The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris might have eluded him when he was riding, but David Cottin has every intention of adding the French Gold Cup to his record as a trainer and this preferably the sooner, the better, writes Liz Price.
He certainly can’t be accused of wasting any time, as he is sending not only Ajas, the winner of the Prix Murat, one of the most important prep races for the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris and the mount of history maker Rachael Blackmore, but also the young up-and-coming Le Berry and still relatively unexposed General en Chef to Auteuil this Sunday.
Don't miss all the action from Auteuil, including Rachael Blackmore and Ajas in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, live on Sky Sports Racing on Sunday.
“There are those who would wait another year with their five-year-olds,” he explains. “But with horses you don’t know where you’ll be in a year’s time and if they are in form now there is no reason why you couldn’t run them.” The horses he is alluding to are the five-year-old Le Berry and General en Chef who will try and follow in the hoof steps of recent winners Storm of Saintly, So French or On The Go, who all won it in their five-year-old season.
As to Ajas, who puts a gleam in his trainer’s eye whenever he talks about him, he is seven-years-old, which is considered to be the perfect age for this 3m 6f trip that includes twenty-three fences, of which the giant water jump in front of the stands is jumped twice.
However, age is probably the least reason why he enjoys such a prominent position in the betting market. Also the fact that he will be ridden by Rachael Blackmore, who recently made history when becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National, a race that had actually featured on Ajas’ original program, is not the reason why the son of No Risk At All is so popular with the punters. No, Ajas is one of the favourites because he is simply a superb jumper, a horse that seems to have it all.
“Ajas is a horse who is very easy to ride,” confirms his trainer who once admitted he would have loved to have continued his career as a jockey if he could have ridden horses like Ajas on a daily basis. “He just doesn’t know how to make mistakes. He doesn’t pull, he jumps really well, he is very agile, he follows very easily, he can go with any pace and he is as good over hurdles as he is over fences. He is so versatile. That is why it would have been fun to run him in the Grand National.”
If his trainer was initially a little disappointed when Swedish owner Ulf Sjoberg decided against a trip to Aintree, he certainly hasn’t any regrets now after Ajas won the Group 3 Prix Troytown from Poly Grandchamp and the Group 2 Prix Murat from 2020 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris victor Docteur de Ballon.
“No,” he smiles. “I have no regrets. I just thought he would have taken to the Grand National fences seeing how he easily he took to the races at Pau where he won the Grand Steeple on his first attempt. But I am very glad to have a favourite in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, believe me.”
It was the owner’s suggestion to ask Rachael Blackmore to ride Ajas, even though the Irish jockey has never before ridden at Auteuil.
“I have known Rachael for years,” Cottin tells us. “She got some work experience at Guillaume Macaire’s yard when I was riding for him, but I admit I didn’t think she would end up here. However, we already started considering her I think during the Cheltenham meeting and when I texted her to ask her if she wanted to ride, she said yes immediately.” He pauses, laughs and adds: “Yep, she didn’t hesitate, that’s for sure.”
And he continues: “I gave her my codes for the website so that she can watch the previous editions of the race, but I’m not worried that she hasn’t ridden here before. After all, she rode in the Grand National and never got even close to being in a difficult position. That is what I like about her, she is always in the right position, she never gets herself in trouble. She is a very fine rider with a good pair of hands. Her horses never exhaust themselves during the race, as she rides with so much finesse that horses gallop to the line on their own. She doesn’t impose herself on them, doesn’t force them, she let’s them do their thing. Look, Ajas is not complicated and there are no specific orders for a horse like him. All I can say is that he cannot be in better form. He is absolutely flying.”
Ajas is flying, but so is Le Berry. The now five-year-old son of Gemix won his first Grade 1 on his final start last season and has remained unbeaten in two starts this year and his handler doesn’t mince his words when he says: “Le Berry is the class horse. He doesn’t need anyone. He jumps well, he just goes from one jump to the other, he is just class.”
The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris has been on his agenda for a long while already and Cottin confirms: “The Grand Steeple Chase became an option as soon as he won the Maurice Gillois last year. It’s the logical step. Le Berry has come a long way. He is easy to ride, as he no longer pulls like he used to. He likes to go with the pace, which is great, because if you had a horse you needed to hold up in the back of the field, you have more chances of bumping into a faller. His great strength is his turn of foot. He doesn’t use up his energy during the race and he can then produce that burst of speed on the flat, which makes him a class act. It’s the first time he will run over this trip, but he did quicken very well last time when he ran over 2m 6 f and I have no doubts about his stamina. None at all.”
In only his fourth season as a trainer, David Cottin goes into the 2021 renewal of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris with two, if not three live chances. “All three of them have a chance,” Cottin is quick to insist. “You mustn’t forget that General en Chef beat Carriacou, the winner of the 2019 Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris by eleven lengths last time.”
It is true that the five-year-old General en Chef left no doubt about his ability when he literally flew home in the Prix William Head at Auteuil on his last start, but his performances in the past have not been quite as straight forward as those of his two stable mates.
In fact, he hasn’t even got a Graded victory to his name yet but his handler explains: “Last year he unseated his rider in the prep race but we still thought we wanted to run him in the Grade 1. However, the route leading to it was not ideal. He ran in the Grade 3 Prix Orcada where he finished third behind Le Berry and then we ran him back too quickly in the Grade 1 Maurice Gillois, where he didn’t run well. He has a lot of class, but he is complicated. This year though he has calmed down a lot. We gave him an easy run over hurdles on his seasonal debut and then the other day in the listed, he went to the front and just flew. He beat Carriacou by 11 lengths. They never even got to see him in that race, he just took off.”
A horse that can get wound up in the preliminaries, he will appreciate that attendance at Auteuil is restricted this Sunday. In any case, his trainer will not have a bad word said against him and he joked: “If we could run first, second and third in the Grand Steeple-Chase, we would not be unhappy.”
Expectations are hence high for the weekend that already starts on Saturday with the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil, the 'French Champion Hurdle', before continuing on Sunday with three Grade 1 races, including the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
Here David Cottin gives us a quick assessment of some of his other runners.
Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil: Paul’s Saga
“Paul’s Saga is in great form. We took off the cheekpieces last time and we will put them back this time to surprise her. She is a good mare and if the ground is very soft, she must have a real chance. She has beaten L’Autonomie before. We don’t have any more margin, but we have beaten her in the past. The softer the ground, the better for her.”
Prix Alain du Breil: Gallipoli, Jeu De Paumeand Baronne Du Berlais
“Gallipoli is in great form. He showed that he can compete at this level. The only thing is, he hasn’t got a lot of experience. Jeu de Paume is currently giving me the run around so he will wear blinkers. I’m not saying he is going to win, but he should run well. I’m taking a gamble with Baronne de Berlais. She has only run once, but she is very good. She worked well the other day and why not try it.
Prix Ferdinand Dufaure: Queen Du Berlais
“She is a good filly. She was in season the other day when she ran, which was the reason why she showed little enthusiasm. She seems well to me now.
