Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil (Hurdle) (Grade 1)

CHAMPION trainer François Nicolle took the other two Grade 1s on Sunday’s card, both of which are restricted to four-year-olds, the Prix Ferdinand Dufaure (over fences) with Le Listrac, and the Prix Alain du Breil (over hurdles) with Hermes Baie.

But his crowning moment had come on Saturday when L’Autonomie, whose only two defeats in her previous 12 outings had come when stepped up to Grade 1 company, drew right away in the closing stages to land the Grande Course de Haies by a remarkable 30-length margin.

In season

“When I arrived at the track I was told that she was in season, and I was petrified, but it appears not to have affected her,” Nicolle related afterwards. “She was superb and the result rewards the brave decision of her owner-breeders, the Coiffier family, not to retire her when she flopped last autumn.”

A six-year-old daughter of Blue Bresil, L’Autonomie was not allowed things her own way in front, with Galop Marin setting what looked like a decent pace and, as always, she jumped out to her right.

Given this wayward tendency, it is highly fortunate that the best ground at Auteuil is found against the outside hedge so she the entire field steered a wide course throughout.

Backpedalling

And when Galop Marin began backpedalling after the third last, she was able to saunter clear. Interestingly, last October’s renewal of this just over three-mile, one-furlong hurdle, which was run on more testing ground and saw L’Autonomie surprisingly beaten into second by this year’s runner-up, Paul’s Saga, was run in a time 13 seconds faster, so I have my doubts about the strength of the 2021 vintage.

The horse to take out of it is surely third-placed Gex, who has made rapid progress given that he hadn’t even set foot on a racecourse until last December.

Irish raider

Ronald Pump, the solitary foreign challenger in a race that had seen six of its previous 10 winners hail from overseas, never went a yard but, thanks to the persistence of jockey Robbie Power, plugged on from the back to pouch the €17,500 on offer to the fifth-placed finisher.

His marathon journey from trainer Matthew Smith’s Co Meath yard had probably taken its toll.