1 of 1 UPDATED 12:08PM, MAY 8 2021
Faugheen, Douvan and Benie Des Dieux, three of the dominant jumps horses of the last decade, have been retired.
All owned by Rich and Susannah Ricci and trained by Willie Mullins, the three won 23 Grade 1 races between them, including five at the Cheltenham Festival, as well as just shy of £2 million in prize-money.
Douvan s last run was in November 2019, when winning the Clonmel Oil Chase, while Faugheen and Benie Des Dieux s final appearances were at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
Faugheen won over £1m in prize-money over his 26-race career, with highlights including his victory in 2015 Champion Hurdle and his 15-length romp in the 2016 Irish Champion Hurdle.
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
OWNER RICH RICCI has announced the retirement of three of of his equine superstars in Faugheen, Douvan and Benie Des Dieux.
Faugheen in particular will go down as one of the most popular National Hunt horses of the modern era, with the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown and back-to-back victories in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton featuring on a glittering CV.
It looked as though his racing career could be over in the spring of 2019 after he was found to be suffering from a heart problem when pulling up in the Aintree Hurdle.
Bachasson lands Punchestown double to cap Willie Mullins’ sensational Christmas
Grey strikes again in Punchestown’s New Year’s Eve feature. By Press Association Thursday 31 Dec 2020, 3:43 PM Dec 31st 2020, 3:43 PM 4,573 Views 0 Comments
Bachasson after his latest victory at Punchestown.
Image: Alan Magee/PA
Image: Alan Magee/PA
BACHASSON ROUNDED OFF a fantastic end to 2020 for Willie Mullins when completing a New Year’s Eve double for the champion trainer at Punchestown.
The Closutton handler racked up a staggering tally of 16 winners in the space of four days at Leopardstown and Limerick – with Sharjah, Monkfish and Chacun Pour Soi among his six Grade One heroes.