'He did even more for others in his retirement as he did throughout his career' - death of Gold Cup winner Papineau at 24

Papineau, whose Gold Cup win was matched by his post-racing accomplishments with Godolphin, has died at the age of 24.

A half-brother to the St Leger hero Silver Patriarch who was bred by the late Peter Winfield, he entered the Godolphin system after being bought for 85,000gns as a foal at Tattersalls in 2000. 

The son of Singspiel won a Listed race in France at three for Andre Fabre before switching to Saeed bin Suroor at four, for whom he won the Henry II Stakes before beating a brilliant field at Royal Ascot which included Westerner, Brian Boru and Mr Dinos.

Retired from the track in 2005 as the winner of five of his nine starts, Papineau was retrained and competed in both affiliated dressage and Racehorse to Riding Horse show classes, becoming part of Godolphin’s Lifetime Care programme. He moved to the operation's pre-training facility at Hamilton Hill in Newmarket in 2016, leading out the yearlings each morning.

He was kept busy, showing at Newmarket's open weekend, attending Retraining of Racehorses parades and twice travelling to Deauville to take part in the Au-Dela des Pistes display. Papineau would also visit schools as part of the Godolphin Beacon Project, a joint venture between Godolphin, Newmarket Academy and the education charity Racing to School.

Papineau and Frankie Dettori come away from Westerner in the 2004 Gold Cup at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

Once retired to Woodditton Stud, where he was cared for by stud groom Geraldine Jones and her daughter Megan, he found himself a new role in equine-assisted therapy. 

He visited Newmarket Hospital and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, with his gentle, intuitive nature providing great joy and relief to patients and their families.

Last month, Papineau was recognised by RoR as a finalist in their Community Impact Award. He had only recently been diagnosed with heart issues, having otherwise been in rude health, and had to be put to sleep.

Bin Suroor said: "Papineau was a pleasure to train, and his Gold Cup win at Ascot was a very special day indeed. His achievements after his racing career are something that the whole team should be incredibly proud of."

Liam O’Rourke, Godolphin's director of stud, stallions and breeding, said: "Papineau was a horse who did even more for others, both within and outside of our industry, in his retirement as he did throughout his career. He was much loved and will be much missed."