Boat ace: Ronald Pump takes 18-hour ferry to France for Auteuil Grade 1

Trainer Matthew Smith has embraced a new way of travelling horses to France, with Ronald Pump due to line up in Saturday’s French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil after taking in an 18-hour voyage from Rosslare to Cherbourg.

The new ferry route, which runs directly from Ireland to France, was launched in the wake of Brexit and had yet to be tested by any other trainer. Recent Irish runners on the Flat in France, such as those in last weekend's Guineas, were all flown over.

Jumps runners traditionally travel by the more economical ferry option, using Britain as a land bridge, but the double-barrel impact of Brexit and Covid has made that more complicated and compelled Smith to explore the alternative sea crossing. Willie Mullins, who usually sends a small army of horses to Auteuil, explained earlier in the week that the Covid travel guidelines meant his yard would sit out Auteuil this season.