Mullins bids farewell to Un De Sceaux

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.

#UnDeSceaux 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. Thanks to Ruth for the cake in the @OConnellGroup colours, a fitting tribute to the horse and his super owners pic.twitter.com/suWgUqto6e

— Willie Mullins (@WillieMullinsNH) April 27, 2020

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.”