Un De Sceaux leaves yard of Willie Mullins for new life in France

Multiple Grade One-winning chaser Un De Sceaux left the yard of Willie Mullins for the final time on Monday.

The hugely popular 12-year-old was retired in February after a ligament problem was discovered in the wake of a piece of work in preparation for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

He finished outside of the first two just once in 21 completed runs over fences – the majority of which were in Grade One company – and ended his career having won 23 of 34 races under rules and more than £1.5 million in prize-money.

He ran at five Cheltenham Festivals, winning the Arkle in 2015 and the Ryanair in 2017.

Mullins tweeted: “Un De Sceaux is leaving us today for his new life in France. A horse with a remarkable attitude & a will to win like no other, he will be really missed around the yard.”

Saluting his charge on the day his retirement was announced, Mullins had said: “You can’t replace horses like him – it’s impossible. He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, and we were very lucky to have him.”

When he was retired in late February, Mullins said: “Right up to the end, he was trying to impersonate a four-year-old.

“He worked great yesterday morning, but you could see on pulling up that he wasn’t right, and it was confirmed this morning that he had a ligament injury.”

Un De Sceaux has been among the brightest stars at Mullins’ powerhouse stable since arriving from France seven years ago.

The champion Irish trainer added: “He’s been a huge star in our yard and he’ll be hugely missed.

“You can’t replace horses like him – it’s impossible. He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, and we were very lucky to have him.

“It was incredible how sound he was, because he was so hard on himself, and every day he gave his best in racing and in training. He had a huge following."

Un De Sceaux ends his career, having won 23 of 34 races under Rules and more than £1,500,000 in prize money.

He ran at five Cheltenham Festivals, winning the Arkle in 2015 and the Ryanair in 2017.