Obstacle races in Pau

Pau, Wednesday, 11 January: Eight steeplechase races are on the programme in Pau today. The Prix Jean-Paul Hugonnet (4th race/15.05/42.000 Euro/3900 m), in which four-year-old horses are addressed, leads over the hunter jumps.

Among the eight participants, Athena du Luy (Nathalie Desoutter) is the only mare in the field. Trained by Francois Nicolle, the four-year-old usually ran reliably to the front over both the chase and hurdle jumps last year, but of all things fluffed in her most recent appearance in a high-paying handicap as co-favourite. In the same fixture, Best Path (James Reveley) was reasonably in the picture when fifth and subsequently won his first race here. Just Milieu (Johnny Charron) and Il Diavolo (Felix de Giles) were together under order on 18 December, but only the former could meet the high expectations when second. The Cottin protégé ran before that in Clairefontaine and scored a second place. Joli Look (Wilfried Lajon) is a model of reliability and must not be missed in any bet. Beau Gaulois (Angelo Zuliani) showed a good approach in Craon.