Defi Du Seuil won the 2017 Triumph Hurdle and 2019 JLT Novices’ Chase for Barry Geraghty and Richard Johnson. The seven-time Grade 1 winner was t rained by Philip Hobbs
Image: Getty)
Top owner JP McManus has taken the decision to retire dual Cheltenham Festival hero Defi Du Seuil.
The chaser, who scooped more than £600,000 in prize money on the track, was a seven-time Grade 1 winner.
Two of those victories came at the Festival in March, where McManus has celebrated a record 67 successes.
With Richard Johnson taking the reins, the recruit from the French circuit obliged as one of the ‘bankers’ at the 2017 meeting.
After his five-length supremacy in the JCB Triumph Hurdle, Defi Du Seuil rounded off a seven-race unbeaten run at Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
He would also reach the heights at Cheltenham over fences, in the 2019 JLT Novices’ Chase with Barry Geraghty in the saddle.
Johnson, who won another Grade 1 on the son of Voix Du Nord at Chepstow, said: “He has given Philip, Mr McManus and his family, myself and the likes of Barry Geraghty some great times.
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“It is obviously sad to see him not be able to produce his best over the last 18 months, but to me it is nice that he can retire fit and well.
“It is obviously frustrating they can’t pinpoint why he is not performing, but at the same time he doesn’t owe anybody anything and at the same time the nice thing is that JP and his team will guarantee him a very happy retirement and we still have a lot of fond memories on him.”
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As well as his Cheltenham performances, Defi Du Seuil gave racing fans moments to savour when he clashed with Un De Sceaux.
Willie Mullins’ bold front runner chased his rival home in consecutive races – the 2019 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown and Ascot’s 2020 Clarence House Chase.
From there he went to the Cheltenham Festival again, where he started a hot favourite, but finished fourth in the Champion Chase.
Geraghty, aboard on that occasion, said: “His win in the JLT, he was dynamite that day, he jumped brilliant. I remember he popped the second-last and I could see from miles out he was on a mad long stride.”
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