Vautour (19 May 2009 – 6 November 2016) was a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who competed in

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

racing and won three times at the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

. After beginning his racing career in France he moved to Ireland and made an immediate impact over hurdles in the spring of 2014 winning the

Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle The Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Punchestown Racecourse in January, over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres) and during the race there are nine hurd ...

Deloitte Novice Hurdle The Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres ...

Supreme Novices' Hurdle The Supreme Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of a ...

and Tattersalls Champion Novice Hurdle. When moved up to compete in steeplechases he added wins in the

Killiney Novice Chase The Killiney Novice Chase is a Grade 3 National Hunt chase in Ireland. It is currently run at Punchestown Racecourse in early January, over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs. The race was run at Leopar ...

JLT Novices' Chase The Golden Miller Novices' Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Turners Novices' Chase, is a Grade One National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the ...

, 1965 Chase and

Ryanair Chase The Ryanair Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 ...

as well as finishing a close second in the

King George VI Chase The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of ...

. He died after a paddock accident on 6 November 2016 at the age of seven.

Background

Vautour was a bay gelding with a white blaze and white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on his front feet bred in France by Haras De Saint Voir & Patrick Joubert. He was sired by the French stallion Robin des Champs, whose other progeny include

Quevega Quevega (foaled 11 April 2004) is a retired French-bred Irish-trained National Hunt mare, best known for winning the David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival a record six times in a row, beating the previous record set by Golden ...

and

Sir Des Champs Sir Des Champs (28 May 2006 – 18 May 2018) was a French-bred, Irish-trained AQPS racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning only one of his five races in his native country, Sir Des Champs was transferred to Ireland and wo ...

Racing career

Early career in France

On his racecourse debut, Vautour contested a hurdle race for three-year-olds at Pau in December 2012 in which he finished second to Vizir d'Estruvel. At

Auteuil Hippodrome The Auteuil Hippodrome is a horse racing venue on Route des Lacs in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France. The 33-hectare (82-acre) race course opened November 1, 1873. It is designed exclusively for steeplechase racing. Modernized a number of tim ...

in March, he again finished second, beaten six

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

by Black River. At the end of the season, Vautour was bought by Rich and Susannah Ricci and sent to Ireland to be trained by

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

2013/2014 National Hunt season: Novice hurdles

On his Irish debut, Vautour started 1/2 for a thirty-runner

maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

hurdle at

Navan Racecourse Navan Racecourse is a horse racing venue at Proudstown near Navan, County Meath, Ireland, approximately 48 kilometres from Dublin. The course stages Flat racing but is best known for National Hunt racing. Navan Racecourse is owned by Horse Racing ...

in December and won by five and a half lengths. In January he was moved up in class for the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at

Punchestown Racecourse Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 Regional road (Ireland), regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays ...

. Starting the 1/4 favourite, he was headed on the run-in by Western Boy but rallied to win by three quarters of a length. In the Grade 1 Deloitte Novice Hurdle at

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

he started second favourite behind The Tullow Tank, a six-year-old who had won the

Royal Bond Novice Hurdle The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and ...

and the Paddypower.com Future Champions Novice Hurdle.

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

sent Vautour into the lead from the start and went clear of his rivals before beating The Tullow Tank by three lengths. On 11 March 2014, Vautour made his first appearance at the

when he contested the

. Ridden by Walsh, he started 7/2 joint-favourite alongside Irving who was unbeaten in his last five races including the Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle and the

Dovecote Novices' Hurdle The Dovecote Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (), ...

. Vautour led for most of the way, accelerated approaching the last and won by six lengths from the

Nicky Henderson Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times. Background His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tru ...

-trained Josses Hill. On his final appearance of the season, the gelding started 1/3 favourite for the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown and won by three and a half lengths from Apache Stronghold.

2014/2015 National Hunt season: Novice chases

In the 2014/2015 National Hunt season Vautour was campaigned in

Novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

steeplechases. On his debut over the larger obstacles at Navan in November he started at odds of 2/11 and led all the way to win by eight lengths from the four-year-old Clarcam. The gelding then started 1/4 favourite in a six-runner field for the Grade 1

Racing Post Novice Chase The Racing Post Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), chase in Ireland. The race is run at Leopardstown Racecourse in December, over a distance of 2 miles and 1 furlong ...

at Leopardstown in December. After disputing the lead for most of the way he made a jumping error at the fifth last and tired in the closing stages before dead-heating for second, seventeen lengths behind Clarcam. Only two horses appeared to oppose Vautour when he contested the Group 2 Killiney Chase in January. His closest rival, Real Steel fell at the final fence, allowing Vautour to come home ninety-two lengths clear of Aladdin's Cave. On 12 March 2015 Vautour won the

at Cheltenham in impressive fashion marking him a main contender for next year's Gold Cup and received early quotes of 7–1 with race sponsor Betfred.

2015/2016 National Hunt season

Vautour started a successful campaign by winning the 1965 Chase five-runner field on his seasonal reappearance. He was out in front for the entire race and the main challenger, three-times Grade 2 winner Ptit Zig, only came upside at the last fence but after a good jump Vautour went on to win by 2 lengths. His next start was on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

in the

where he made his debut against older horses at Grade 1 level. He travelled prominently and followed the pace set by the previous two-times winner of the race

Silviniaco Conti Silviniaco Conti (14 April 2006 – 9 April 2018) was a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français horse racing, racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning several important races over Hurdling (horse race), hurdles he emerge ...

until Vautour's jockey

decided to send him into the lead at the start of the second circuit maintaining a strong tempo upfront. As they entered the final home straight Vautour was travelling the best but at the second last fence the favourite

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До� ...

fell leaving only

Cue Card Cue cards, also known as note cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the au ...

to chase down Vautour with

Al Ferof Al Ferof (30 March 2005) is a retired French-bred British-based National Hunt horse owned by John Hales. He was initially trained by Barry Murphy in wexford for Martin Timothy Murphy. He was then trained by Paul Nicholls (horse racing), Paul Ni ...

a further 5 lengths back in third. At the last fence the deficit between Cue Card and Vautour was down to one length but they both made a jumping error and a thrilling battle began up to the finish line with Vautour going all out to repel the challenge but in the end he was narrowly denied by a head. Vautour then took part in the third straight

where he was sent the

evens The Evens ( eve, эвэн; pl. , in Even and , in Russian; formerly called ''Lamuts'') are a people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. They live in regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the ...

favourite for the 2016 renewal of the

. He travelled strongly under usual race-rider

and after a good round of jumping he won by 6 lengths from stablemate Valseur Lido. He came out only three weeks later at

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. It i ...

for the

Melling Chase The Melling Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Marsh Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Aintr ...

but failed to complete and fell at the ninth fence. He was next sent by trainer Willie Mullins for the first time in almost two years back down over the minimum trip of two miles, for the

Punchestown Champion Chase The Punchestown Champion Chase, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the William Hill Champion Chase, is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is r ...

where he met six rivals. After following the pace set by Special Tiara for most of the race, he started to make ground on the leader but going into the home straight he failed to show a turn of foot and was overtaken by Gods Own and

Simonsig Simonsig (2 May 2006 – 13 November 2016) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won eight of his 13 races and was best known for winning the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival and the Arkle Challe ...

. He stayed on well after the last fence to regain the second spot finishing two lengths behind Gods Own, jockey

reporting: "He was flat out the whole way over that trip". On 6 November 2016 it was announced that Vautour had been

euthanised Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

. Willie Mullins explained "he was out in a paddock with another of our horses, Shaneshill – the two of them go out to the same paddock most days. We don't know what exactly happened – it must have been a freak accident – but when one of the girls went out to feed the horses Vautour was found with a broken front leg and our vet had no option but to put him down".

Pedigree

*Through his sire, Vautour was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4 × 4 to Sicambre, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{reflist

External links

Sporting Life ProfileRacing Post Profile

– ''Vautour'' 2009 racehorse births 2016 racehorse deaths Cheltenham Festival winners Racehorses trained in Ireland Thoroughbred family 10-c