Francois sets his sights on Festival

13 April 2012

Horses trained by Francois Rohaut ought not to be fazed by the Cheltenham hill - as they wake every morning at the foot of the Pyrenees.

Rohaut's highly successful training stables stand in Pau, home to rugby union and horseracing, in the woods of south-west France, from whence on Saturday comes Champion Hurdle pretender Gun'n Roses to run at Sandown.

Rohaut's profile has been a low one among the British racegoing public, so few have been his runners, but his career is already remarkable in one respect and a good showing from his horse in Esher would bring to the fore another iconic Frenchman after Francois Doumen and Guillaume Macaire.

It is not so long since Rohaut's resources contained two fabulously talented horses, both now trained elsewhere. The trainer is eager to see at first hand how First Gold and Cyfor Malta have progressed since those days in Pau, probably when they lock horns in the Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

For now he is quietly preparing Gun'n Roses - not to be confused with the Somerset-trained seven-year-old of the same name - for what is a stiff test for his British debut, in the Agfa Hurdle. Some value seekers, however, have already convinced themselves that the bookmakers have missed a trick in alloting the horse odds of up to 100-1 for the Festival.

A look at the ante-post lists for the Cheltenham showpiece make a reading of Gun'n Roses' form an exercise in wish fulfilment. In April he easily beat Ilnamar, who is already a short price for the Arkle Chase ahead of his first run for Martin Pipe, and the same month won again beating Snow Drop, who won the Triumph Hurdle six weeks earlier.

Then in September he got the better of Bounce Back, Doumen's contender for the Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle. Doumen's horse finished ahead of the Rohaut runner when second and third in the Grade 1 Prix Renaud du Vivier in November, since when Gun'n Roses has been in quarters.

Oddly for the fevered state of the market for French hurdlers, Rohaut suggests the phone has not yet been ringing hot with offers for Gun'n Roses. But at Sandown this Saturday, he will test the horse's readiness to take on odds-on Champion hurdle favourite Istabraq. Signs are that the race will be an ideal examination with Geos, Hors La Loi III and Hitman all mentioned as possible runners.

Gun'n Roses is in lodgings in Hampshire, stabled with Toby Balding, a friend of the horse's owner, Spanish businessman and Cheltenham addict Javier Gispert.

"That's why we are here so early," says Rohaut. "To see if the horse can run in the big race at Cheltenham. It is a test for us and we'll see how he jumps the English hurdles. I know Istabraq won very well last time and is the horse to beat. He's a fantastic horse. We know he's very popular at Cheltenham." The mere fact Gun'n Roses is French trained is likely to shorten his odds on Saturday but like Doumen, Rohaut's intrusion in England is not new.

He acquired the rudiments of training in Newmarket with two formidable masters, Sir Mark Prescott and the late Harry Wragg, with whom Rohaut was at Ascot as assistant on the day Buz Kashi was disqualified after winning the Coro-nation Stakes 22 years ago.

"They weren't the same types," recalls the 43-year-old Frenchman of his tutors. "Sir Mark was very hard with his staff and his horses but very good to learn from as after that you'd find anything easy. Harry Wragg's place was full of classic horses and very good pedigrees. It was a very good time for me."

There were other times too, and given their status here it is remarkable to discover that Rohaut taught Cyfor Malta and First Gold.

"Cyfor Malta was a fantastic horse, if a bit crazy. He left for (Bernard) Secly's yard in Chantilly after he'd won three or four over hurdles but First Gold was sold to the Marquesa after his first win. I won't say how much he was sold for but he won the Grand Steeplechase de Paris five months after that. He was fantastic, a bit headstrong but a very good jumper and as for his run at Kempton, that was very impressive."

With the smart Bilboquet also expected to represent the stable at Cheltenham in the Gerrard Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Rohaut could face a great deal of scrutiny in the weeks ahead.

Tony Smurthwaite is a writer with the Racing Post

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