ENGLISH TEXTS but it wasn ’ t until the turn of the 20 th century in 1911 that it settled and planted its roots in the heart of the idyllic Cotswold ’ s countryside in Prestbury park permantly . The oldest race that is a championship race is the stayers hurdle first run in 1912 and the French horse most synonymous with this race would be Baracouda trained by Francois Doumen to win the race twice . For many years now horses with the FR suffix after their name have become the norm when looking at the Cheltenham festival results . From horses like The Fellow who was AQPS bred and brought over to win the 1994 Cheltenham gold cup by Francois Doumen to Kauto Star who was the first horse to win the Cheltenham gold cup in 2007 and then regain the title in 2009 to most recently Al Boum Photo , the horse that fell on debut at Moulin that gave Willie Mullins not just his first but also his second Gold cup when becoming a back to back winner in 2019 and 2020 . France has been a place to source horse now for many years whether it ’ s from the fields as a foal , searching through the sale grounds to find a yearling or two year where it could find its way to an Irish or English point to point field . One end of the spectrum is the claiming route is one that is also being used more regularly now to source a cheaper solid type of racehorse . The other end would be a day out at Auteuil where agents enjoy a cold glass of rose at the Karly flight restaurant next to the paddock when overseeing the unraced three-year-old in races like the Prix rush or the Prix Finot . Horses sourced from Auteuil have gone on to be gold cup winners like Long Run and Grand Nationals like Neptune Collonges . So who are the current highest rated racehorses based on Timeform ratings in the Uk and Ireland that made their racecourse debut in France .
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CHASERS
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Galopin des Champs has the highest timeform rating of 179 . Bred by GAEC Des Champs by Timos out of Manon Des Champs ( Marchand de sable ), he made his debut at Auteuil on the 17 th of May 2020 in the Prix Ex Voto which is a 4year old conditions race for Arnaud Chaille-Chaille . He was purchased privately by the Willie Mullins team of Harold Kirk and Pierre Boulard and has since gone on to win two Cheltenham gold cups . His target at the 2025 Cheltenham festival will be going for a third gold cup in a row and be the second horse to ever do so .
El Fabiolo has a timeform rating of 173 and is the 3 rd highest in the list . Bred by Francis Dunn by Spanish moon out of Sainte Mante ( saint des saint ), he made his debut at Clairefontaine in the Prix Turgeon a flat maiden for 3-year old ’ s where he finished 7 th . His 2 nd run was at Auteuil in the Prix Finot in 2020 a listed hurdle for 3-year-olds where he finished 3 rd , and he was trained by Mme P Butel and J-L Beaunez . He was then privately purchased by Highflyer bloodstock ( Anthony Bromley ) for the double green team of Simon Munir and Issac Souede and sent to Willie Mullins . His biggest win was the Grade 1 Arkle 2-mile novice chase at the 2023 festival and his target in 2025 at the festival will be the 2-mile queen mother Champion chase .
Gaelic Warrior has a timeform rating of 167 and is the joint 10 th highest with L ’ Homme Presse . Bred by the Niarchos family by Maxios out of Game of Legs ( Hernando ) he has three starts for the joint training team of Macaire and De Lageneste all at Auteuil finishing 6 th on debut in Prix wild Monarch to current stallion Paradiso in 2021 . After two more runs at Auteuil finishing 3 rd both times before being purchased privately by the Willie Mullins team of Harold kirk and Pierre Boulard . His biggest win to date so far was the Grade 1 Arkle 2-mile novice chase at the 2024 festival and his 2025 festival target will be the 2-mile Queen Mother champion chase .
L ’ Homme Pressé has a timeform rating of 167 and is the joint 10 th highest with Gaelic Warrior . Bred by Bernard Camp by Diamond Boy out of Romance Turgot ( Bateau Rouge ) had two starts at Fontainebleau for trainer Mickel Seror finishing 5 th on debut and 2 nd on his 2 nd start in the Prix des Heronnieres a four-year-old conditions hurdle . He then suffered a tendon injury , and the famous story began as he was sold to his patient owner Andy Edwards who gave him plenty of time and with the guidance of trainer Venetia Williams has had that patience rewarded with his biggest win the Grade 1 Brown advisory novice chase at the Cheltenham festival in 2022 . His 2025 festival target will be the Gold Cup and will be the UK ’ s leading hope against the Irish horses having won the Grade 2 prep race at Cheltenham ’ s trials day .
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