Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road will embark on a French campaign this summer as preparation for a potential Breeders’ Cup Classic bid in November, with the Grand Prix de Vichy his first engagement in a week's time.
Emblem Road, a winner of seven of his nine starts on dirt in Saudi Arabia and over $10m in prize money, recently transferred to the stable of Chantilly-based trainer Alessandro Botti.
The four-year-old was expected to spend the summer in France before heading to the US for prep races and then on to the Breeders’ Cup.
However, his owner, Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, has opted to test his Saudi Cup champion on turf, starting with a step up in distance to 2,000 metres (1m2f) in the G3 Grand Prix de Vichy on Wednesday [July 20].
Emblem Road worked on the turf course at Chantilly on Monday morning under Olivier Peslier and afterwards the rider said: “We stayed behind the lead [horse] and made him run 400 metres quick. He closed a little bit late, but he was coming in the end. The horse is very well.”
Renato Geiger, manager of the racing and bloodstock interests for Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, said: “After the horse won The Saudi Cup [1800m], we had the thought to go to the Breeders’ Cup. The first plan was a holiday [in France], not really to run. We thought we’d give him a break and then head to America for a prep race before the Breeders’ Cup.
“When Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz decided to race him in France, I knew that Alessandro Botti – cousin of Italian trainer Stefano Botti and Newmarket-based Marco Botti – was the right man.
“He’s a horse that will never show who he is in the mornings." added Geiger. "He’s very laid back. That’s why Olivier was picked to ride him. He’s not only a good racing jockey, but he’s a good tester too. Two weeks ago, when we did the first test on the racetrack, we decided to try him over further.
“The main difficulty was to make the adjustment from dirt to grass training. At Chantilly there is an uphill woodchip track and then once a week he goes on the grass, as they also have a turf track. In the last three weeks he’s come along very well.”
Emblem Road travelled to France with stable companion and Making Miracles, who was fourth in the Saudi Cup. The pair were accompanied by two of Saudi’s top jockeys in Saudi national Meshari Alessa and Alexis Moreno, who form part of the team based at the Botti yard this summer.
“There is a nice 2000-metre race, the Grand Prix de Vichy, where we are going next Wednesday,” said Geiger. “We picked Vichy because it is a flat track, so there are no tricky situations. Where he heads after that is down to Prince Saud bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
“If you look at his work, he looks good on turf. Physically he’s a sort of hybrid. He’s a smart horse, an athletic horse and we think he’s a very special horse.”
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