It has been quite a week at Cagnes-Sur-Mer with the return of the Flat Turf racing bringing some winter cheer and showing that it is possible to deliver exciting racing on the level even in the depths of January. We have seen some very exciting 3-year-olds and there have been plenty of notes made for the Prixdelahorse tracker, but this Saturdays racing steps up another level with the first Class 1 contest, the Prix Joseph Collignon taking centre stage at 1:15 (UK). That looks to be a decent renewal this year but it is to the later 3-year-old Handicap that we go for Saturdays horse to watch.
SENZA MALOCCHIO (2:32)
3-year-old Gelding - trained by Gianluca Bietolini
MIKE PIETRANGELO & MME GINA D'AMATO
Olympic Glory x Marechale (Anabaa)
This will be the handicap debut for SENZA MALOCCHIO as he tackles 2000m for the first time and on the evidence we have from his 3 starts in Maiden company, this could be the test he needs to bring out further improvement. He is a son of Olympic Glory and a half-brother to French 1,000 Guineas winner Coeursamba, so there is a good chance that he will prove to be better than a handicap mark of 35-kilos in time, but for now he looks to have been found a decent opportunity to test his ability. For want of a better word, he is a big lad. So it was no surprise to see that he struggled on his first 2-starts over a shorter trip, but a stiffer test over 9-furlongs at Lyon La Soie in December seemed to help as he finished 2nd, beaten less than a length. He raced prominently throughout that contest and was the only horse to be ridden forwards and still be involved in the finish, clocking a time that was 0.75s slower than the track standard.
On breeding he is of obvious interest, but it is the subsequent form of that race at Lyon La Soie which makes him of particular interest this weekend. The winner, Valmer Magic, followed up in a Class 2 conditions race at Deauville 2-weeks ago, he’s now rated 40.5. The fourth, Mia Boy, won a Deauville maiden on 20th December, whilst the 3rd, One O’Clock Jump, was slightly unlucky when finishing 3rd again at Lyon la Soie 2-weeks later. All 3 of them were given much more patient rides at Lyon La Soie and were able to close on the strong pace, which definitely offers hope that Senza Malocchio could be very fairly treated on his current mark. From stall 1, Theo Bachelot should be able to get him into a prominent position and with the extra trip looking ideal, he could easily improver to be better than his rivals