Champs Elysees Dead at 15 of Apparent Heart Attack

Champs Elysees—sire of Gold Cup (G1) hero Trip To Paris and this season's QIPCO One Thousand Guineas (G1) winner, Billesdon Brook—died recently at Castlehyde Stud in County Cork.

The multiple grade 1 winner in North America succumbed to an apparent heart attack at age 15.

Bred by his original owner, Khalid Abdullah, Champs Elysees was born to greatness as a son of Danehill and the outstanding broodmare Hasili. That made him a full brother to multiple group 1-placed performer and leading sire Dansili, champion Banks Hill, and dual top-flight winners Cacique and Intercontinental, as well as a half brother to grade 1 scorer Heat Haze.

Champs Elysees upheld family honor by winning the Prix d'Hedouville (G3) and finishing second in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club (G1) for trainer André Fabre. He enjoyed success in North America, winning the 2008 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Presented by VTech (G1T) and 2009 Pattison Canadian International Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine as well as the 2008 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G1T) at Hollywood Park.

Trained by Bobby Frankel, he also won the 2008 San Marcos Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park, where he would earn placings on dirt in the 2008 and 2009 editions of the Santa Anita Handicap (G1). 

He was retired to stand at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket, where he conceived 22 stakes winners to date headed by Billesdon Brook, who sprang a surprise in the fillies' classic at Newmarket in May; Trip To Paris, who took second in the BMW Caulfield Cup (G1) as well as winning the Gold Cup; and Harlem, a 520,000 guineas (US$665,520) in-training purchase to race Down Under, where he took the Tab Australian Cup (G1) in March.

Champs Elysees has also supplied the classic-placed fillies Jack Naylor and Xcellence, sold as broodmare prospects for 800,000gns ($1,043,112) and 675,000gns ($1,067,094), respectively, and the classy middle-distance runners Barsanti and Dal Harraild.

He is also responsible for the past two winners of the Cesarewitch Stakes, Low Sun and Withhold—both of whom were bought by their current connections from the same Juddmonte draft at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale in 2016.

The thriving market for horses in training by Champs Elysees was no doubt part of the reason why Coolmore bought him from Juddmonte in a private deal and moved him to Castlehyde Stud for last year's breeding season.

The stallion proved extremely popular with breeders during his two seasons standing in Ireland, covering 248 mares in 2017 and 228 in 2018.

Equipped with his outstanding pedigree, Champs Elysees promises to be a useful broodmare sire.

He has been represented by only two maternal grandchildren on the track, but one of those, the Dandy Man filly Cedars of Lebanon, won the valuable Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Race Final at Naas in October.