2023 WINNER OF THE LGCT GRAND PRIX OF ST TROPEZ DONATELLO D’AUGE

2023 GRAND PRIX WINNER OF THE LGCT GRAND PRIX OF ST TROPEZ – DONATELLO D’AUGE

With the sixth leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour taking place this weekend in Saint Tropez, we look back at last year’s Grand Prix winner Donatello D’Auge. Last year, we saw the now eleven-year-old Selle Francis gelding and French rider Julien Epaillard seize the win in the CSI5 LGCT Grand Prix of Ramatuelle St. Tropez.

Donatello is the son of another 5* Grand Prix competitor, the Selle Francais stallion Jarnac. Jarnac also wowed as a young stallion; at three, he was the winner of the French Stallion Grading; then between the ages of four and six, he qualified for the French Young Horse Championships; and at six, he won the six-year-old Stallion Masters. He then continued to showcase his success right to the top of the sport. Donatello D’Auge is one of Jarnac’s most successful offspring, having won multiple CSI5* classes.

Then we see another Selle Francais stallion in Donatello’s damsire, Hello Pierville. Hello Pierville unfortunately passed away in March of this year. What makes Donatello’s story a little more remarkable is that the Epaillard family not only had Hello Pierville until his passing but also bred his grandson Donatello D’Auge. Hello Pierville was Susane Epaillard’s ‘Cheval de coeur’ or ‘Heart Horse’. In Hello Pierville’s pedigree, we see the influential Jalisco B. As we advance through 2024 and have the privilege of writing about more and more top horses, we can’t help but notice Jalisco B’s name coming up again and again…

Will Donatello and Julien have the same finish this year? The team is in fine shape leading into the weekend. Last Sunday, the combination was victorious in the CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix of Mâcon in memory of Patrick Journet.