Andrea Atzeni: ‘Giavellotto can be very competitive’ in Arc
Hong Kong-based rider Andrea Atzeni has been granted permission by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to ride Giavellotto in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday 5 October at ParisLongchamp.
Atzeni will be in action in Hong Kong at Sha Tin on Saturday, October 4, before flying to Paris to partner the Marco Botti-trained Group 1 winner in Sunday’s Arc.
Atzeni, who rode Giavellotto to success in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup in 2023, was reacquainted with the six-year-old this summer.
“I actually sat on him during my summer break – I gave him a racecourse gallop before he went to Kempton – and he just felt brilliant,” Atzeni said. “He’s got stronger and mentally he’s a lot more mature. At Kempton, he jumped and sat second and relaxed nicely despite the pace not being overly strong, so he’s a bit more versatile now.
“These mile-and-a-half Group 1s in Europe are very tough to win unless you’re a top-class horse, so Marco [Botti] thought his best chance of winning a Group 1 was to stay over close to two miles, but I think as he’s got older, he’s got quicker. It seems that the drop to a mile-and-a-half has really suited him, and he was an impressive winner of the Hong Kong Vase, considering how the race panned out. To beat some of the Japanese and European horses that came over, I think that is pretty good form.
“It [the Arc] looks like an open race, and I think if the ground is decent then he’s in with a chance. On his A-game he can be very competitive.”
On getting the call up to ride last year’s Hong Kong Vase winner, Atzeni said: “Everything happened very quickly – I wasn’t expecting a phone call from Marco asking me to ride. First of all, it didn’t sound like they were keen to go there because of the weather – I didn’t really look at what the weather was like in Paris – but it now looks like it could be warm and we could be racing on good ground on Sunday.
“Oisin [Murphy] sat on him at the weekend, he did a nice bit of work and they were happy with the horse. With Oisin already committed to ride the Japanese horse, Marco rang me. He didn’t think I was going to be available because usually we race on Sunday in Hong Kong, but this week we race on a Saturday. By chance I’m available and there’s a flight late on Saturday night that gets me in really early on Sunday morning.
“I spoke to the club and they were very happy for me to go. Of course the Arc is up there as one of the most prestigious races in the world and is a race everyone wants to win.”
A return to Hong Kong to attempt to retain the Hong Kong Vase in December could be a longer-term plan for Giavellotto, and, if available, Atzeni would be quick to leap at the opportunity of partnering him in Hong Kong.
He said: “Obviously the Arc is the main plan now, but you’d think Hong Kong is going to be his next step after winning the Vase last year. I’m only booked for him on Sunday and we’ll have to see how that goes, but if he comes here in December and he’s free and I’m free, he wouldn’t be a bad horse to stay on.”
Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Wednesday 1 October, where Atzeni will be in action in nine of the 10 races on the card, beginning at an earlier time of 6am (UK time).
READ NEXT: Another Man Utd meltdown: Brentford rip Ruben Amorim’s men apart 3-1
Main Photo Credit: HKJC
