The Racing TV Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil brings together a deep, cosmopolitan field on Saturday, but all eyes are on Home By The Lee, Joseph O’Brien’s hurdling star.
This year’s race feels like a genuine crossroads clash of generations and styles, and it might just be set up for a late-coming closer to land a famous French Champion Hurdle.
Run over 3m1½f (3m1f110y) at Auteuil, the Grande Course de Haies is France’s Champion Hurdle and one of the defining staying events of the jumps season.
Open to horses aged five and up, the Grade 1 tests not only stamina but the ability to cope with Auteuil’s unique, undulating turf and often demanding spring ground.
This year’s field of 11 features leading French hurdlers, a powerful Irish raider, and a couple of high-class British stayers, all chasing a first prize in excess of £140,000.
In the betting, the race has crystallised around Losange Bleu, Theleme and Home By The Lee, with the rest trading at mostly double‑figure prices (Apple Away has shortened to 9/1) and offering plenty of each‑way interest.
2026 Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil Odds
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publication
| No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Losange Bleu | D Bressou | J Charron | 6/4 |
| 4 | Theleme | A & F Pamart | G Masure | 3/1 |
| 6 | Home By The Lee | J P O’Brien | J J Slevin | 4/1 |
| 11 | Apple Away | L Russell & M Scudamore | D Fox | 9/1 |
| 9 | Illusion Machine | N George & A Zetterholm | James Reveley | 12/1 |
| 3 | Style D’emirs | Y Fouin | A Chesneau | 16/1 |
| 8 | Jet Blue | D Cottin | G Meunier | 16/1 |
| 5 | Henri The Second | P F Nicholls | Sam Twiston-Davies | 25/1 |
| 10 | It’s Win O’clock | N George & A Zetterholm | F Giles | 28/1 |
| 1 | Gardien De Musee | Y Fouin | C Lefebvre | 50/1 |
| 2 | Kirikou Des Mers | Mme G Menato | B Le Clerc | 50/1 |
Losange Bleu: The French Standard-bearer
Losange Bleu heads the market as a 7-year-old who has made Auteuil his playground; in fact, he has never run anywhere else in his 24 starts.
A course-and-distance specialist for trainer David Bressou, since November 2023, he has only finished outside of the top two once. That was third in the Prix Carmarthen in October 2024.
He was strong enough to beat Home By The Lee when they clashed in the 2024 French Champion Hurdle, and that piece of form anchors his position near the top of the betting.
With Johnny Charron again booked and conditions likely to play to his strengths, he sets a very clear home benchmark for the visiting challengers to aim at.
Theleme: The Seasoned Champion
If Losange Bleu is the up-and-running French star, Theleme is the seasoned warrior trying to reclaim his crown.
Now a 9-year-old, he too has spent his entire hurdling career racing at Auteuil, and comes into the race with three wins this season, his streak only halted by a third-place finish last time out when beaten by Losange Bleu in the Prix Leon Rambaud.
He is a former standard-bearer in this division at Auteuil, and his presence ensures the race has real depth at the front of the market.
Gaetan Masure keeps the ride for the A & F Pamart team, and Theleme has the tools to capitalise if the younger legs of Losange Bleu and the travelling horses fail to fire on the day.
Home By The Lee: Evergreen Irish Raider
The story horse of the race, though, is undoubtedly Home By The Lee, the evergreen 11-year-old bidding for a remarkable spring Grade 1 treble.
Joseph O’Brien’s stalwart has found a new peak this season, stringing together wins in the Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park, the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, and the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.
Those efforts have transformed him from a hardy nearly-horse into the leading staying hurdler in Britain and Ireland, and he travels to Paris looking to add France’s premier long-distance hurdle to his CV.
JJ Slevin, who steered him to that long-awaited Cheltenham success at the fifth attempt, keeps the ride, suggesting continuity in tactics and a clear plan to deliver him late over this demanding 3m1½f.
Significantly, Home By The Lee has been here before: he finished sixth behind Losange Bleu in the 2024 running of this race, but the camp is adamant he arrives in far better shape this time.
Other Key Players To Note
The strength of the top three has pushed several smart types out to tempting prices, and there are a few who could easily outrun their odds.
Apple Away, representing Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore, is a tough and progressive mare who comes here off a recent win in Perth.
Carrying a slightly lighter weight at 10st 6lb, and partnered by Derek Fox, she appeals as one who could travel into the race strongly and stick on for a place.
Illusion Machine, one of two runners for the Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm yard, has already struck at Auteuil and arrives as a 5-year-old whose form has slightly dipped recently.
With James Reveley booked, he still looks like a classic French improver who may still be ahead of the handicapper and capable of sneaking into the frame if he handles this class rise.
Henri The Second adds further British interest for Paul Nicholls, having put together a solid series of runs this season, which hints he is just short of the very top but thoroughly reliable.
Sam Twiston-Davies takes the ride, and while he is a bigger price, he brings enough staying power and professionalism to take advantage if the principals fail to fire.
Prediction: Home By The Lee To Strike?
While the market quite rightly orbits around Losange Bleu, Theleme, and Home By The Lee, this still feels like a Grande Course de Haies that will ultimately be decided by that front rank.
With all three bringing high-class, well‑established credentials to the table, it will take something exceptional from the supporting cast to lower their colours over this demanding 3m1½f trip at Auteuil.
Of the trio, Losange Bleu looks the most solid answer on paper. He is a course specialist, still relatively fresh at seven, and with recent winning form around here that underlines how well he is operating.
If he gets into a rhythm on the front end, he could easily make this another test of will for those trying to reel him in.
Home By The Lee is the heart‑of‑the‑story horse, the revitalised 11‑year‑old who has turned into a serial Grade 1 performer and would cap a remarkable season were he to export his British and Irish form to France.
Theleme, for his part, is the seasoned champion whose back class and local know‑how mean he can never be dismissed if the race turns into a war of attrition.
Losange Bleu’s course record arguably makes him the likeliest winner, but Home By The Lee’s newfound finishing power gives him real claims to topple the home favourite if he adapts fully to Auteuil at the second attempt.
BETFRED
