Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road will embark on a French campaign this summer as preparation for a potential Breeders' Cup Classic bid in November, with the Grand Prix de Vichy his first engagement on July 20.
Emblem Road, a winner of seven of his nine starts on dirt in Saudi Arabia and over $10m in prize money, recently transferred to the stable of French-based trainer, Alessandro Botti in Chantilly.
The 4-year-old is expected to summer in France before heading to the US for prep races and then on to the Breeders' Cup. While in Europe, his owner, Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, has opted to test his Saudi Cup winner on turf.
Connections have decided to step the 4-year-old up in distance for his first start on turf and go for the Group 3 Grand Prix de Vichy over 1 1/4 miles next Wednesday.
Emblem Road worked on the turf course at Chantilly on Monday morning and afterwards rider Olivier Peslier said: “We stayed behind the lead [horse] and made him run 400 meters quick. He closed a little bit late, but he was coming in the end. The horse is very well.”
Renato Geiger, manager of the racing and bloodstock interests for Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, said: “After the horse won The Saudi Cup [nine furlongs], we had the thought to go to the Breeders' Cup. The first plan was a holiday [in France], not really to run. We thought we'd give him a break and then head to America for a prep race before the Breeders' Cup.
“When Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz decided to race him in France, I knew that Alessandro Botti – cousin of Italian trainer Stefano Botti and Newmarket-based Marco Botti – was the right man.
“He's a horse that will never show who he is in the mornings. He's very laid back. That's why Olivier [Peslier] was picked to ride him. He's not only a good racing jockey, but he's a good tester too. Two weeks ago, when we did the first test on the racetrack, we decided to try him over further.
“The main difficulty was to make the adjustment from dirt to grass training. At Chantilly there is an uphill woodchip track and then once a week he goes on the grass, as they also have a turf track. In the last three weeks he's come along very well.”
Emblem Road travelled to France with stable companion and Saudi Cup fourth, Making Miracles, and the pair are accompanied by two of Saudi's top jockeys in Saudi national Meshari Alessa and Alexis Moreno who form part of the team based at the Botti yard this summer.
“There is a nice 2000m race – the Grand Prix de Vichy – where we are going next Wednesday,” said Geiger. “We picked Vichy because it is a flat track, so there are no tricky situations. Where he heads after that is down to Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
“If you look at his work, he looks good on turf. Physically he's a sort of hybrid. He's a smart horse, an athletic horse and we think he's a very special horse.”
The post Saudi Cup Winner Emblem Road To Make European Debut On July 20 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
