Spanish racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

BADEN-BADEN, Germany–It is not often you hear the Spanish national anthem ringing out across Germany but there was an emotional rendition of the 'Marcha Real' on Saturday as Kitty Marion (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) became the first Spanish-trained group winner at Baden-Baden racecourse in the G3 Goldene Peitsche.

Guillermo Arizkorreta is well known in his native country as the multiple champion trainer with the largest string based at La Zarzuela racecourse in Madrid. He has also made a number of international forays in the past, to France and Dubai, but this was the first time he had brought any runners to Baden-Baden. Along with Kitty Marion, he saddled Hold On Now (GB) (Farhh {GB}) to finish fifth in the listed Wackenhut Mercedes Benz Fillies Cup earlier on the card. On Sunday, he will be represented by Rodaballo (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the G2 Kronimus Oettingen Rennen.

“This is an experiment, our first time here,” said the trainer. It is unlikely to be the last.

Jumping smartly to take an early lead under Czech-born jockey Vaclav Janacek, the well made chestnut filly bossed the race along the six furlongs of Baden-Baden's curved sprint course, hanging on defiantly to repel the fast-finishing favourite Majestic Colt (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}).

Previously trained in France by Henri-Alex Pantall, Kitty Marion was let go by Godolphin last July for 3,000gns at Tattersalls, where Edgar Byrne selected her for his friend Arizkorreta and a group of 10 owners made up of friends and family of Angel Saenz. A group of 20 supporters made the trip from Madrid to the outskirts of the Black Forest to cheer the mare home.

And they have had much to cheer about in the 14 months that they have owned the 5-year-old. Kitty Marion won over 1600 metres on debut as a 4-year-old for Godolphin at the rural French track of Lignieres en Berry. Two disappointing starts followed before she was sent to the sales. Since moving to Spain she has won three of her six starts in the country as well as finishing runner-up in the listed Premio Certosa at San Siro back in April.

Bred by Julia Scott, formerly of Glebe Stud, along with her brother James Dean and Lady Fiona Trenchard, Kitty Marion has only enhanced what was already a very promising pedigree as her dam, the six-furlong winner Pretty Primo (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), is a half-sister to Group 1 winner and sought-after sire Wootton Bassett (GB), who shares his sire with Kitty Marion.

“We bought her at Tattersalls and since we dropped her in trip she has improved a lot,” said Arizkorreta after welcoming his new stable star back to Baden-Baden's winner's enclosure. “Sometimes she doesn't jump very well from the stalls but today she was very quick, and she was very brave to hold on. She had run very well in a listed race in Milan but this is our first Group 3 win.”

As the translation of the race name suggests, the race trophy is a gold whip inscribed with the previous 150 winners of the historic contest. The list includes the former Spanish-trained Silverside (Pleasantly Perfect), who won the Goldene Peitsche 10 years ago when it was still a Group 2 contest, but he was based in France at the time of his victory.

It will be worth keeping an eye Rodaballo, last year's Spanish 2000 Guineas winner, in his Group 2 contest on Sunday.

The highly consistent colt, bred by Spencer Chapman's Aston House Stud, has won four of his eight starts in Madrid and finished runner-up in the other four, as well as being listed-placed in France last September. He too was bought at Tattersalls, but this time from the Ardglas Stables draft at the 2019 Guineas Breeze-up Sale.

Arizkorreta said on Saturday, “It is a tough race but we were actually more confident about his chances than for Kitty Marion.”

Watch this space.

Saturday, Baden-Baden, Germany
151ST CASINO BADEN-BADEN GOLDENE PEITSCHE-G3, €50,000, Baden-Baden, 9-4, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:09.05, g/s.
1–KITTY MARION (GB), 127, m, 5, by Iffraaj (GB)
1st Dam: Pretty Primo (Ire), by Kyllachy (GB)
2nd Dam: Balladonia (GB), by Primo Dominie (GB)
3rd Dam: Susquehanna Days, by Chief's Crown
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (28,000gns Ylg '17 TAOCT; 3,000gns HRA '20 TATJUL). O-Gonzalo Usandizaga; B-Glebe Stud, J F Dean & Lady Trenchard (GB); T-Guillermo Arizkorreta Elosegui; J-Vaclav Janacek. €30,000. Lifetime Record: SP-Ity, 12-5-1-1, €102,500. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Majestic Colt (Ire), 130, h, 6, Clodovil (Ire)–Majestic Dubawi (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). (19,000gns RNA Ylg '16 TAOCT). O-Jaber Abdullah; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Andreas Wohler. €11,000.
3–Manjeer (Ire), 130, g, 5, Footstepsinthesand (GB)–Navajo Moon (Ire), by Danehill. (€50,000 Ylg '17 GOFORB). O-Natalie Steinmann; B-Brittas House Stud & Grange Stud (IRE); T-Carina Fey. €5,250.
Margins: NK, 4, HF. Odds: 30.20, 3.90, 12.70.
Also Ran: Ainsdale (GB), Dibujaba (Ger), Waldersee (Fr), Schwesterherz (Fr), Worth Choice (Ire), Kodi Beach (GB), Rubaiyat (Fr), Crushing Power (GB), Ninario (Ger). Scratched: Juanito (Ger). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—At the inaugural Saudi Cup meeting 12 months ago, the International Jockeys' Challenge broke new ground in allowing female jockeys to compete against their male counterparts. Hollie Doyle will notch another milestone on Saturday when she becomes the first female to ride in the Saudi Cup aboard Extra Elusive (GB), fulfilling her obligation as the retained rider for Arab owner Imad Al Sagar.

That spirit of inclusivity has been extended further this year by the introduction of the Al Rajhi Bank Saudi International Handicap. Run over 2,100 metres for 4-year-olds and up, the $500,000 race on Friday's card is specifically for horses trained in countries outside Part One of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, which incorporates the major racing nations. Ten of the 13 runners hail from either Saudi or its neighbour Bahrain, but three European horses have made the trip—two from Spain and one from the Czech Republic.

The Spanish raiders, Noray (Fr) (Naaqoos {GB}) and Federico (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) are both trained by Enrique Leon Penate, who has already done his bit to advertise the racing of his home nation to a wider audience. In 2013 he took his erstwhile stable star Noozhoh Canarias (Spa) (Caradak {Ire}) to compete first at France's Arc meeting, where he finished runner-up to Karakontie in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, then on the following spring to run sixth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

“This is the first race I have seen with these kind of conditions and it is a fantastic opportunity for us,” says the 38-year-old, who trains 36 horses in Milagro in northern Spain, roughly an hour from the border with France. “We started speaking about this back in September and hoped we would have the chance to bring a horse.”

The trainer appears to have several bases covered. In the 9-year-old Noray and 8-year-old Federico he brings two horses with opposing running styles who between them have won 25 races. The front-running Noray, whom the trainer also owns, won four of his six starts last season, all at the country's premier racecourse, La Zarzuela in Madrid. He will be ridden by Spain's leading jockey, the Czech-born Vavlav Janacek.

Leon Penate says, “Noray is one of the top horses in Spain. He has been competing at the top level since he was three, and at his distance he is one of the best horses in the country. He has a big heart and he is a horse who really enjoys his training. Our season started late last year because of Covid and he finished the year very well with three wins. He keeps himself in good form.”

Four of the gelding's wins have come in France, where his trainer was based for a while and which is still a relatively easy journey from Leon Penate's new stable in the Navarra region. The trip to Riyadh is by far the biggest of his life but the seasoned campaigner, with 45 starts under his belt, has taken it in his stride.

“He handled the travelling really well and hasn't missed a meal. He's taken everything calmly. He's very professional and this is why he can compete at this type of meeting,” Leon Penate adds.

While Noray has one style of running—”He will lead,” declares the trainer—his stable-mate Federico is likely to act as the whipper-in. The latter will be one of Hollie Doyle's mounts on the day which also features the International Jockeys' Challenge.

“Federico is a totally different horse to Noray,” he continues. “He is a bit more one-paced but he likes to make his run from the back. It's good to have horses with two different chances in the race. If they go too fast from the start it will suit Federico.”

A year younger but still a veteran by Flat racing standards, William Armitage's Federico has made 40 starts, winning 10 times, including his most recent outing in Madrid at the end of October. He was also runner-up in the prestigious Gran Premio de San Sebastian.

“This is very important to us,” says Leon Penate, whose former major flag-bearer Noozhoh Canarias is now at stud at Spain's Yeguada Torreduero.

“Noozhoh was very competitive in one of the strongest 2000 Guineas in many years,” he recalls. “How lucky we were to have the chance to run with Kingman (GB) and Night Of Thunder (Ire). We were very pleased with his run and over time we have looked back and only felt more proud.”

Noozhoh Canarias is not the only top-class horse with whom he has been associated as Leon Penate also served a stint in Britain working for James Fanshawe and David Loder.

He says, “My years in Newmarket were the happiest times of my life, especially as I rode Soviet Song (Ire) every day for James Fanshawe.”

There may well be more happy days to come this week. With the Spanish turf season already underway, Friday's meeting at La Zarzuela will feature a live broadcast of the Saudi races, with the eyes of Spain's racing fraternity fixed on the Leon Penate team.

“For us it is a pleasure but also a responsibility, but I know everybody will be cheering for us. There has been a lot of attention on these horses coming out here,” says the trainer.

“Just to come here and enjoy the moment is fantastic. All I am worried about is focusing on making sure my horses are in 100% form.”

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