Prixdelahorse Tracker - Mister Banker

Watching all of the Racing in the French Provinces can be an arduous task. There are lots of meetings and the vast majority of the runners will remain at that level throughout the season. I would liken it to watching every British Point-to-Point meeting with the aim of perhaps finding the 1 or 2 horses who may be able to translate their form under rules. However, there are some diamonds to be found and it is very possible that Mister Banker could fit into that category. He made a winning debut over hurdles in the Prix D’Auteuil at Saint-Brieuc on Sunday and would look to be a better horse than a PMH meeting in mid-February. I like Saint-Brieuc, it’s tight, right-handed and a real speed test, but horses who win impressively around there are normally able to use the experience when they step up to the more galloping tracks. Jade de Grugy made a winning debut there in 2022 in an AQPS Flat race and ever since, I have been keen to study the races there in detail, regardless of the level.

The Prix D’Auteuil was a Class 5 race for the 4-year-olds and with a winning prize of €6,720, there will be higher profile hurdle races run in the next few weeks. However, Mister Banker had the benefit of a 3-year-old campaign on the Flat and having reached a rating of 41-kilos on the level, the equivalent to 89 in UK terms, he had shown a fair level of ability for Elisabeth Allaire. In fact, he won 3 of his 6 starts on the Flat last Summer, most notably when winning the Class 2 Prix de Saint-Christophe at Vichy in September. He gave weight and a 2 length beating to Familly that day, a Filly who went on to finish 3rd in the Listed Grand Prix du Nord at Chantilly on her next start and he looked good value for his Flat rating as a result. Lope de Vega wouldn’t be especially known for his hurdlers, but his progeny does include names like Mengli Khan and Camprond, so it’s not entirely out of character than Mister Banker took so well to this discipline.

The Allaire team have made an exceptional start to 2026 with 3 winners from the 5 runners that they have sent out, but Mister Banker looked to know his job and was extremely professional when tackling hurdles in public for the first time. He made most of the running and when asked to quicken approaching the 2nd last, he responded readily for Theo Chevillard to pull clear, crossing the line 20 lengths ahead of his nearest rival. There’s a lot of context needed. This was a low level race and the runner-up hadn’t been seen since finishing 5th in the Prix Wild Monarch last April. It was also run on ground described as Very Heavy, with a reading of 5,3 on the penetrometer. However, Mister Banker was entirely dominant and his winning time of 5:09.16 compared well with the other races won by the older horses on the card over the same course and distance. This was one of the first provincial meetings of 2026, but I doubt there will be too many performances of this quality over hurdles and it will be fascinating to see where Mister Banker goes next.