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Grande Course De Haies d’Auteuil: Zarkandar to land French Champion Hurdle
By John Ingles -- published 6th June 2015
Having tipped New Bay, the winner of last weekend's Prix du Jockey Club, John Ingles turns his attention to the jumps and the French Champion Hurdle, a race with a notable British and Irish challenge
Auteuil stages France’s most valuable hurdle race on Sunday, and though frequently referred to as ‘theFrench Champion Hurdle’, the distance of the Grande Course de Haies of nearly three and a quarter miles makes it a much closer equivalent to the World Hurdle instead.
It’s not just a French championship either, these days, and the Anglo-Irish challenge makes up almost half the field of fifteen this year in a contest that is about as international as jumps racing gets. Top French hurdler Gemix successfully repelled the overseas raiders in the last two runnings, but he’s now at stud which has left something of a void at the top of the rankings. Arguably the best hurdlers in France at the moment meet later on the card, in fact, in the Prix Alain du Breil when the exciting four-year-olds Bonito du Berlais and Blue Dragon lock horns, but the current crop of older French hurdlers look vulnerable to a high-class performer from across the Channel.
Willie Mullins’ trio of entries are headed by Hurricane Fly who returns to Auteuil seven years after finishing second on this card in the Alain du Breil. He’ll be bidding to emulate the mare Dawn Run in an attempt to add a French Champion Hurdle to the Champion Hurdle titles he’s already won at Cheltenham and Leopardstown in his outstanding career. Hurricane Fly showed he stays three miles when stepped up in trip to finish second to Jezki in the World Series Hurdle at Punchestown last time, though that performance didn’t match the top-class form he showed he was still capable of over two miles earlier in the season and he looks worth opposing over this still longer trip.
He’s joined by fellow veteran Thousand Stars, winner of the Grande Course de Haies in 2011 and 2012 and successful at Auteuil again last year in the Prix La Barka. However, he’s finished down the field in the last two runnings of this and was some way behind Hurricane Fly at Punchestown last time. Mullins’ third representative Val de Ferbet lacks the big-race record of his older stable-companions but isn’t short of potential as he showed with a very promising second in the Prix La Barka here last month on his return to hurdles. This will be tougher, but he looks sure to improve for that first experience of the track, while the longer trip will be in his favour too.
The Prix La Barka, the main prep race for the Grande Course de Haies, was won by another chaser returning to hurdles. Ballynagour was a winner over fences at Auteuil before joining David Pipe, and having made into a high-class chaser in Britain, went a long way to matching that form over hurdles with a five-length win over Val de Ferbet. Having run Silviniaco Conti to a head over a similar trip to this over fences at Aintree in April, Ballynagour is another who ought to be suited by the return to further here. David Pipe’s other runner is Un Temps Pour Tout who has winning form at Auteuil from his four-year-old days. He’s been running consistently in top staying hurdles in Britain, finishing sixth in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham and third in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.
Paul Nicholls takes on Un Temps Pour Tout again with Zarkandar who was third at Cheltenham but then finished a place behind David Pipe’s horse at Aintree where a bad mistake five out didn’t help his cause. Those two races may have come a bit close together for Zarkandar, who seems best fresh, and he may well be able to turn the tables again after a couple of months’ break. Zarkandar can also boast some good efforts at Auteuil, finishing third behind Gemix in last year’s Grande Course de Haies before giving the French champion a five-length beating when returning here for the Group 1 Grand Prix d’Automne in November, and looks to have had this as his main target ever since.
The other British-trained runner is Harry Fry’s Activial who gets a weight allowance as a five-year-old but finished behind a couple of these when promoted to fourth in the Prix Leon Rambaud here in April and is taking a big step up in trip.
A home-trained winner would be something of a surprise, but those with the strongest claims of reaching a place are the consistent Dos Santos, third in the La Barka, Le Chateau who was fourth in the same race, and Voiladenuo who completed a hat-trick in the Leon Rambaud.
Recommendation:
Back Zarkandar in the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil
Timeform weight-adjusted ratings:
192 Hurricane Fly
186 Thousand Stars
185 Zarkandar
182 Ballynagour
181 Activial
Grande Course De Haies d’Auteuil: Zarkandar to land French Champion Hurdle
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By John Ingles -- published 6th June 2015
Having tipped New Bay, the winner of last weekend's Prix du Jockey Club, John Ingles turns his attention to the jumps and the French Champion Hurdle, a race with a notable British and Irish challenge
Auteuil stages France’s most valuable hurdle race on Sunday, and though frequently referred to as ‘theFrench Champion Hurdle’, the distance of the Grande Course de Haies of nearly three and a quarter miles makes it a much closer equivalent to the World Hurdle instead.
It’s not just a French championship either, these days, and the Anglo-Irish challenge makes up almost half the field of fifteen this year in a contest that is about as international as jumps racing gets. Top French hurdler Gemix successfully repelled the overseas raiders in the last two runnings, but he’s now at stud which has left something of a void at the top of the rankings. Arguably the best hurdlers in France at the moment meet later on the card, in fact, in the Prix Alain du Breil when the exciting four-year-olds Bonito du Berlais and Blue Dragon lock horns, but the current crop of older French hurdlers look vulnerable to a high-class performer from across the Channel.
Willie Mullins’ trio of entries are headed by Hurricane Fly who returns to Auteuil seven years after finishing second on this card in the Alain du Breil. He’ll be bidding to emulate the mare Dawn Run in an attempt to add a French Champion Hurdle to the Champion Hurdle titles he’s already won at Cheltenham and Leopardstown in his outstanding career. Hurricane Fly showed he stays three miles when stepped up in trip to finish second to Jezki in the World Series Hurdle at Punchestown last time, though that performance didn’t match the top-class form he showed he was still capable of over two miles earlier in the season and he looks worth opposing over this still longer trip.
He’s joined by fellow veteran Thousand Stars, winner of the Grande Course de Haies in 2011 and 2012 and successful at Auteuil again last year in the Prix La Barka. However, he’s finished down the field in the last two runnings of this and was some way behind Hurricane Fly at Punchestown last time. Mullins’ third representative Val de Ferbet lacks the big-race record of his older stable-companions but isn’t short of potential as he showed with a very promising second in the Prix La Barka here last month on his return to hurdles. This will be tougher, but he looks sure to improve for that first experience of the track, while the longer trip will be in his favour too.
The Prix La Barka, the main prep race for the Grande Course de Haies, was won by another chaser returning to hurdles. Ballynagour was a winner over fences at Auteuil before joining David Pipe, and having made into a high-class chaser in Britain, went a long way to matching that form over hurdles with a five-length win over Val de Ferbet. Having run Silviniaco Conti to a head over a similar trip to this over fences at Aintree in April, Ballynagour is another who ought to be suited by the return to further here. David Pipe’s other runner is Un Temps Pour Tout who has winning form at Auteuil from his four-year-old days. He’s been running consistently in top staying hurdles in Britain, finishing sixth in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham and third in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.
Paul Nicholls takes on Un Temps Pour Tout again with Zarkandar who was third at Cheltenham but then finished a place behind David Pipe’s horse at Aintree where a bad mistake five out didn’t help his cause. Those two races may have come a bit close together for Zarkandar, who seems best fresh, and he may well be able to turn the tables again after a couple of months’ break. Zarkandar can also boast some good efforts at Auteuil, finishing third behind Gemix in last year’s Grande Course de Haies before giving the French champion a five-length beating when returning here for the Group 1 Grand Prix d’Automne in November, and looks to have had this as his main target ever since.
The other British-trained runner is Harry Fry’s Activial who gets a weight allowance as a five-year-old but finished behind a couple of these when promoted to fourth in the Prix Leon Rambaud here in April and is taking a big step up in trip.
A home-trained winner would be something of a surprise, but those with the strongest claims of reaching a place are the consistent Dos Santos, third in the La Barka, Le Chateau who was fourth in the same race, and Voiladenuo who completed a hat-trick in the Leon Rambaud.
Recommendation:
Back Zarkandar in the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil
Timeform weight-adjusted ratings:
192 Hurricane Fly
186 Thousand Stars
185 Zarkandar
182 Ballynagour
181 Activial
