Grand Steeple-Chase Masters 2026 2nd Leg – Prix Troytown The Finest Victory of Secret d’État

Press Release                                                                                                                                                                                                      Saturday, March 7, 2026

Grand Steeple-Chase Masters 2026

2nd Leg – Prix Troytown

The Finest Victory of Secret d’État

Race Summary

On Saturday at Auteuil Racecourse, the highlight of the day was the Prix Troytown (Grade 3), the second leg of the Grand Steeple-Chase Masters, a challenge leading to the most legendary French jumps race: the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris (Grade 1, to be run on Sunday, May 17, at Auteuil).

We witnessed a small surprise, as the hot favorite Kilomètre Illimité, already winner on February 14 of the first leg, the Prix Robert de Clermont-Tonnerre (Grade 3), was beaten. Victory went to Secret d’État, who records here his first win at Grade level. Secret d’État raced prominently throughout. He jumped the final fence in the lead. Challenged by Kentucky Wood, he produced a strong acceleration to ultimately win by two and a half lengths. Kentucky Wood finished ten lengths ahead of Kilomètre Illimité, who completed the podium. 

Seven-year-old Secret d’État was making his first start of the season on Saturday, and only the ninth of his career. Until then he had won four races, including a Listed race, the level just below Group company. 

Secret d’État is trained in Lamorlaye by David Cottin. He runs in the colors of the Pierre and Hugo Pilarski stable. David Cottin is also a co-owner of the horse

Official Result

1st     SECRET D’ÉTAT (G. Meunier)

2nd    KENTUCKY WOOD (A. Zuliani)

3rd     KILOMÈTRE ILLIMITÉ (G. Masure)

Quotes from the Winners

Pierre Pilarski (co-owner of Secret d’État, 1st)) 

“It's quite unexpected. I thought I could win this race, but not with Secret d’État! [his other contender, Crown du Berlais, was declared a non-runner, editor’s note]. Now I’m waiting to find out whether everything went well from a respiratory standpoint, because that was a question mark. But let’s enjoy the moment: even if this was not the strongest edition of the Prix Troytown, Kilomètre Illimité was still in the line-up. What Secret d’État did is very impressive, because he beat horses that had already run this season. That said, we must not get carried away: the best steeple-chasers were not there. If he doesn’t have respiratory problems again, he’s a horse capable of staying 6,000 meters. Today he jumped very well, didn’t pull, and clearly breathed well. This horse has had quite a few physical issues. It was his trainer David Cottin who really brought him back and revived him. That’s why today we are partners on a 50-50 basis. Today he gives us great pleasure and I think he looks magnificent.”

François Nicolle (trainer of Kentucky Wood, 2nd) – based in Saint-Augustin (17) 

“Kentucky Wood probably should have made his move earlier. He went back to his ‘old habits’ of making mistakes or looking behind before jumping. But he ran well. We will think about his next program. He could go through a hurdles race at Auteuil to get him back into the right rhythm.”

Nicolas de Lageneste (breeder and owner of Kilomètre Illimité, 3rd) 

“The ground was much quicker than last time. As planned, I came with the truck to take him back home and we’ll see him again in the autumn, probably on softer ground. Even so, we wanted to respect him and make sure he didn’t have too hard a race, because this is only his second run at Auteuil. He’s a horse for the future, we want to preserve him.”

Press contact France Galop

Héléna Dupuy - 06 30 41 85 89 - hdupuy@france-galop.com