Jeannot Lapin, with Ricky Doyle up, clears the last on their way to winning the Paddy Power Beginners Steeplechase on day two of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival at Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Proving that winning horses come in every shape and size is “18hh-plus” giant racehorse Jeannot Lapin.
The towering chestnut point-to-pointer, who had failed to win in three starts in Ireland, was bought by owner Dominic Jones for just £3,000 at the Doncaster sales.
He made his racecourse debut for trainer Gearoid O’Loughlin in a 2m 1f chase at Leopardstown recently at odds of 150/1 and, ridden by Ricky Doyle, he cruised home to win by two-and-a-half lengths, leaving a field of classy rivals trailing in his wake.
Connections haven’t been able to accurately check the height of the French-bred six-year-old son of Doctor Dino because their measuring stick only goes up to 17.3hh, but their best guess was that he was a quarter of an inch over 18hh.
“He felt at home like he was a proper horse – for a small yard anyway – I’m sure if he’d been in Willie Mullins’s or a bigger yard, he’d have just been any other horse,” said O’Loughlin, who trains mostly pointers and does pre-training from his small yard at Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. “He’s a bit of a stand-out in our yard at the moment anyway.
“I didn’t think he’d win a beginner’s chase round Leopardstown in the early days, but as we got closer, up to the last two months, I felt he was entitled to be there anyway.
“Obviously his price didn’t reflect it but we all had a few quid on him at a big price!” he said. “Our aim was to be in the first six. So we’re over the moon.
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“I said to Ricky Doyle before the race, he’s a great jumper so use his jumping and hold on to him for as long as you can – I had nothing at home to take him off the bridle, so he was never off it.”
Giant racehorse Jeannot Lapin: from the same family as Epatante
Trainer Gearoid O’Loughlin spotted Jeannot Lapin at the Doncaster Sales and was attracted to his pedigree – his dam Ultra Bonne is out of the same mare that produced the mighty mare Epatante, a Grade One-winning hurdler for Nicky Henderson.
“Sam Curling [point-to-point trainer, where Jeannot Lapin started his racing career] told me he had the makings of a good horse, if you can get him right,” said O’Loughlin. “It all just came together.”
O’Loughlin originally took him hunting to get his qualifying hunter certificate for point-to-points but thought a shorter trip than three miles might be the key to the big-framed chestnut gelding.
“His homework was very good. [His owner] Dominic Jones did a great job with him over the summer, fed him and built him up,” he explained.
But connections are now very much living the dream with Jeannot Lapin and he’s entered for the Grade One Leopardstown Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Steeplechase at the start of February, and the equivalent race at the Cheltenham Festival is now a realistic target.
“It’s a bit of a story, but it’s a great story,” summed up O’Loughlin.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
