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Botti eyeing Quebec Stakes assignment for Felix

3 minute read

Lingfield Listed contest on trainer’s agenda.

Trainer : Marco Botti (Italy) Picture: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Marco Botti's Felix could make another bid for Listed honours as the Quebec Stakes at Lingfield is his probable next target.

The chestnut finished third in the Listed Churchill Stakes on his latest outing at the same track on November 13, coming home three-quarters of a length behind Coronation Cup winner and 6-4 favourite Pyledriver.

A return to the racecourse is now on the gelding's agenda as the Quebec Stakes on the December 18 is likely to be his next port of call.

After the Lingfield meeting, Felix's options will remain open, with the All-Weather Championship Finals Day at Newcastle on Good Friday a consideration alongside a return to Meydan for the Dubai World Cup fixture in late March.

"He's come out of the race (Churchill Stakes) fine, I think the plan is to run him back at Lingfield on December 18 in the Quebec Stakes," said Botti.

"That is the plan and then we'll take it from there, we just want to leave the options open as to whether it's Dubai or maybe we campaign him on the all-weather at the finals."

The five-year-old finished third to Lord North in the Group One Dubai Turf at the showpiece Meydan meeting earlier this year, a run that Botti regards as his career highlight but one that also left him below his best when sixth in both the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Steventon Stakes at Newbury in the summer.

"That was probably his best performance to date, we were delighted with the result and then he came back and after the couple of runs he had in the summer at Ascot and Newbury, we thought that Dubai had taken a bit more out of him than we initially thought," the trainer said.

"We started to give him a little bit of a break and he's come back and that was a very encouraging run at Lingfield last time, he might need a little bit of a longer straight as it was a bit sharp for him, but he still finishes strongly.

"The winner (Pyledriver) is rated 120, so I thought he showed that he's back to his best."