THE champion mare in France, De Bon Coeur won as expected in her prep race for the Grade 1 Grande Course de Haies over hurdles in the Prix Léon Rambaud (Grade 2), the feature race on the card at Auteuil last Sunday.

The favourite followed the front-running Galop Marin into the final turn and she took command on the near rail between the last two obstacles and was pushed out by jockey Kevin Nabet to hold off the challenge of Berjou close home, who was beaten a length and a quarter, with Galop Marin two and a half lengths back in third.

This race was her only defeat last season and this sets her up to defend her Grande Course de Haies title next month.

The winning mare is trained by François Nicolle for Jacques Détré and Nicolas de Lageneste’s Haras de Saint-Voir.

The five-year-old gelding Montgeroult, a son of Kapgarde, easily won the renamed Prix Notre Dame de Paris-Prix du President de la Republique (Grade 3) (also known as the French Grand National).

Trained by Marcel Rolland, who was winning the race for a record fifth time, Mongeroult is owned by Robert Ollivier and in first-time blinkers under jockey Geoffrey Re, was winning for the first time in nine outings.