Marco Botti is looking forward to Giavellotto’s return to action in the Grosser Preis von Baden on Sunday.
It will be the seven-year-old’s first run since he beat Kalpana by a short-head in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot as connections build up towards the Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin, a race he won in 2024 and finished second to Sosie in last year.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast the trainer said: “He’s in very good form and we’ve been happy since he won at Royal Ascot and it’s always been the plan to target this race. The ground has always been a concern, but it looks a dry forecast and quite a warm day on Sunday as well so hopefully we’ll have nice good ground, not soft, heavy as can happen at this time of year in Baden-Baden.
“He looks great, it’s a nice opportunity and isn’t going to be a big field. I think there’s eight left in the race after the forfeit yesterday."
Explaining the decision to miss the summer programme with his stable star Botti added: “We always said Hong Kong was our target late in the year and having that race in mind, it’s a long year when you have 12 months to keep a horse fit and well.
"So, in a way we didn’t run in the King George for that reason, having won at Royal Ascot we needed to freshen him up to get to December. We haven’t quite ruled out the Breeders’ Cup, we are still giving it some thought, whether we will take our chance there after Baden-Baden or wait for Hong Kong we’ll see.”
But a return to ParisLongchamp for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, in which he finished fourth behind Daryz last October, has been ruled out.
“No, we ran a good race last year but it’s likely to be soft ground and I felt last year we just got away with the ground or perhaps he ran so well even though the ground wasn’t ideal for him. But I think we’d just be asking the horse too much to run in the Arc again this year with the chance it’s going to be softer. We’ll skip it this year.”
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