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Marco Botti will be hoping his first runner in Saudi Arabia is a winning one when he saddles Giavellotto in the US$2.5m Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap at Riyadh on Saturday.
Marco Botti will venture to new parts of the globe as his highly talented Giavellotto bids to defy top-weight in the US$2.5m Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap. A winner of four of his twelve outings to date, Marco Botti's five-year-old has been off the track since finishing third behind Coltrane and Courage Mon Ami in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup at York in August and the Italian trainer is seemingly pleased with how his preparation has gone since leaving his yard in Newmarket.
"He travelled really well we are happy with the horse," said Botti "He went on the track Wednesday morning for an easy canter around and seems happy. He's one of those horses who can get a little bit warmer, but wearing the hood helps him.
Botti purposely kept his classy stayer away from softer conditions towards the back end of last season and hopes to be reaping the rewards on his international venture come Saturday.
"We finished the season last year a bit early because he doesn't want soft ground. We thought about running at Ascot in October, but the ground was too soft," explained Botti.
He added: "Since then, the prep has gone smoothly, and he had a racecourse gallop the other day. He's in good shape and his weight is the same as when he won the Yorkshire Cup last year."
It will be a second trip to the Middle East for the son of Mastercraftsman, who finished ninth in last March's Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan and while things clearly didn't go to plan on the track, Botti is happy to have made the venture.
"That was the first time he travelled when he went to Dubai and we didn't know how he was going to take it," Botti explained. "Then we were drawn awful and outside, and everything went against him, but we did learn a lot and now we know he would travel well moving forward."
Botti has entrusted dual British champion jockey Oisin Murphy with the task of partnering his stable star on Saturday and with the pair starting proceedings from stall eight, the Snailwell Road-based handler is hoping for a bold bid at Riydah on Saturday afternoon.
"Obviously there's a few pounds between top and bottom weight and it's not really much," he said. "I'm not sure how strong the Japanese horses are but I know my horse and he stays well and is doing well. Ideally, even though you would rather carry equal weights, he's a top-class horse and gets a top-class jockey in Oisin.
"He seems to run his best form when he's on a left-handed track like York and hopefully finds a nice spot in the race behind a good pace. He's an uncomplicated horse and, even though he doesn't have a big turn-of-foot, he can win this race."
