John Ingles previews Sunday's Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris where Willie and Emmet Mullins both saddle leading chances.
3.05 Auteuil - Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris
British and Irish hurdlers have enjoyed plenty of success in the top French hurdle race this century but it’s a different story where Auteuil’s biggest chasing prize, the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is concerned. Former Gold Cup winners Long Run and Al Boum Photo are among those who have tried and failed recently but it’s now more than 60 years since Mandarin’s legendary victory in 1962 for Fulke Walwyn and Fred Winter and just over a century since Troytown won it for Ireland before winning the Grand National a year later.
Last year’s Grand National winner Noble Yeats, trained by Emmet Mullins, would therefore be a historic winner and, strictly on ratings, he’s a worthy favourite. But lack of experience of the varied obstacles on Auteuil’s chase course has probably been the main stumbling block for overseas runners in the past and that’s a worry where Noble Yeats is concerned. He’s not a total newcomer to Auteuil but his debut there last autumn was far from encouraging as he was already struggling when pulled up after jumping just four obstacles, having made a bad mistake at the second and been slow at the third, and that was before he’d got as far as any of the track’s more daunting fences.
It’s not hard to make excuses for that effort as it was his first outing since his Aintree heroics in the spring and he was without the cheekpieces that he’s worn for some of his best runs, but it certainly wasn’t a good first experience of the course. Noble Yeats quickly put that run behind him but the other concern now is that he returns to Auteuil after demanding efforts in the past few months in the Gold Cup and Grand National. In both those races he was going nowhere before his stamina kicked in late in the day to secure him fourth place both times but he’ll need to stay in touch a lot better in the Grand Steeple-Chase where the pace tends to go up a notch going down the back straight for the final time.
If we’re opposing Noble Yeats, the race has a much more open look and fellow Irish raider Franco de Port makes plenty of appeal at much bigger odds. Although trained by Willie Mullins, he’s not short of course experience, having run four times at Auteuil in the last 12 months. He ran a cracker on his first try over fences here in this race last year when he was the outsider of his trainer’s three runners. Jumping better than he had done in the Irish Grand National the time before, he was still well off the pace early on the final circuit but dug deep after jumping the last in fifth to finish third behind Sel Jem.
Sel Jem was a record seventh winner of the Grand Steeple-Chase for Guillaume Macaire last year and Mullins copied his method of preparing for this race by running Franco de Port in the Prix Ingre three weeks ago, the last main prep race in which Sel Jem had finished second last year. Franco de Port ran an eye-catching trial, coming from last after a mistake at the water with a circuit to go and staying on well on the flat, just failing to get up for second behind the winner Poly Grandchamp. The extra mile of Sunday’s race will suit him a lot better.
Poly Grandchamp will be one of the senior runners in the field, along with Carriacou, successful in the 2019 Grand Steeple-Chase under Davy Russell and a winner over hurdles in March on his first start for more than a year, and Franco de Port’s stablemate Carefully Selected. The last-named returned in the winter from a still longer absence before winning the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran in January but has more to prove on his Auteuil debut than Franco de Port and was beaten a long way when 50/1 for the Grand National last time.
Last year’s runner-up Gex looks the leading French contender after finishing eight lengths second last year and winning last time out. He comes into this fresher than most after just two runs this spring and won another of the main prep races, the Prix Murat last month, beating several rivals who take him on again here. They include runner-up Metasequoia who has found one too good in his last four starts but is going the right way and is already proven beyond three miles.
SELECTION: FRANCO DE PORT
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org
