L'Autonomie in her own World

Sunday, March 27, 2022, Auteuil Racecourse (Paris). - Already twice a winner of the €120,000 Hypothèse Hurdle (Gr3) at 5 and 6, French champion mare L’Autonomie (Blue Brésil) once again took the trophy for her seasonal comeback. Trained by François Nicolle for breeder-owner Catherine Coiffier, she led all the way to beat by 5 lengths a closing Porto Pollo (Manduro), also aged 7, and the 5-year-old gelding Thélème (Sidestep). The best hurdler in the country has now earned over €1.25m.

She entered the last straight with the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede's Colbert du Berlais (Poliglote) in her wake. In the rear but surely not out of the race, Hermès Baie (Crillon) had to be hardly checked by his stablemate Porto Pollo (Manduro), who came back, in the end, to snatch the third place from Thélème. Colbert du Berlais stayed on in 4th. After two wins by De Bon Cœur in 2018 and 2019, François Nicolle has now won this race 5 years in succession.

L’Autonomie is out of L’Automne (Kahyasi), a winner of one race in 18 attempts over the flat, claimed for € 12,000 by Catherine Coiffier after 7th place for her last appearance on a racecourse. Her own dam, L’Authie (Linamix), is a sister to the Prix Royal-Oak (Gr1) 3rd Cléty (Sillery), and finished 3rd in the Renaud du Vivier 4yo Hurdle (Gr1). She also gave La Canche (Le Havre), a Listed-placed on the flat.

L'Automne had been presented at the Arqana sale in February 2015, in foal to L’Autonomie, but was unsold at €7,000. Since L’Autonomie, L’Automne gave a Diamond Boy colt sold for €30,000 to John Daniel Moore at Arqana 2018 Summer Sale, and another Diamond Boy colt was born in 2018. The former is still unraced at 6, but the latte, named L’Auteur, now 4, started his career in the same card as the Hypothese and finished 4th in the €47,000 Alcide Hurdle. A colt by Kamsin, named L’Autocrate, is born in 2020.