'I felt he was the winner at every stage' - Charron celebrates back-to-back Grand Steeps as Irish challenge fades

Johnny Charron has passed the vast majority of his career as a popular member of France's weighing room, though hardly a high-profile one.

The oldest active jump jockey in the country will be 43 later this month and is enjoying a golden autumn to his career. And 12 months on from claiming French racing's holy grail aboard Sel Jem, Charron proved to be Johnny on the spot once again in guiding Rosario Baron to a neck defeat of Gex, breaking the hearts of the runner-up's entourage for a second straight year.

Irish hopes were also dashed with Franco De Port jumping the last fighting for third before fading to be eighth on the run-in, beaten a neck by Noble Yeats, who ran on well having struggled for much of the race. 

The biggest plus point for those overseas was when Imperil stayed on to be a valiant fourth under Jack Quinlan for Nick Littmoden, once of Newmarket but now based in Moulins in central France.

Charron's year has also included a first win at Cheltenham aboard Gold Tweet back in January, and he was in a state of disbelief after the six-year-old Rosario Baron came out on top.

"I've been on a cloud all year," said Charron. "I'm second in the jockeys' standings without really doing anything differently. I don't have an agent and I work hard, but the rewards are there.

"I always feel that the first circuit of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is no more than a warm-up and the race only really starts passing the stands with a lap to go. 

"It's huge credit to the team who have brought him here via Pau and with only one race at Auteuil. He's a very good horse, a little champion, and I felt he was the winner at every stage."

Trainer Daniela Mele deserves plenty of plaudits for the way she has campaigned Rosario Baron, who won the very first trial race at Auteuil at the end of March and then went to a Listed race over hurdles at Compiegne to complete his preparation.

Mele said: "Once he had won around the chase track at Auteuil, I didn't want him to get to blase about it so we took him to Compiegne for an easy race. It has worked better than I could have dreamed. We came here with no pretention of winning."

Mele is a former assistant to Guy Cherel and took over the yard when her former boss was suspended pending a police investigation into potential doping offences in 2018.

Such thoughts were a million miles from her mind as Mele attempted to take in what had happened, adding: "To have brought this horse all the way through from his youngest days, to have recommended him to his owner and then for this to happen, it's just the biggest high."

Rosario Baron and winning connections after the Grand Steeple-Chase de ParisCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

Second in consecutive Grand Steeple-Chases, Gex set sail for home halfway down the back straight under Bertrand Lestrade and left his part-owner Lord Daresbury struggling for his voice.

Trainer Emmanuel Clayeux said: "That's racing. It's always easy to rerun the race afterwards, but he has proved he is one of the best in France. The main thing is he has come back safe and sound and we can train him for the race next year."

Quinlan was thrilled with the efforts of Imperil, who was graduating from handicap company having won the Prix du President de la Republique last month.

"It's incredible," said Quinlan. "It's a massive step up in trip and grade today. He travelled away well and jumped well on the whole, but down the back he was getting left. I thought he might be outclassed and we’d finish a respectable mid-div, but the further he went, the deeper he dug and to rally past horses after the last, he tried his heart out for me."

Sean Bowen said of Noble Yeats: "It's very frustrating that I couldn't hold my position mid-race. If I could have done, he'd nearly be winning."

Willie Mullins' quest for a first Grand Steep continues, with Carefully Selected pulled up on the first circuit and Franco De Port running another fine race over these unique fences before running out of stamina.

"Paul [Townend, Franco De Port's rider] came to win the race rather than last year, when we were here to see how he took to it," said Mullins. "He rode him to win and that backfired on us. 

"We’ll probably return to the other tactics if we come back again. He just didn't see out the trip on the day and maybe our prep race so close to the actual race isn't a good idea coming from Ireland."

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