PRIX PRINCE D'AVRIL

PRIX PRINCE D'AVRIL

Machecoul - 10th February 2026 - “Lourd 4,8”

4YO AQPS - 2,950m - €4,800

3:34.31 (Réduction KM 1:12.64)

There will clearly be much better AQPS races run in 2026 than this one at Machecoul on Tuesday. However, I’m keen to get back into the swing of things with these races, especially with the new 3-year-old crop likely to start racing in the next month or so. Machecoul is one of the first tracks to get racing on the turf each year and when you start in February, there is always the risk of ending up with races being run in very deep conditions, as they were on Tuesday. The heavy rain that fell during racing didn’t help and the times would suggest that the 4,8 penetrometer reading was an accurate position of the heavy ground underfoot.

There is no doubt that this was a clever piece of placing by Francois Nicolle to give Micawber some confidence. He had been running well over hurdles without looking like his turn was coming. Solid runs at Fontainebleau and Pau had left him with a hurdles mark of 57 kilos and if we translate that back to this AQPS form, then he deserved to be at the head of the market for this race. An SP of 2.8 PMU was very fair and he gave his backers very little cause for concern as he pulled clear in the home straight after being given a confident ride by Angelo Zuliani. His form over hurdles hinted that this ground wouldn’t be a problem for him and in reality, he was the only horse that really galloped through the line. The tight turns of Machecoul clearly suit and if he can build on this, there is no reason to think that he won’t win more races, especially if he is campaigned in the provinces. If we take Micawber as a guide, then it is fair to say that Mirmillon also ran a decent race and took a step forward from his 3rd placed finish at Limoges in November. That form has worked out reasonably well for the grade and although he was no match for the winner on Tuesday when Micawber kicked for home, he kept on at one pace to hold 2nd place, finishing 2 lengths clear of the rest when crossing the line. He is a Clovis du Berlais gelding whose dam was a Cross-Country winner and whilst his siblings have a combined record of 0-15, he does appear to be showing more than they have so far. He is a horse for longer distances and chasing down the line but has at least made a promising start, albeit at a low level. A winning time of 3:34.31 was around 6s slower than the thoroughbred handicap run over the same course and distance earlier on the card, though the heavy rainfall would also need to be taken into account.

I was hoping to have a positive angle to add for one of the newcomers, but the difficult conditions meant that this field came home at such wide intervals that it’s hard to be sure what, if anything, they may have achieved. The 6th placed Marjo fared best, but having finished 32 lengths behind Micawber it is very hard to have any significant optimism. I’ll give most of these 4-year-olds a pass for this race as the deep ground and the experience of the front runners played against them completely.