17 October 2019
Photo scoppdyga.com
The last springboard before the November 10 Prix Renaud du Vivier 4yo Hurdle (Gr1), the Prix Pierre de Lassus 4yo Hurdle (Gr3) shares the Saturday Auteuil card with the Montgomery Handicap Chase (Gr3).
Ten runners will compete to succeed Bonito du Berlais, Device, De Bon Cœur and Master Dino. L'Autonomie (Blue Bresil) seized the 4yo hurdling crown in the Questarabad Hurdle (Gr3) in the spring, beating Polirico (Cokoriko) and Porto Pollo (Manduro). She has just doubled the stake in the Maisons-Laffitte Hurdle (Gr3), beating again Polorico, but also Always Magic (Sunday Break) and Doctor Squeeze (Doctor Dino).
She doesn't have to carry an extra penalty for that new €52,000 check and will once again start as the favourite.
Highly anticipated for his first trial at the top level in the Maisons-Laffitte, Saint Sonnet (Saint des Saints) started as the 2nd favourite that day but finally obliged in fifth, more than sixteen lengths behind the filly, and just behind Doctor Squeeze, whom he had just beaten. Now the ground has softened since then, the Autumn is now definitely upon us and things can change very fast, especially with the main race only three weeks away.
The Montgomery Handicap Chase is the other highlight of the card, with its € 165,000 priezmoney. Twelve aged horses go for this, led by top-weight C'est le Bouquet (Coastal Path), the winner of the Grand Steeple of Craon (L) who will carry 71.5 kilos (11st4lbs), with stablemate at François Nicolle's yard Vision de Maître (Vision d'État) carrying only one pound less.
Oddly enough, among these twelve horses, only one competed in his last race chasing in Auteuil: Cafertiti (Fairly Ransom), who has just finished third in the usual "preparatory" chase, the Violon II Chase (L) ... It looks like there is a new trend growing