WILLIE Mullins must have been delighted with Footpad’s second in the Grade 1 Prix Renaud du Vivier at Auteuil last Sunday but, in truth, the hurdle should have gone to the odds-on favourite Device.

Not only did he have a crushing fall at the second last when about to dominate the race but the accident also left James Reveley with a fractures to his left foot which has put him out of action for the rest of the season.

This incident left Footpad and Daryl Jacob in the lead but it was conceded to the near 12/1 chance Capivari after the last and the son of Yeats managed to hold on until the line by a head.

The Paul Nicholls-trained Adrien Du Pont stayed on to finish third with Richard Hobson’s Chic Name fifth after making much of the running until the entrance to the straight. Nick Scholfield objected to the winner and the runner-up as he felt Adrien Du Pont had been hampered 50 metres from the line.

ban

The stewards left the result unchanged but did dish out a 12-day ban to Regis Schmidlin for abusive use of the whip on the brave Capivari who had been hit 22 times before the winning post.

On form, the Renaud Du Vivier winner had no chance with Device but he is an honest individual who appears to be improving. The following day, he went through the Arqana sales ring at Deauville but failed to make his reserve so was bought in for €320,000.

Capivari was giving his main owner Xavier Kepa (85%) his first success in a Grade 1 race having been involved in the sport for 12 years. The four-year-old is trained by the ever popular Francois Cottin who speaks English with an Irish accent.

He reported: “Before the race, I’d have been happy to finish in the first five so I am absolutely delighted for myself and the owners. Capivari is a great fighter who jumped well and acted on the heavy ground.”

The horse was bred by the Marquesa Sol de Moratella and purchased at the Osarus Breeze-Up sale in Pornichet (near La Baule) for just €10,000 in April 2014.

Considering he had not been out since his Grade 1 victory in the Prix Alain du Breil in June, Footpad ran a cracker. Willie Mullins was represented by Harold Kirk.

He said: “It was a reappearance so you have to be happy with his race. He fought to the line and was beaten by a fitter horse. Footpad will turn into a very good chaser but for the moment he will remain over hurdles. He will come on a lot from this outing.”

Device is still to win a Grade 1 race and he was perfectly poised to win his first when making a complete hash of the second last. James Reveley damaged his foot which is now in plaster after the pinning of some bones in his ankle. He will be on the sidelines for about two months but should still be the first English champion jump jockey in France. He has 84 victories to his credit and his main challengers, Thomas Beaurain and Kevin Nabet, are 34 wins adrift with just six weeks of the season left to run. Reveley has amassed €3.74 million and has a strike race of 22%.