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Hewick’s travels continue next weekend as the Irish sensation is set to tick off another country when heading to France to contest the Grade 1 Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil (hurdle) at Auteuil.

Hewick's travels continue next weekend as the Irish sensation is set to tick off another country when heading to France to contest the Grade 1 Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil (hurdle) at Auteuil.

The last twelve months for the John Hanlon trained eight-year-old have been busy, but successful. Last year he won the Grade 3 bet365 Gold Cup handicap chase at Sandown Park, the Galway Plate handicap chase and the American Grand National at Far Hills in New Jersey in October before returning to winning ways at the end of April landing the Grade 2 Oaksey Chase, again at Sandown Park.

Following the Sandown victory Rachael Blackmore has retained the ride.

The trainer said: "We are going to Auteuil. I think the race suits him. He will stay all day, so the trip won't be any problem and the fences are like the hurdles in America.

"The only reason I don't run him on soft ground over fences is that the fences look so big for a small horse, and it is hard to get out of the ground.

"Hopefully he will get in. There are 20 entries. I should imagine we'll be OK, as a few might come out and they ran 13 in the race two years ago.

"The pot is €390,000. That's the reason we are going there and the reason we went to America – because of the pot.

"It is lovely to have winners in Ireland and England, but when you have a horse like him, you try to make the best use of him you can."

The TJ McDonald-owned gelding was bought by Hanlon for only €850 and has almost earnt £440,000 in prize money. He was running strongly when falling in the closing stages tackling the Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup chase in March and the trainer has indicated he could return to the Gloucestershire venue for 2024 as well as a journey to the Nakayama Grand Jump (Japan), a possible long-term target next April.

"Nakayama could be on the agenda for next year. You don't mind travelling because he is a very good traveller.

"Sometimes you can't travel with horses because they don't like it, but he does. You could put him in your pocket and bring him with you!

"We will go to Auteuil and the Galway Plate is on the cards again. We'll probably go back to America, and then maybe he'll get a break.

"We will do something like last year, maybe give him a run at the Dublin Festival in February and then to Cheltenham in March again.

"People are saying to me, 'are you going to give him a break?', but he's only just off a break.

"While all the other horses were racing in the winter, we were on a break. He just loves his racing, and he was very good at Sandown."

Can the globetrotting jumping-star tick off another country with success on Saturday? Time will tell. Recent trends in the Grade 1 prize may be in his favour with plenty of international success in recent renewals.

The last international (and Irish) win in the race was in 2019 with Benie des Dieux, an eight-year-old for Paul Townend, Willie Mullins, and Susannah Ricci. The same trainer travelled Thousand Stars to Auteuil to score in 2011 and 2012.

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