25 February 2023
Photo scoopdyga.com
The first leg of the Grand Steeple-Chase Masters, the GSC Masters - Prix Robert de Clermont-Tonnerre (Group 3) certainly lived up to the pre-race expectation, and racegoers were treated to a thrilling finish to the race. Despite cruising into the race and looking extremely threatening, Eddy de Balme unseated his rider at the penultimate fence, the double barriere! Eddy De Balme’s dramatic exit looked to have left the way clear for Grandeur Nature and David Gallon, but the pair were attacked late in the piece by Metasequoia, who was struggling at the back of the field on the turn for home. Under the care of Isabelle Pacault, Metasequoia produced a remarkable effort to close down the leaders and just failed to collar Grandeur Nature, who is trained in Royan (Charente-Maritime) by Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé and carries the silks of Haras de Saint-Voir, the base of formidable breeder Nicolas de Lageneste. Poly Grandchamp, who is also trained in Royan, but by François Nicolle, finished third.
David Gallon (rider of Grandeur Nature, 1st) – trained at the Royan-La Palmyre training centre (17)
“I am very happy! They went very, very fast early on. My horse jumped super and began to really close at the double barriere. When I asked for an effort, he gave me that extra bit at the finish that we have seen him do before. It's great”.
Nicolas de Lageneste (owner and breeder of Grandeur Nature, 1st) - Allier (03)
“He is a superb jumper, and Arnaud Chaillé-Chaillé told me that he would like to try the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris with him this year, and that will be his objective. I didn’t think he would be this ready first time out for the year, but we have always thought a lot of him since his win in the Prix Morgex. He had a few issues when he was younger and that allowed him to have a break, which seems to have helped him. I think he will be even better on the heavy ground”.
Isabelle Pacault (trainer of Metasequoia, 2nd) – trained at the Maisons-Laffitte (78) training centre
“Looking on from the stands, I was worried that his jockey was going to pull him up! He is a horse that you can put under too much pressure, and Kevin Nabet gave him an excellent ride. I think that If he had asked him for more, then he could have fallen. After the race, Kevin said that we might have a horse for the Grand Steeple… I wasn’t sure, but now we have no choice! We will have to manage the pressure on the 21st of May, and I will imagine that he will run in another prep race, which one yet, I’m not sure”
Bertrand Lestrade (rider of Poly Grandchamp, 3rd) – trained at Royan-La Palmyre (17) training centre.
“He has run an excellent race. They went a crazy pace, and the ones up front really turned on the speed. We found ourselves out the back with Metasequoia, but he pulled it back in the straight. It is a pleasure to see him enjoying his racing and being competitive at this age”.
SEASON 2 OF THE GRAND STEEPLE-CHASE MASTERS:
Following the success of the inaugural 2022 Grand Steeple-Chase Masters, a series of races that lead to the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, France Galop is pleased to renew the Masters in 2023.
France Galop launches the 2023 Grand Steeple-Chase Masters, which highlights the most important prep races leading to the greatest challenge in the jump racing calendar, at the end of February. The Masters effectively start with the first prep race for horses aiming to run in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
The Masters were created to allow racing enthusiasts to increase their knowledge of jump racing by exploring in more detail how horses are trained for the legendary Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, the greatest challenge and ultimate target: 6000m long, peppered with 23 formidable obstacles to jump and record prizemoney of €900 000.
During the Grand Steeple-Chase Masters, regular press releases and immersive media on the France Galop social media platforms, which can be found by using the hashtag #GRANDSTEEPLECHASE, will focus on the different events.
