Lulamba lived up to the hype when comfortably accounting for fellow French import Mondo Man in the BetMGM Juvenile Hurdle at Ascot.
Nicky Henderson’s charge scored by five lengths in a 16-runner contest at Auteuil on his racecourse debut and had been the subject of glowing reports since arriving at Seven Barrows.
Mondo Man was bought for €520,000 after showing plenty of ability on the Flat, notably finishing fifth in the French Derby and fourth behind Calandagan in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Gary and Josh Moore’s runner raced too freely in the rear early on, while Nico de Boinville took up a handy position on Lulamba tracking Viyanni.
Caoilin Quinn allowed Mondo Man to make a forward move three out, but Lulamba was always travelling well and the 4-5 favourite went to the front smoothly in the home straight before scoring by three and a half lengths.
The winner was cut to 6-4 for Triumph Hurdle glory at Cheltenham by Betfair, Coral and Paddy Power.