subsequent setback prevented him from making a sixth appearance at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Raced by owner Audrey Turley alongside her husband Greg, the black gelding achieved 15 victories from 26 career starts, accumulating nearly £2 million in prize money.
