Epatante (foaled 27 February 2014) is a French-bred
AQPS
The French Chaser, or AQPS, is a French breed of racehorse bred specifically for its jumping ability in steeplechase and cross-country racing.
It originates from warmblood horses bred principally for military use in the nineteenth centur ...
racehorse best known for her performances in Hurdle races. After winning two of her three races in her native country, she was transferred to race in England and showed further promise by winning two of her three starts in the 2018/2019 National Hunt season. In the following season she emerged as a top-class performer, winning the Ladbrokes Intermediate Hurdle,
Christmas Hurdle
The Christmas Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 m ...
and
Champion Hurdle
The Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...
Background
Epatante is a bay mare with no white
markings
Marking may refer to:
Symbols
Marking may refer to human-made symbols and annotations in several contexts:
On vehicles
* Aircraft marking
* Emergency vehicle equipment markings
** Battenburg markings, emergency vehicle patterns
* Vehicle marki ...
bred in France by Francois-Xavier & Anne Doulce Lefeuvre. She initially raced in France in the ownership of Mme Lefeuvre.
Her sire, the French stallion No Risk At All, was a successful racehorse whose victories included La Coupe and the Grand Prix de Vichy-Auvergne. Epatante's dam Kadjara was not a
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
as her maternal grandsire Useful was descended from a mare whose ancestors do not appear in the
General Stud Book
The ''General Stud Book'' is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically it is used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today it is published ev ...
. On her dam's side she was descendant of the British broodmare Miss Erene (foaled in 1931), making her a distant relative of
Raintrap
Raintrap (foaled 1990 in Great Britain) is a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire.
Background
Raintrap was a chestnut horse bred in England by his owner Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. He was sired by Rainbow Quest who won the Prix de l'Ar ...
On her racecourse debut, Epatante finished second to Extra Noire in a race for AQPS horses over 2500 metres at
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany.
The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...
Le Lion-d'Angers
Le Lion-d'Angers () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Andigné was merged into Le Lion-d'Angers.lengths. In the Prix Jacques de Vienne at
Saint-Cloud Racecourse
Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospita ...
she started at odds of 4.8/1 and recorded another easy win, coming home three lengths clear of her opponents despite eased down in the closing stages.
2018/2019 National Hunt season
In 2018 Epatante was bought by
J. P. McManus
John Patrick McManus (born 10 March 1951) is an Irish businessman and racehorse owner. He was a major shareholder of Manchester United until his stake was bought out by Malcolm Glazer in 2005.
Early life
McManus was born in Limerick, Ireland, ...
and was sent to England where she was trained by
Nicky Henderson
Nicholas John Henderson (born 10 December 1950) is a British racehorse trainer. He has been British jump racing Champion Trainer six times.
Background
His father was Johnny Henderson who was one of the founders of the Racecourse Holdings Tr ...
. She made her first appearance for her new connections on 12 November when she started 8/15 favourite for a
Novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience.
Religion Buddhism
...
Hurdle
A hurdle (UK English, limited US English) is a moveable section of light fence. In the United States, terms such as "panel", "pipe panel" or simply "fence section" are used to describe moveable sections of fencing intended for agricultural u ...
over two miles at
Kempton Park Racecourse
Kempton Park Racecourse is a horse racing track together with a alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom, licensed entertainment and conference venue in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London; it is 13 miles ...
. Ridden by
Barry Geraghty
Barry Geraghty (born 16 September 1979) is a retired Irish jockey. He is the second most successful jockey of all time at the Cheltenham Festival.
Geraghty rode his first winner in January 1997 and three years later he became the Irish Champ ...
, who became her regular jockey, she took the lead at the penultimate flight of hurdles and won "easily" by three and a half lengths. On 22 February she contested a Novice Hurdle confined to mares at
Exeter Racecourse
Exeter Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near the city of Exeter, Devon, England. Locally it is known as Haldon racecourse because of its location on top of the Haldon, Haldon Hills. At 850 feet (260 metres above sea level, ...
and won "very easily" at odds of 1/6. She made her first appearance at the
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Race ...
on 14 March when she started favourite for the Grade 2
Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle
The Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle, run as the Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle for sponsorship purposes, is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to fillies and mares aged four years or older. It is r ...
but ran poorly and came home ninth behind the Irish-trained Eglantine du Seuil.
2019/2020 National Hunt season
Aidan Coleman took the ride when Epatante began her third campaign by carrying 160 pounds in the Listed Ladbrokes "Where The Nation Plays" Intermediate Hurdle at
Newbury Racecourse
Newbury Racecourse is a racecourse and events venue in the civil parish of Greenham, adjoining the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury in Berkshire, England. It has courses for flat races and over jumps. It hosts one of Great Britain's List of ...
on 30 November. Starting the 3/1 favourite in an eleven-runner field she took the lead approaching the final flight of hurdles and drew away on the run-in to win by six lengths from her stablemate French Crusader. The mare was then moved up to Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on 26 December and started the 2/1 joint-favourite alongside her stablemate Fusil Raffles, the winner of the
Champion Four Year Old Hurdle
The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its ...
. The other runners included Verdana Blue (winner of the race in 2018), Ch'tibello ( County Hurdle), Silver Streak (
Swinton Handicap Hurdle
The Swinton Handicap Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of about 1 mile 7½ ...
) and Ballyandy (
Champion Bumper
The Champion Bumper is a Grade 1 National Hunt flat race in Great Britain which is open to racing horses aged four to six years. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 m ...
). Epatante raced in mid-division before taking the lead after the second-last obstacle and accelerating away from her rivals to win by five lengths from Silver Streak. After the race Nicky Henderson said "She was impressive, wasn't she? I've even got to admit it myself, it was very good... She's lovely, has a great temperament and has a good attitude... She's much more mature now, mentally, and she travelled like a dream."
At Cheltenham on 10 March Epatante started the 2/1 favourite for the 90th running of the Champion Hurdle. Her fifteen opponents included Cilaos Emery ( Hilly Way Chase), Darver Star, Supasundae (
Aintree Hurdle
The Aintree Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Aintree over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs ( ...
), Pentland Hills (
Triumph Hurdle
The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and ...
Irish Champion Hurdle
The Irish Champion Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and ...
), Cornerstone Lad (
Fighting Fifth Hurdle
The Fighting Fifth Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt racing, National Hunt Hurdling (horse race), hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years or older. It is r ...
) and Ballyandy. Epatante was in contention from the start as Petit Mouchoir set the pace. Darver Star briefly gained the advantage approaching the final flight but the mare jumped past him at the last obstacle and stayed on well in the closing stages to win by three lengths from Sharjah.