Much of the work that I do involves looking behind the scenes at French Racing. I offer what can only be described as a "Scouting" service to some of my clients, where I try to put some context to the French form, particularly away from the glare of the Paris tracks, in order to offer an objective view as to the strength of a piece of form. I have no particular interest to head into the world of Bloodstock and whilst I find the buying and selling of French horses to be fascinating, it is not something that I could ever see myself doing. Instead, I try to offer a second opinion for clients who are considering making a purchase from France, as well as identifying potential targets based on a set of criteria. One such horse that came on to my radar earlier in the year was Kroko, trained by Emmanuel Clayeux. Nothing came of it at the time, but he showed some promise in an AQPS race earlier in the season and after a slow start to his jumping career, it was nice to see him go in at Lignieres on Sunday under a superb ride from James Reveley.
I have included my notes from the meeting at Lignieres en Berry yesterday, as well as a copy of the report produced on Kroko earlier in the year for you to download if you wish. Considering this was a quiet Sunday meeting in the provinces, there would appear to be quite a lot to take from this card. In particular, the Class 2 feature race looks to be an above average affair and the ex-Dan Skelton trained Sholokjack has gone into my tracker after he showed improvement for the return to chasing. Hugo Merienne looks to be bringing him back to his best and his turn should not be far away.
3,7 penetrometer reading
Horse | Time | Réduction Km | Final Circuit |
Kroko | 250.70 | 69.63 | 84.61 |
La Grillere | 246.20 | 68.33 | 85.55 |
Griffon D’Aubrelle | 333.80 | 74.17 | 83.93 |
Prix Marc Boudot - 4YO AQPS Chase - 3,600m
Kroko was allowed to dictate under James Reveley, but still produced a career best and readily pulled clear in the closing stages. The key to the horse would appear to be the stronger pace, as he has travelled strongly in the past before being outpaced. This was his 2nd Chase start, having finished 3rd to Earl of Shannon in a Class 1 at Lyon in June.
Kol Vert kept on into 2nd place. This was his 5th start in the last 6-weeks, but he has shown some improvement since running on better ground, though he was never really a threat to the winner. He should at least find a provincial chase to win in similar style to the Les Sables hurdle race he picked up last month.
Ketch D’Estruval finished 3rd. He has a rating of 59-kilos, though he was conceding weight to the others here, so there is a solid look to this form.
Prix Marc Deuquet - 5YO C3 Chase - 3,600m
La Grillere was able to track 2nd placed Sainte Divine before picking her off as they approached the last. She has won 2 of her 4 starts over fences now, though it should be noted that she was soundly beaten when racing at Auteuil earlier in her career. Much like the 2nd, she has found her niche in calmer waters and having hit the line strongly, there would appear to be further improvement to come from her current rating of 53.5-kilos.
Prix Geo BTP - 5YO+ C2 Chase - 4,500m
Best race on the card. Griffon D’Aubrelle has an excellent record at Lignieres, this was his 3rd win in 4 starts over fences here, though he was also impressive when winning at Questembert the time before. He has had his issues and has had 2 periods of over 18-months away from the track in his career, but if they can keep him sound he has ability and ought to find an other race before the summer is out.
Sholokjack is the horse to take from this card. He was highly tried during his time with Dan Skelton, reaching a rating of 135 without really progressing, but after a couple of confidence building runs over hurdles, he found significant improvement here. Although outpaced at a crucial stage, he charged home after the last to be beaten a length (winner made all). Given the poor state of British Prize-Money, there should be a conditions race for him in the coming weeks given how little he has earned in the last 12-months.
Fanfaron Special was ideally placed, but he couldn’t match the winner and 2nd after the last and at this stage of his career, he would probably appreciate a softer surface.
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