Scion of an Italian racing dynasty, Newmarket-based trainer Marco Botti is well known on the international stage, having enjoyed high-level success in Europe, North America and Asia.
The son of renowned Italian trainer Alduino Botti, the 44-year-old former jockey was assistant in Britain to Luca Cumani, Ed Dunlop and Saaed Bin Suroor before setting up in his own right in 2006. He also worked for Bill Mott in the U.S.
Now ensconced in purpose-built Prestige Place Stables, Botti saddled his first G1 winner with Gitano Hernando under Kieren Fallon in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita in 2009. Among his high-profile performers are Frankel’s regular rival, Excelebration, who won the G1 Prix du Moulin and the German 2000 Guineas, plus top stayer Tac De Boistron and Canadian International scorer Joshua Tree.
Euro Charline and Capla Temptress also tasted G1 success in North America, where Jakkalberry and Dandino landed back-to-back runnings of the American St Leger at Arlington.
Jakkalberry also won the Dubai City of Gold on World Cup night, where Botti-trained Planteur was twice placed in the main event at Meydan.
Who do you believe is the most important figure in the history of racing around the world?
I couldn’t split between the two – Sheikh Mohammed and John Magnier. I think racing, especially in England and Ireland of course, would be very different without them. What the Maktoum family’s patronage has done for English racing is amazing, supporting so many trainers, while Coolmore are so influential. I’m sure the Galileo line will carry on through the generations. If you consider what they’ve done, it’s unbelievable. We’ve got to give them the credit – they deserve it for everything they’ve put into the sport.
Which is your favourite venue and race anywhere in the world?
We have so many great venues in England but, if I have to pick just one, then it has to be Royal Ascot, which is totally unique. It’s well known in all parts of the world and there is nothing else like it. As a trainer, it is a huge thing to have a winner there – we’ve only had one, Aljazzi in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, but it was something special.
We didn’t win the Melbourne Cup, but I was lucky enough to go to Australia for three years and Jakkalberry was third in 2012. The week-long celebrations that surround that race are unbelievable. It’s different from any other racing festival and it was great to be there.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like Frankel’s 2000 Guineas win again but, on a more personal level, there’s no doubt my first Group 1 winner was special. It was a Grade 1 winner in America, Gitano Hernando in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita in 2009 (see video below), only a couple of years after I started training.
He was an 18/1 outsider for Team Valor and nobody really thought we could win that race against the American horses, so it felt like a big achievement. We’ve always been quite lucky on our travels, but you never forget your first Group 1.
What do you see as the biggest challenge racing faces today?
The whip issue. Although it went quiet for a while, now it’s back in the spotlight and there are people outside racing who say the whip should be banned completely and sometimes it gets forgotten that you do need the whip for safety reasons. Jockeys need to correct the horse, to stop the horse from drifting and keep them straight. My view is that the rules in Britain are pretty fair and correct at the moment. I don’t know what will happen in the future but it’s a big debate.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
It would have to be the prize money in the UK. It’s a big fight for all of us with the prize money on offer and it becomes a bit frustrating when we’re forced to sell all these good horses. It always comes back to the same thing – the poor prize-money in England.
In fact, we’ve lost six nice horses this year and only two of them were actually sold. That was business but the others have been transferred by their owners to places like America and Australia, where the prize money is better. The owners can’t justify racing in England – and I’m sure I’m not the only trainer this is happening to. British racing is the best in the world, but it’s a shame the prize money isn’t the same.
Down the line, it is affecting my career a little bit because, when owners are looking at my stats and point out I didn’t have a Group winner last year, I say it’s because we are selling all the time. We are all living in hope something will change, but when it’s going to happen, who knows? I know it has been like this for a long time, but something needs to be done.