ENGLISH VERSION
Good girl de faust and Olga de Kiev. Continuing with hurdle races, none are bigger then the grand prix d’ autonome and it could be a packed race this year. It will be tainted however as we will not see the champion, Losange Bleu as he sadly passed away in the prix camarthen, a cruel ending for a champion that should have been loved for many years for his achievements on track. It ' ll therefore be the new kid on the block Kingland for Francois Nicolle who will take all the beating having won the prix camarthen in breath taking fashion. It probably is just a two horse race between him and Theleme who needs no introduction and I believe will be at his best on the softer going in November but there are some others we shouldn’ t discount. Both Diamond Dice who won a group three last time out and Illusion Machine will both represent The george and zetterholm team and warrant plenty of respect. They could also have a third runner in Goliath d’ aunou who is no slouch. It should be a race that has plenty of runners but hopefully zero drama. Next up we have the four year old steeplechase one of the highlights of the year for me because they have enough experience to whizzing around Auteuils obstacles with class and ease and it also provides some interesting clues to which ones might be in contention for the grand steeple chase de paris in May next year.
The reigning champ from the Spring is Metronomique who is unbeaten in his last three runs including two at Auteuil. He won his comeback run by six and a half lengths carrying top weight and looked impreious doing so. It was nice to see him not blast out from the front and its hard to see anything getting close to him off level weights. The newest and biggest contender could be from the same stable as him and his name is Teen spirit. He won a listed chase over the group one course and distance on the 11 th of October by a staggering 16 lengths eased down. He jumped for fun and went from the front and never saw another rival under Felix de Giles. Could it be Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm 1, 2? But in what order? And last but not least the Haye jousselin, the french version of the king george as i know it. The inter highlight of french jumps racing in many peoples book and a time for the mud larks to shine. A very different test to that of the grand steeple chase de paris in may. This group one run over a slightly shorter trip could be argued is a greater test for the horse due to the conditions it has to run in. If you look back at a horse like Al Capone who won it seven times you could say horses who handle the ground the best win the race. But take nothing away from previous winners like gran diose who won the Haye jousselin before confirming his brilliance and legend status by taking the grand steeple chase 6 months after. For me this year there are some stand out horses. Sel jem who won the Grand steeple chase de Paris for the 2 nd time this may four years after his first always has to be considered even if he was 8 th on his return. The winner of that return was Goliath du Rheu, a horse who ' s always had a lot of ability, smashed his rivals apart when returning after over a year off. Could this be his time to take group one glory? Toscana du berlais, last year ' s winner, always deserves respect as a horse who is a real soft ground lover, he comes to his own at this time of the year and has run well since that famous victory. Chaille chaille and Parmat know how to win these races too. You’ ve got other old favourites like Gold tweet and Juntos ganamos who can never be forgotten about and my dark horse is Bon garcon. At only 6 years old and second in the grand steeple chase this year, could the slower ground play into his hands as he seems to do his best work at the end. Whoever it is, it’ ll be a great story either way.
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BREEDING
BY JOCELYN DE MOUBRAY
France’ s two year old pattern program has been dysfunctional since the
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