Auteuil 3YO Hurdles - 30th March

The Juvenile Hurdle season is already a month old in France and with 7 or 8 races this week, there is a strong possibility that some of the stars of the next National Hunt season will be making their debuts in the days to come. This is a review of the 2 Juvenile hurdles run at Auteuil last Sunday, the Prix Geographie and the Prix Grandak. These races have produced the likes of Lossiemouth (2022 winner of the Prix Geographie) and Majborough (2023 winner of the Prix Grandak). Both of those horses went on to win the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham. I wouldn't like to suggest that any of the 3-year-olds that we saw on Sunday are likely to do that, but both of the winners showed plenty of promise in difficult conditions and are worth adding to the tracker. Here are my notes on the 2025 renewals of both races;

Prix Grandak

Matin Midi Et Soir (Nicolle). Doctor Dino gelding. Munir & Souede owned. Received 2-kilos with Bryony Frost’s claim. Dam won over hurdles. PMU 5.5. Raced prominently. Led after the 3rd last and went on to assert in the straight to win by 13-lengths.

Santander (2nd). Also raced prominently. Saint des Saints half-brother to Murcia. Traveled nicely as far as the 2nd last but easily outpaced and lost 1.71s from the 2nd last to the line. Just held 2nd.

Malin du Mathan (3rd). Wore a Tongue-tie and a Noseband. Saint des Saints Colt. Dam a half-sister to Amour du Mathan. Sat in the middle of the pack, nudged into the bridle from the 4th last. Steadied into the 2nd last and lost momentum, but kept on with the rail to help. 30-lengths clear of the 4th.

Castle de Veguy (4th) Beaten a fair distance, but PMU 92 suggests has still shown more than was expected. Dam won over hurdles, half-sister to Rusquela. Only beaten at the 2nd last when jumping “big”. Allowed to coast home afterwards.

Jolly Swagman (5th). Coolmore bred Walk in the Park Colt. Sent off 3.1 PMU (Fav), presumably because the other 2 have already won. Traveled to 3rd last and every chance at that point, but couldn’t quicken and was eased after 2nd last once beaten. Seemed to struggle to quicken in the ground. Worth forgiving.

Prix Géographie

Delmegan (Allaire) is a Goliath du Berlais filly. Half-sister to Goshen and Elimay. Wore a Hood and Tongue-tie. Dominant performance. Led early and as much as 6-lengths up at halfway. Took a breather down the back straight, then kicked again at the 2nd last. Slight jump to the left in the home straight but not a serious concern. Won 7-lengths.

Selma de Vary (2nd). The Filly to take from this race with the winner. Sat towards the rear. Also wore a Hood and Tongue-tie combination. Made ground through runners to finish 2nd and lost no further ground on the winner from the 3rd last to the line. Closed in 66.26s (Delmegan 66.63s) jumping the 2nd last widest of all. Finishing speed 52.7 km/h (R1) Zarak filly.

Mille Et Une Vies (3rd). The Grey Gatsby half-sister to Japon and Ha La Land. Sent off 3.3 PMU Fav. Sat in Mid-Div on the inside rail, switching wider at the 3rd last. Traveled into the straight, but stayed towards the centre. Good jumping technique and fluent, but outpaced by the winner late on. Finished 20-lengths clear of the rest.

Morra (4th). Great Pretender filly. Wore a Tongue-tie for debut. Led the Peloton and briefly closed around the final bend, but quickly beaten. Kept on without having the pace to challenge. 4.6 PMU suggests thought capable. Top Speed 48.3 km/h.

Good Girl de Faust (5th) is a Goliath du Berlais half-sister to The Good Man. Showed something, but left behind in the straight having sat last for most of the race. Educational ride at times. Wore a hood. Received 2-kilos with Bryony Frost’s claim.

Mittani did the work to chase the leader and faded after the 3rd last (Arrete).