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Sunday 30th May 2010, Auteuil. (www.jourdegalop.com) After victories in the Jean Stern (Gr2) and the Fleuret (Gr3), Marcel Rolland’s Saint du Chenet (Poliglote) made it quite clear that he is the king of the 4 year old chasers with his victory in the €350,000 Prix Ferdinand Dufaure Chase (Gr1-4yos-4,100m). In doing so he beat Kauto Stone (With the Flow) by a length and a half with Ole Companero (Sholokhov) a further two lengths behind in third place. “He confirmed today that he is the best of his generation, just as he did in the prep races”, declared Marcel Rolland. “Today he had to deal with Kauto Stone, but he was well able for him. I said to his jockey to let him stride on. The ground was good but the pace wasn’t too fast, as when that happens he can make mistakes. He has progressed a lot over fences, even though Régis (editor’s note: Schmidlin, his jockey) thinks that he can progress more. Now he will follow the logical programme in the autumn with the Prix Maurice Gillois (Gr1) as his new objective. He will be even better on softer ground.”
Just like his sister Ma Royale (Garde Royale), second in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris (Gr1) 2005, Saint du Chenet is bred to run in top class chases. His trainer didn’t hide this when explaining “Saint du Chenet is horse that needs to be looked after for the future. With him we can think of running in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris in a few years time”, he said with a smile.
La Barka – Young Poli brings smile to Robert Collet’s face
Young Poli (Poliglote) had previously finished placed three times in Group races over hurles at Auteuil as a 4 year old when trained by Alain Couétil. But until his success in the €175,000 Prix La Barka Hurdle (Gr2-5yo+ -4,300m) he had never managed to win here. He dominated a battle with Rolie de Vindecy (Roli Abi) to hold on by a neck, with Sleeping Blue (Sleeping Car) a further two and a half lengths back in third. Afterwards winning trainer Robert Collet announced: “Cheltenham is my dream for this horse. Next year if he is well he could go over there. He is an exceptional horse who can also go over a longer trip. I’m not sure yet if he will run in the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil (Gr1). That will depend on the weather and the heat.”
Before changing to the colours of Joseph Hayoz and the stables of Robert Collet, Young Poli was trained by Alain Couétil for the Papot family. A good horse on the flat, he won the Derby de l’Ouest (L) at Nantes, before finishing fourth in the Prix de Lutèce (Gr3) at Longchamp. He then turned his hand to jumping finishing placed in almost every Group race he took part in. He then passed through the sales ring at Saint-Cloud where he was bought by Robert Collet €125,000. He was then not seen on a racecourse for a total of 18 months before making his reappearance at Cagnes-sur-Mer. And with three wins and a second place from four starts it was money well spent and definitely worth the wait.
Longchamp – Salder Roque lives up to hype
In the absence of Bel la Vie (Lavirco), Salder Roque (Muhtathir) was the one to watch in the €130,000 Prix de Longchamp Hurdle (Gr3-4yos-3,900m) and Guy Cherel’s charge did not disappoint when imposing by 6 lengths. “He had already won two races easily here at Auteuil”, announced his trainer. “That doesn’t happen by chance here, he is obviously a good horse. I was expecting a performance like this from him; he is a very easy horse, who has a lot of class.” The next step for the winner will be the Prix Alain du Breil (Gr1) in three weeks time where he will encounter Bel la Vie, winner of the last three prep races. Prince Oui Oui (Poliglote) finished strongly to take second place from Président José (Slickly). There was more drama during this race as the jockey of Lucky to Be (Poliglote), Bertrand Lestrade, almost took the chase track by mistake but realised his error at the last minute and managed to get his mount back on to the right course. The stewards called in an enquiry into the incident resulted in a 15 day suspension for Guillaume Macaire’s jockey, meaning he will miss out on the ride on Bel la Vie in the Prix Alain du Breil.
Bred by Mrs R. Mongin, Salder Roque comes from a family of honest jumpers. He is a brother of Kourtroom (Courtroom), four time winner over jumps, Liane de la Roque (Officiel), Makaho de la Roque (Officiel) et Pearl de la Roque (Villez), all of which are multiple winners. His dam, La Orotava (Mendez) was bred by Eric Puérari and won a total of three races before being Listed placed.
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