1 Galopin Des Champs 10-11F
2 Gerri Colombe 13-2
3 Corach Rambler 14-1
4 L’Homme Presse 16-1
5 Bravemansgame 14-1
6 Jungle Boogie 16-1
1 Galopin Des Champs 10-11F
2 Gerri Colombe 13-2
3 Corach Rambler 14-1
4 L’Homme Presse 16-1
5 Bravemansgame 14-1
6 Jungle Boogie 16-1
Owned by Raymond Guest, US Ambassador to Ireland between 1965 and 1968, and trained by Dan Moore in Fairyhouse, Co. Meath, started second favourite for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 1969, finishing sixth to Persian War, before being sent over fences. The following year, for his first attempt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup, L'Escargot was sent off an unconsidered 33/1 outsider, behind hot favourite Kinloch Brae, who carried the yellow and black colours of Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, made famous by Arkle. However, the market leader fell at the third-last fence and L'Escargot outstayed French Tan in the closing stages to win by a length-and-a-half.
L'Escargot returned, as defending champion, in 1971 and, in a substandard renewal of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, had little difficulty in beating the novice Leapfrog and The Dikler by 10 lengths and 15 lengths. He tried, and failed, to add a third Cheltenham Gold Cup to his winning tally in 1972 and 1973, finishing fourth on both occasions.
Nowadays, Mick Fitzgerald is best known as a television presenter on ITV Racing but, in his younger days, was one of the most successful National Hunt jockeys of his generation. Before being forced into retirement after sustaining neck and knee damage in a fall from L'Ami in the 2008 Grand National, Fitzgerald rode 1,295 winners, including 14 at the Cheltenham Festival.
Fitzgerald was leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival twice. On the first occasion, in 1999, he achieved a notable double on Call Equiname and See More Business, both trained by Paul Nicholls, in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, respectively. That year, he also won the Triumph Hurdle on Katarino and the now-defunct Cathcart Challenge Cup on Stormyfairweather, both for Nicky Henderson. On the second, in 2000, he won the Arkle Challenge Trophy on Tiutchev, the Festival Trophy on Marlborough, the Stayers' Hurdle on Bacchanal and the Cathcart Challenge Cup on Stormyfairweather again; all four winners were trained by Nicky Henderson.
Remarkably, despite a 15-year association with Nicky Henderson – who is, nowadays, the leading trainer in the history of the Champion Hurdle, with eight wins – Fiztgerald never won the two-mile hurdling championship. In fact, in twelve attempts, two third places, on Blue Royal in 2000 and Afsoun in 2007, were the best he could muster.