Group 3 Unibet September Stakes report | Giavellotto sinks Kalpana

All eyes heading into the Group Three prize were centred on the Andrew Balding-trained Kalpana, who was sent off the 1/2 favourite to open her account for the campaign following three successive defeats at the highest level.

However, it was not to be for the daughter of Study Of Man, who had to settle for second best for the third time this season, behind the son of Mastercraftsman in the £90,000 mile and a half prize.

Much of the early running was cut out by maiden, and pacemaker, Satavia, under Robert Havlin, before Kalpana, under Colin Keane, swept past to take command of matters approaching the final quarter of a mile.

It looked a case of how far the odds-on market leader would go on and win by, however Giavellotto, who was making his first start since finishing third in the Betfred Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs in June, was not prepared to back down under a determined Oisin Murphy.

And as the pair moved it was Giavellotto, sent off 9/4, that started to get the upper hand in the battle before passing the post a length and a half clear of Kalpana, much to the delight of the Newmarket handler.

Great performance

Botti said: “We didn’t run in the Princess Of Wales’s at Newmarket as sadly his scope wasn’t right a few days beforehand. With these kind of horses you don’t want to risk anything.

“He is still lightly raced for an older horse and there is definitely still more mileage on the clock.

“Watching it I thought it was a bit different to how it was going to happen. I thought Kalpana would have raced in front of us.

"The plan was to follow her and see if we were good enough to beat her. Oisin thought the pace was even and not very strong so he sat second.

“He idled a little bit in front. He just does enough. He is not a horse that would just quicken away.

"Oisin said when they turned into the straight and he was winding him up and going through the gears that he responded really well.

"He said every time the filly got to him he found an extra gear. It was a great performance. We always knew he was a good horse. He just needs things to go right for him. I’m delighted with that.”

Before heading back out to Sha Tin to defend his Hong Kong Vase title a trip to Longchamp for a tilt at the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, which he was cut from 66/1 into 33/1 by Paddy Power, could be on the cards for Giavellotto.

However, Botti stressed he would only consider running his stable star in the Group One prize on October 5th if the ground was suitable.

He added: “Sadly in Europe there wouldn’t be many options for him now. We have said soft ground is not for him.

"I don’t see much for him in those couple of months before Hong Kong and we don’t really want to jeopardise our chances for that. Wasting a run on soft ground wouldn’t be ideal.

“He has an entry in the Arc. I’m sure the owners will say we have beaten the favourite so why don’t we take our chance, but personally I think the ground will be too soft for him.

“I would only run him in it on good ground, but that is very unlikely to happen as Longchamp has often been soft ground in October. At that level he needs good ground.

“We will leave it closer to the time and see what the weather does.”

Balding disappointed with Kalpana

As for Kalpana, who had been vying for favouritism in the Arc, a trip to the French capital is far from certain now following her latest defeat according to Balding, with the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot also under consideration.

He said: “It is disappointing not to win, but I think the horse that beat us is very good. As you can hear she is having a proper blow and hopefully that will put her spot on for whatever we are doing.

“She had a couple of weeks easy and she will come on for that. I felt like we had done enough work, but the trouble is we are not using grass gallops at the moment. The all-weather is much easier and it is harder to get work into horses like her.

“We didn’t want it to be a falsely run race, and it wasn’t. They went a nice even pace, and she had every chance, but a good horse has beaten her and she will come on for the run.

“She is in the Arc and the Filles and Mares at Ascot, but it is really where the powers that be want to go.

“This was a prep, and that (Arc) was always the plan, but we will have to see how the field develops.”

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