Fontainebleau 15/04/10

Plan B was then to walk back to the station - about four or five kilometres (less than France Galop says it is) but it involves going over a large hill and down the other side. Two of our party were able to hitch a lift in a horse box, which dropped them in the town. There, all cabs and buses had ceased. They stopped a lady in the street to ask for advice, who implausibly was originally from Wigan, and kindly offered them a lift to the station. She did suggest that there were no trains due to a strike, but as we had got one in the morning, there was a good chance of finding one at some stage, even though the morning services were not running on their usual two per hour schedule, and confidence built when a smattering of other optimists ambled into the station as well. After a route march that the Foreign Legion would have been proud of, the survivors made it to the station at 9.50, with a luxury 15 minutes until the next, and probably last, train back to Paris. Pretty much a normal day for anyone visiting a rural French track, as those who read the report on Pompadour may recall, where two of the party missed the only train and got a lift back to Limoges from the cheese seller at the chateau market. There was nobody lost to wild boar attacks, drunken hunters who cannot tell the difference between a deer and a person, nor booby traps set by the tricksters at France Galop.

View from the stand - note the Folkestone-esque lawn benches - with the last hurdle (left) and last fence (centre).

But what of Fontainebleau itself? Known locally as Hippodrome de La Solle, it is a great advert for the French funding model. The stand looks to hold about 400 people (France-Galop say 460, but faith in any of their information is rapidly eroding), plus room for not many more standing on the lawn in front of the stand. The stand is vintage, but in good nick, and a brand new PMU building exists. There is a small bar, but after racing they were offering a good looking meal option. Starter, paella, dessert, cheese and biscuits, plus wine for 20 Euros - i.e. the cost of two pints in central Paris. Reservations could be made on the day. It looked well worth staying around for, if you had a car... 

As for the racing surface, there is a flat, a hurdle, a chase and a cross-country track, set in a sea of white rails, in turn laid out in an oasis in the Bois Du Roi. Everything is spick and span, and for a course with a practical capacity of under 1,000 and an admission charge of E4.50, finances and prize money seem to very, very healthy - even the numptiest races were over E8,000 to the winner on this occasion, and they were very numpty indeed.

Going: Looked good or quicker

Race 1: Prix De La Tillaie, juvenile filles Hurdle [1m 7.75f]

1: Marina     2: Reggainight     3: Avene

Winner owned: Louis Duquesne, trained: Nicolas Bertran de Balanda, ridden: David Cottin

First prize for this was E9,600, which is quite a tidy sum when the race is limited to fillies having won less than 3,000 in their hurdles career. The ten runners had combined for a third, an eighth and six pulled ups as jumpers, plus no evidence of doing much better on the flat, and you have to wonder whether one or two British yards are missing a trick in not competing for decent prizes (E1,900 for fourth here!) where the local runners are nothing to get excited about. At one stage paddock pick and favourite Marina seemed as if she would win with a bit in hand, but Reggainight kept on dourly and ensured that Marina had to be ridden out to be certain of the win. The alternate selection on looks was Miss Bury, but anyone who opted to follow her had their expectations radically lowered when she was very slow at the warm-up hurdle and finished behind her less fancied stablemate Sumerisha. Avene came out best of the four racing debutantes, but quite what that counts for is open to question.

Race 2: Prix De Milly, juvenile colts & geldings Hurdle [1m 7.75f]

1: Deebel Nononito     2: Lucky Lane     3: Poliglas

Winner owned: Mme Patrick Papot, trained: Guillaume Macaire, ridden: Jacques Ricou

The same conditions applied here for the male horses as for the ladies in the opener, but there was less form to be bemused by. Marcus De La Borie had 96P, Poliglas had PP, Puerto De Baune had P and four no-shows on the flat, Giorgio 6P and finally Zem had a sole, futile flat appearance. As expected, one of the seven newcomers was up to the task, and having travelled up from the south-west from a yard even we in Britain are familiar with, Deebel Nononito was popular in the betting and hardly gave his supporters a moment of concern. Lucky Lane, who was one of a trio that looked especially well beforehand, came out best of the rest. Poliglas and Bonbon Glace (another newcomer who ended up sixth) both finished quite strongly, the latter after leading early and then losing his position when the pace quickened on the second lap. There was an inexplicable delay at the start of this race, which in the context of a very early spring evening meeting, had quite a knock-on effect later in the proceedings.

A lap to go and Poliglas leads Puerto De Baune, from Marcus De La Borie (7), Lucky Lane (yellow cap) and Giorgio (12). Deebel Nononito (noseband) heads Tillo (black and white).

Race 3: Prix Du Mont Ussy, AQPS 4 year old Chase [2m 2f]

1: Star Conti     2: Sweet Sugar     3: Sophisme

Winner owned: Mme Patrick Papot, trained: Guillaume Macaire, ridden: David Cottin

Over the whole field, the results achieved in chases were at best patchy, but four of the eleven had managed a win over fences, three of them last time out. Star Conti was one of them, and although he did not travel with great encouragement at many points of the race, he got a good run up the inner on the final turn and once he was in front, perked up and eventually had a bit up his sleeve when he crossed the line. It may have been a different story had Sadoum Ludois, another previous winner, not taken a heavy fall at the last. Sweet Sugar was the opposite of the winner, cruising through the race but not finding much for pressure. 

Sophisme has a small lead at the water from Sadoum Ludois and the mostly hidden Star Conti. The sheepskin friendly devil in mid air is Sulky, and the trio following are Sphinx De Lukka, Sweet Sugar and Sacree Collonges

Race 4: Prix D'Enghien , four year old fillies Claiming Hurdle [2m 1.75f]

1: Waleronne     2: Shinaway     3: Shendor Blue

Winner owned & trained: Robert Collet, ridden: Alexis Poirier

The claiming prices for this ranged from 6,000 to 10,000 Euros, but they were still chasing a first prize of over E,8,000 and even fourth nabbed a four figure sum. A British equivalent would see first prize comparable to the fourth prize here, and however enthused an observer may be with French jumping, it is hard to argue that what was almost a maiden claiming hurdle (only horses who had prevailed above claiming level were excluded from running) would take much winning. From the form amassed to date, completions were rare and places at a premium, although two of the runners had managed to sneak a hurdle win before this. The field quickly got strung out, and when they settled down for the outcome, Waleronne looked set to win easily, but a mistake at the last meant she did need a bit of effort from the saddle to make sure. Having been bred by R Jesus, she must we worth trying in chases, as the water jump at least should prove no problem. Shinaway showed plenty of heart, if not much pace, and might be an interesting recruit in the UK, where she would be potentially suited to long distance hurdles that are rarely seen in France. Ominously for the majority, Shendor Blue, with hurdle form of FP03F, made up a trio that finished comfortably clear of the masses. The jolly was Lilly Gold, ridden by Philip Carberry. Initially at the rear of a well scattered field, she made some progress with half a mile to go, but it was under pressure and proved incapable of making up the large amount of ground conceded. Not one for the rider's seasonal highlight DVD.

Race 5: Prix De Nemours Chase [2m 3.25f]

1: Key Moon     2: Poisson Rose     3: Roch D'Emeraude

Winner owned: Fabrice Butez, trained: Jehan Bertran de Balanda, ridden: Boris Chameraud

The conditions for this over-taxed my linguistic skills, but seemed to indicate that they excluded those that had done well in PMU meeting chases since this time last year. The race suffered a long delay as one runner went lame going to post and required attendance from the vet and horse ambulance. As it was second favourite at the time, the withdrawal left Mundo, trained by Thierry Doumen, as a short priced favourite, but he failed to raise his game, and having been bang in contention four out, weakened quickly and was pulled up before the next. Turning for home, Key Moon, who had been slowly away in a ragged start, had the lead but was headed at the last by Poisson Rose. When push came to shove, however, Key Moon waxed as Poisson Rose slightly floundered. Even in French racing, they make room occasionally for terrible English puns.

Water jump a lap out and Poisson Rose leads (in no aspects pink), from Mundo, Leon Du Charmil, Roch D'Emeraude (5) and Tamarra. Apologies to Key Moon for underestimating him at halfway.

Race 6: Prix Barbizon, Claiming Hurdle [2m 4.25f]

1: Kaline De Nuit     2: Comte D'Anjou     3: Saga Family

Winner owned & trained: A Le Clerc, ridden: Kevin Guignon

Riders whose career wins totalled less than thirty-five claimed a very handy nine pounds for this race, so they were on board seven of the eleven runners. This posed a challenge for the starter, whose job was to get racing going quickly to try and catch up the earlier delays before the light went. After taking the warm-up obstacle, the field crossed the finishing track and the hurdle track, then cut along the chase track to the start in front of the stands. Instead of extended milling about evident in previous heats, as soon as they arrived, the tapes went back and the field were off  before they could get themselves in any form of confusion. Being a low grade claimer, the runners were quite scattered a long way out, and the first trio home were well clear of the others. Three out Comte D'Anjou was all over the winner, but he did not get home and Kaline De Nuit, a 2009 hurdle winner having his second run this season, outlasted both he and Saga Family, whose form in 2010 was a rather off putting P05PP.

Great delight in success for Kaline De Nuit and Monsieur Guignon

Race 7: Prix De Provins, mares Hurdle [2m 4.25f]

1: Zuckerpuppe     2: Quita     3: Lucky One

Winner owned: Stall XY, trained: Mrs Erika Mader, ridden: Jan-Erik Neuroth

After a similarly frenetic start, including a false one, where the starter yelling at the jockeys like a nutter had no effect, there was again only three horses in contention coming to the final flight, and once Lucky One cracked, Zuckerpuppe, a raider from Germany, was left to be just that slightly more strong in a finish than Quita, who had won a chase and a hurdle already this year. Connections of the winner were riotously delighted - and a E9,120 first prize must have helped that - and I was less impressed that having observed that this was the one chance to follow Plumpton form, my own advice was ignored by myself and a 69/1 winner went begging. It does put a context on the standard of horse needed to challenge for the money on offer.

It was a failure of attempted consolation to return home and check exactly what Zuckerpuppe had done since the British run a year earlier (nothing was the answer), only for curiosity to reveal that whilst Zhukov, who beat her a head, had not run since, 26 length third Blacktoft had won twice, the fourth and fifth had been placed and the horse that fell two out when narrowly leading her and Zhukov was the very decent King Edmund. D'oh! And double D'Oh!

Race 8: Prix Colonel Marlin, amateur riders cross-country Chase

1: Lost Steps     2: Toutonne     3: Momontano

Winner owned: Ecurie Des Dunes, trained: Patrice Quinton, ridden: Patrick Pailhes

With night closing in, the runners for the finale were out and at the start before the earlier runners had managed time to even unsaddle. The course layout for this was a sort of skew-whiff double helix. The first lap was fairly uneventful, but after one horse unseated turning away from the straight (largely unnoticed, and the jockey was prostrate on the floor for some while before the medics found him) and another couple departed ascending a bank, the second possibly hampered, the field had been somewhat pruned. As they turned towards the finish, four runners were in a duel (is that quartel?) for the finish. Both Lost Steps and Toutonne are regularly placed in these races and stayed on strongest, but Momontano who won a couple last year - plus fell a couple of times - looked as if this first run of 2010 would bring him on.