French Recruits - North Storm

A firm ground meeting at Haras-du-Pin may not be the first location that comes to mind when looking for a promising French recruit but NORTH STORM really caught the eye with the way he finished his debut in early May and I think he may slip slightly under the radar this year. A penetrometer reading of 3,0 is very fast and would easily be called Good to Firm in the UK, but this race does have some substance to it, even if it was only a €11,000 AQPS contest. North Storm is a gelding by Soft Light. The sire was a fair performer on the Flat with a 6th placed finish in the 2019 Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe the peak of his career, but he has made a very promising start as a stallion in France and has already produced 9 winners from his 2023 crop. Softbella (Fouin) and Woodlight (Menato) have both won over obstacles so there are reasons for optimism that North Storm will be able to jump a hurdle, even at this early stage.

He has joined Mickey Bowen’s yard and will run in the colours of Martin Gowing. Having beaten the subsequent Morlaix winner Nuage D Ivresse by over 2 lengths, I thought that he emerged from the Haras du Pin contest as the best horse in the race, even if an allowance needs to be made for the fact that the runner-up did drift to his left under pressure in the home straight. North Storm sat behind the early pace under Yoann Barille before quickening smartly when asked for his effort once they came into the home straight. Haras du Pin is a relatively tight right-handed track and the races tend to develop into 500m sprints when the fields begin the turn for home. This race followed that pattern exactly, but having been one of five in contention with 300m to go, the fact that North Storm was able to stay on strongly to win with some authority does bode well. His dam (Caline de L’Oasis) was a winner over hurdles in France and is a half-sister to Vicky de L’Oasis who won a couple of hurdles for Willie Mullins in 2013. I think that North Storm is probably more likely to be a midweek horse rather than a Triumph hurdle contender, but he is a good example of the value that can be found in the French Provinces and with the benefit of more experience, I think he has the potential to make up into a decent handicap hurdler. It’s not all about the big name purchases running in famous silks for Closutton and by the end of the season, I would expect North Storm’s connections to have at least seen some return for their investment.