The top of the French training ranks swings from one year to the next, but right now there is no doubt in my mind that Arnaud Chaille-Chaille is at the top of that particular tree. He was Champion trainer in France in 2024 with 115 winners from 586 runners (19.62%) and over €5m in prize-money earnt. Anzadam spent the early part of his career with the Chaille-Chaille team. He was a winner on his debut at Bordeaux in September 2023 when he scrambled home to beat Le Fauve (now with Dan Skelton) by a neck. The runner-up has struggled since switching to the UK, but given how much ground Anzadam was asked to make up in the home straight at Bordeaux, I think we can probably upgrade that performance and he proved at Compiegne 4-weeks later that he was a considerably above average Juvenile hurdler.
As a general rule, Arnaud Chaille-Chaille is a very patient trainer and gives his horses time to develop before pitching them into deeper company, so it is perhaps a significant point that he sent Anzadam straight into Class 1 company for his 2nd start. He cantered through that contest, running down the long time leader Kaline des Boullat on the bridle before going clear by 7-lengths after the last, beating Le Blavet with ease, who had won his first 2 starts. Sold soon after to join Willie Mullins and the Donnellys, he was as short as 16/1 for the Triumph hurdle but Mullins has since stated that he couldn’t quite get him right and so it was over a year before we saw him make his Irish debut at Fairyhouse in November.
In truth, he was a class above the rest of the field in the Willow Warm hurdle (Grade 3), but the 2nd placed Kala Conti ran well over Christmas and given that she had race fitness on her side, there is a lot to like. Anzadam has a very high cruising speed and a decent turn-of-foot, so we do need to make allowance for the fact that this was a steadily run race (finishing speed of 110.83%) and that played to his strengths. He won the sprint from the 2nd last, running the final 4-furlongs in 51.79s, with an eye-catching 12.24s for the penultimate furlong. So far so good, but things are about to become more difficult for Anzadam.
Firstly, in his 3 starts to date he has only raced in his own age group and now that he has turned 5, it’s time to find out how that form will translate to open company. Willie Mullins has stated that the International hurdle on Cheltenham trials day is his most likely target and that would look to be a good fit, especially to give him some experience of the Cheltenham hill. Will we learn if he is a Champion hurdle contender though? I doubt it. For a start, Constitution Hill seems very unlikely to run. Nor are we likely to see any of the other Mullins horses who look likely to contest the Irish Champion hurdle at the Dublin Racing festival instead. We may see Burdett Road or Lump Sum, but this is likely to be a relatively small field full of horses who have a stone or more to find to be considered Champion hurdle contenders. For that reason, we won’t really know how good Anzadam is until March.
At the time of writing, he is a best priced 12/1 for the Champion hurdle in March. Is that value? I don’t think so. I wouldn’t be overly keen to back Constitution Hill at 5/6 either, but if this was a “Win Only” market, it’s hard to think he would be any shorter than 33/1. As a 5-year-old, on what is likely to be his 5th start and only his 2nd in open company, asking him to run to 170 is surely too much to ask? In what looks likely to be a truly run race, he will almost certainly be the 2nd or 3rd string for the yard and as such, I think he is likely to be ridden to get to the 2nd last with something left in the tank. I don’t see any circumstance where he is in front at the top of the hill and I also don’t see either Danny or Patrick Mullins (assuming one of them has the ride) taking the decision to sit on the quarters of Brighterdaysahead or Constitution Hill. Instead, I expect him to be ridden cold and to come with a late run. He is a very fast horse who does so many things right, that I can certainly make a case for him finishing in the first 3 or 4, but 2025 may be a little too soon for him. I was asked this week if I thought he could beat Lossiemouth and State Man and my answer was yes. However, it wasn’t yes because I think he is at their level yet, it was yes because I felt that he was likely to be ridden to finish well and won’t have to be in the same competitive racing position that they are likely to take up. For that reason, I don’t think there is any need to take the 12/1 on offer, even if he wins the International hurdle as I would expect him to do. Instead, I think I’d rather wait for a place bet or betting without selection on the day.
*A £10 each-way bet at 12/1 would return £34 if he finished 3rd (Effectively a 7/10 winner on total stake)