TWO steps forward and one step back.

Just as French racing was settling into its face-masked, crowd-less, physically distanced new routine, on Tuesday afternoon, nine days after returning from its two-month coronavirus hiatus, government thrust a spanner in the works by slapping a ban on racing in all regions of the country classified as ‘red zones’ (hot spots) under coronavirus regulations.

France Galop chief Edouard de Rothschild was quick to slam the change as ‘inexplicable and illogical’. Suddenly ParisLongchamp, Auteuil, Chantilly, Saint-Cloud and Compiegne, five of the nation’s top six courses which between them had staged nine meetings without the semblance of a problem since the restart, were placed out of bounds even though the virus statistics had continued to fall.

Contingency

The big picture is that racing is allowed to carry on and, given that France Galop had already formulated contingency plans if courses inside red zones were closed, the disruption can be overcome.

At very short notice, Thursday’s ParisLongchamp fixture was transferred to Deauville, and that Normandy venue will also stage the first two classics of the season, the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Pouliches, over its straight mile on June 1st (though without overseas competition – foreign runners will not be allowed in France until June 15th at the earliest).

Jump racing

Things are more complicated for jump racing, since Auteuil not only stages almost all the sport’s graded races but its chase track presents a jumping test more severe than any other course in the country.

Its next three fixtures have been switched to Dieppe, Pau and Clairefontaine respectively but the resiting of its celebrated June 7th fixture, the biggest on the jumping calendar featuring both the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris and the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil, is the subject of huge speculation.

Champion Trainer François Nicolle has waded in with both feet, calling the closure of Auteuil a disgrace and suggesting that he will be ‘prostituting’ his top horses, such as Bipolaire and L’Autonomie, by asking them to run in a Grand Steep’ or a Grand Course staged anywhere but Auteuil.

Others leading figures are less outspoken, supporting a move to another venue, but the prospect of the sport’s showpiece events taking place in severe hot weather is another topic causing serious soul-searching. They have already been put back three weeks from their original date and a course like Pau, 500 miles south of Auteuil, would be even more susceptible to a heatwave.

The silver lining to this new grey cloud is that Paris’s red zone status will be reassessed on June 2nd, so Auteuil might gain a last-minute reprieve. If not, the Grand Steep’ could be postponed to the autumn – in which case maybe the nation’s other Grade 1 staying chase, the Prix La Haye Jousselin, usually run in early November, could make way.

L’Autonomie gallops rivals into submission

WHENEVER and wherever the Grand Steep’ does take place, the Grade 2 €145,000 Prix Murat run last Saturday over two and three-quarter miles, will be a crucial piece of form. It saw Ebonite take up the running four out under former British-based jockey Felix de Giles and then hold on to beat Feu Follet and Carriacou by one length and two lengths.

The winner, also successful in a Grade 3 over this course and distance in March, defied trainer Emmanuel Clayeux’s worries that she had been taking too much out of herself on the gallops at home during the lockdown.

Arguably, the placed horses ran even better trials. Only five years old, Feu Follet finished best of all and was tackling some of Auteuil’s most difficult fences for the first time, while Carriacou (the reigning Grand Steep’ champion) did not jump with his usual fluency and was giving 7lb more than the regular sex allowance to the winner.

There was then a nine-length break to the Nicolle-trained odds-on favourite, Figuero, who failed to confirm his 2019 superiority over Feu Follet and is now likely to give the Grand Steep’ a miss.

Four-timer

Despite this reverse, Nicolle still registered a Saturday four-timer which he added to with a further three Auteuil successes the following afternoon, including two €110,000 Grade 2s hurdles: the Prix Leon Rambaud, for older horses over two miles, five furlongs, with L’Autonomie and the Prix Amadou, for four-year-olds over two miles, three furlongs with Kool Has.

L’Autonomie, a five-year-old daughter of the Glenview Stud stallion, Blue Bresil, was the star of the whole weekend, overcoming stamina doubts resoundingly by taking up the running with well over a circuit to run and galloping her 11 rivals into submission thereafter.

This was her sixth straight win, all achieved at graded level, and were it not for the fact that it may have to be transferred away from Auteuil, site of every one of her dozen career starts, the Grande Course de Haies would surely be at her mercy.

The day’s most valuable prize, the €155,000 Grade 3 Prix du President de la Republique over two miles, seven furlongs did escape Nicolle as he had to settle for third place with the favourite, Fou Delice.

Instead, this prestigious 20-runner handicap chase went to D’Jango, the beneficiary of an ice-cool waiting ride from 18-year-old Paul Denis, who was notching just the eighth victory of his career and the first at Auteuil.

Leenders triumphs

Sunday’s other feature, the Grade 2 €145,000 Prix Jean Stern, a four-year-old chase over two miles, six furlongs, provided the biggest win of a nascent training career for the former Nicky Henderson and David Pipe assistant, Gaby Leenders.

It came courtesy of Gardons Le Sourire, a son of Coolmore’s 2011 Gold Cup winner, Fame And Glory, who was brought with a late run to beat Road Senam by three and a half lengths despite jumping out to his right.

It capped a great weekend for Leenders and jockey Clement Lefebvre as they were also responsible for Saturday’s most impressive scorer, Heros D’Ainay, who landed the €50,000 Prix Go Ahead, a listed three-year-old hurdle over one mile, seven furlongs.

A son of another Glenview Stud inmate, Sholokhov, this racecourse debutant beat some more experienced opponents by an easy 12 lengths.