January 12, 2025 
Julien Epaillard and Donatello d’Auge don’t always make the podium. But when they do, they tend to win. And they tend to do it often.
Of the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding’s 34 podium finishes to date, 24 are wins and 12 are Grand Prix wins, according to their Jumpr stats. All told, they’re earned over €2.5 million in prize money.
To put that in context, the highest earning horse behind Donatello d’Auge is Shane Sweetnam’s scope machine James Kann Cruz and he’s more than a million euros behind with €1,449,419 in earnings. The sixth highest ranked 12-year-old horse on that list, Iron Dames Cala Mandia NRW, doesn’t even crack the million mark (€932,169)—that’s how impressive Donatello d’Auge’s strike rate is.
The fleet-footed bay is also the highest earning horse in Epaillard’s string, accounting for more than 25% of the Frenchman’s €8.8 million career earnings.
On Sunday at Basel, they added the FEI Jumping World Cup to their spectacular record.
Returning first in the eight-horse jump off featuring proven 5* winners Beauville Z N.O.P., Commissar Pezi, and Point Break, Epaillard and Donatello d’Auge set the standard with a clear round in 39.52 seconds, opting to take the outside line to the double.
“The inside turn to the double…it was a little bit too much of a risk for me,” said Epaillard. “When you are first to go, you plan. I tried to put the pressure on the others.”
The plan paid. Martin Fuchs and Ben Maher each attempted the inside turn and faulted at the A element. Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) and Beauville Z N.O.P. finished nearly a second slower in 41.49 for second place. Tim Gredley (GRB) and Imperial HBF took third in a distant 44.70.
Four qualifiers in the Western European League remain ahead of the Final in April. Epaillard sits in 12th on the overall standings with 37 points and is keen to pick up points: “I really would like to go!” Kevin Staut leads the standings on 70 points, followed by Robert Whitaker (60) and Gregory Wathelet (56).
The World Cup heads to Leipzig, GER next week.
