Arrival of the fifth: 15 – 9 – 1 – 14 – 2
Flagship event of the French calendar on the obstacles, the Grand Steeple-Chase of Paris, disputed on the racecourse of Auteuil (Paris XVI) kept all its promises with its sixteen starters in the running on the long course of 6,000 m, strewn of twenty-three obstacles. This Group I crowned Sel Jem (n°15), the competitor most acclaimed by punters Associated with Johnny Charron, this 5-year-old gelding has benefited from a very good run. Waiting mid-pack, he gradually approached and produced excellent acceleration between the last two difficulties to detach himself irreparably from his opponents, rallying the post with an eight-point lead. Immediately after the finish, its owner, Xavier Papot, was overcome with emotion shortly after the finish: “I was in apnea the whole race. I saw that my horse was going very easily. When I saw Will-o’-the-wisp in difficulty, I told myself that if nothing happened, we were going to win. He doesn’t gallop, he flies. »
At a distance from the winner, Gex (n°9) took a convincing second place and told his jockey, James Reveley: “When you finish second in a Grand Steeplechase, that’s great. »
Le top weight Frank of Port (n°1) creates a surprise by completing the arrival of the trifecta at odds of 47/1. Winner for his first steps on the Butte Mortemart at the age of 3, he made a thunderous comeback on this track. Arrival fourth, Niko Has (#14) performed remarkably on his debut over such a long distance. After a course in the economy, he deployed very good strides and precedes the other representative of François Nicolle Happy Monarch (n°2), which completes the arrival of the quinté in front of the great animator, General in Chief (n°11).
Eddy de Balme (n°8), Dream Wish (#10) and Road Mix Tavel (n°16) were at fault and ejected their partner while Al Photo Boom (n°3), Screaming Colours (#4) and Lord du Mesnil (n°12) were not able to complete their course.