Paul Nicholls continued his strong start to the new jumps season when winning the French Champion Hurdle with Ptit Zig, who responded well to first-time blinkers to score at 19-1. Un De Sceaux was the 11-10 favourite but faded into sixth in the latter stages of the three-mile contest at Auteuil.
“I’m delighted!” Nicholls said. “Sam [Twiston-Davies] has ridden the perfect race. We knew he’d stay.
“We will probably keep him over hurdles now. He does not jump fences well enough and, to be fair, he doesn’t jump hurdles that well either, but he has plenty of stamina. There are plenty of good staying hurdles for him.”
Ptit Zig had been only fourth when Un De Sceaux hacked up in last month’s Prix La Barka but that race was half a mile shorter. On this occasion, Un De Sceaux appeared to pay the price for chasing a strong pace set by Blue Dragon, who stayed on bravely for third.
The Nick Williams-trained Aubusson was fourth under Lizzie Kelly. The other raiders from Britain and Ireland, Thousand Stars, Silsol, Ubak and Whiteout, were well beaten.
Covert Love, who won last year’s Irish Oaks and Prix de l’Opera for Hugo Palmer, has been retired just days before her intended reappearance run in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. Palmer said the filly had a strained ligament which would have allowed her to return in about a year’s time. Instead, she will be retired to stud.
Unusually soft going is expected for the Royal meeting, which starts on Tuesday. The going was already soft in places on Sunday morning before further rain and more is expected each day this week, with 16mm in one forecast for Thursday.
Wesley Ward, William Haggas and Aidan O’Brien were among the trainers who expressed public regret about the weather on Sunday and queried whether some of their stable stars would line up. “The rain is probably going to hurt all my chances, which is a shame,” Ward said. “But what can you do?”
