TRAINER François Nicolle went into last weekend’s big Auteuil meeting – the ‘48 Heures de l‘Obstacle’ – with a Willie Mullins-like 27 runners over the two days, an all-out assault that he hoped would allow him to bridge the €125,000 gap to Guillaume Macaire at the top of the Jump Trainers Championship standings.
In the end that gap was well and truly bridged, leaving Nicolle over €300,000 clear of his Atlantic Coast neighbour.
It is an advantage so great that even if Macaire lands an one-two with his two crack four-year-olds, Tunis and Master Dino, in this coming Saturday’s Grade 1 Prix Renaud du Vivier, it should not be enough to bring him a 10th straight training crown and deny Nicolle his first.
Not all the weekend went to plan for Nicolle, however.
He was always likely to struggle in Saturday’s Grade 1 feature, the Grand Prix d’Automne, as his two best staying hurdlers, De Bon Coeur and Alex De Larredya, were out injured.
So second and third places behind Galop Marin (who had been third to Alex De Larredya 12 months earlier) was a good return.
COOL-HEADED
Morgan Regairaz, the winning jockey, was notably cool-headed aboard the winner, an Irish-bred son of Black Sam Bellamy, making the early running before allowing the tearaway Azucardel to go clear.
His pace judgement proved spot on, as Galop Marin stormed 15 lengths clear of Miss Salsa Blue at the line. Le Rocher and Aubusson, the two Nick Williams-trained British raiders, never threatened but earned €26,250 in finishing fifth and seventh.
It was a similar story in the first of Sunday’s three Grade 1s – the Prix Cambaceres for three-year-old hurdlers – as, despite saddling over half of the field, Nicolle had to settle for filling the frame behind Beaumec De Houelle, who ran in the colours of Yorkshire-based Jim Gordon and is trained at Royan, within a few miles of both Nicolle and Macaire, by Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé.
“Beaumec de Houelle is a handsome guy who is still an entire so doubtless he will have a short racing career, but I hope he has a long one at stud!” Chaillé-Chaillé said.
The real Nicolle/Macaire head-to-head came in the weekend’s biggest prize, the Prix La Haye Jousselin over almost three and a half miles of the chase course.
Bipolaire (Nicolle) and Saint Goustan Blue (Macaire) had it between them approaching the last but Bipolaire outstayed his rival by three lengths to repeat his 2017 success.
Irish challenger Baie Des Iles was still in contention at the penultimate obstacle before dropping out to finish last of seven.
Trainer Ross O’Sullivan explained: “She seemed to run out of steam, which is hardly surprising since I’ve barely been able to gallop her on the grass at home, it’s been so firm.”
The result was particularly significant for winning rider Jonathan Plouganou. French Champion in 2013, this was his very first Grade 1 triumph and came after the 31-year-old had spent much of the previous three years either injured or banned, having been suspended for attempting to dodge a urine test.
The final Grade 1 on the card, the Prix Maurice Gillois chase for four-year-olds, looked set to give Nicolle the title, as he saddled five runners including the first two favourites.
But Macaire gave himself an outside chance of retaining his crown when Cicalina beat Epi Sacre by three-quarters of a length with the best of the Nicolle battalion, Eddy De Balme, only third.