If you look at the most prestigious French NH races you’ll find out that (almost) all of them are staged at Auteuil with the Grand Steeple being the equivalent of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and also the Prix la Haye Jousselin being another worthy target.
I started following NH Racing on a daily basis back in 1991. The two most versatile winners of those races were The Fellow (won twice KG, a Cheltenham Gold Cup, 3rd in the Hennessy) and First Gold who become a GB and IRE regular after winning both races between 1998 and 2000. The latter was very good and had G1 success at Aintree and Punchestown, but the didn’t stand a chance against Best Mate and never figured at Cheltenham in two tries.
What I’m saying is despite the poor prize money most Cheltenham GC winners are more versatile than almost any of the Grand Steeple winners I’ve seen in over 35 years.
The French breed still remains superior by a wide margin, but so does Willie Mullins when it comes to improving horses.
And he’ll have no problems brushing aside the likes of George & Zetterholm, Daniela Mele, Aranud Chaille-Chaille and a few more. Macaire and Lageneste and Francois Nicolle are in a league of their own, but Willie would be able to compete with them on a daily basis.