With racing in full swing during this festive period in France, a pair of gallic horses will be crossing the Channel for their respective Boxing Day rendezvous’ at Kempton and Aintree.

While the Mickaël Seror-trained July Flower will be heading off to the latter, most eyes will be focused on Kempton where jumping sensation, Il Est Français, trained in Chantilly by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, will run in the 4800m G.1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase. Won by François Doumen’s Djeddah in 1996, and Guillaume Macaire’s Jair Du Cochet six years later, no French-trained horse has won the race since.

The star 5 year-old has had an ideal preparation at Lamorlaye where replicas of British fences have been constructed. According to George, who has next season’s Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris on his charge’s agenda, “The horse is perfect.”

After having shown decent aptitude on the flat in 2021, and winning his first hurdles race the following March, while trained and owned by Nicolas de Lageneste, the colt’s potential was unmistakeable and 50% was subsequently sold to Richard Kelvin-Hughes. The horse then went on to win his next three that season, culminating in an 8-lengths G.1 Prix Renaud du Vivier romp.

Sent chasing over the big Auteuil fences just this autumn, he won his first by 5 lengths before claiming a Listed by 11. Still considered a novice, he has a host of opportunities open to him in Britain this winter. Versatile too, his ultimate goal is the Grand Steeple, and a win at the weekend would be a boost not just for his connections, but also for the French in general who have not enjoyed success on Boxing Day in the UK for some time.