French Recruits - Magnifico Conti

Cheltenham may be over for another year, but the eye is always drawn to any prominent sales made in France and when the news broke that MAGNIFICO CONTI had been purchased by Willie Mullins to run for the Ricci’s, I felt that I didn’t want to wait until the autumn to write about him. He made a winning debut for Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm in the Prix Rohan at Auteuil in late February and the fact that these connections have decided to purchase a once raced hurdler who won’t be a novice next season would suggest that they think he could be top class. He is a Goliath du Berlais gelding and is a half-brother to 3 winners over hurdles. His Dam, Camelia Conti, has had success with all of her progeny that have raced so far and she herself was a winner over hurdles in 2016 and is a half-sister to Brio Conti (Paul Nicholls). He has a confirmed National Hunt pedigree and having been sent off at 3.0 (Joint Fav) on the PMU, it was no surprise to see him given a positive ride by James Reveley.

The Prix Rohan was dominated by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, who were responsible for 5 of the 8 runners including both the co-favourites. I will add a small note on the runner-up at the end of this piece, but the form shown by Magnifico Conti is strong. On ground described as Heavy, with a penetrometer reading of 4,8, he recorded a time of 4:34.11. That was the 2nd slowest of the 4 races run over the course and distance on that day, but the small field and the lack of a clear leader played its part in that. The 1:16.01 that he recorded for the final 1000m compares well with the 4YO Listed Handicap (Prix Univers II) won by Boystone later in the card and on his debut, this was a solid effort. James Reveley kept him wide down the back straight and although he was careful at some of his obstacles, he jumped well in the main and always managed to sort his feet out when approaching the hurdles. Once brought into the straight, he had the necessary speed to hold the stands side rail and the front pair pulled nicely clear of the rest. Magnifico Conti won by 8 lengths, but I do need to add a small note that the runner-up stumbled and very nearly unseated after the last, which exaggerated the gap between them. I do believe that Magnifico Conti would have won regardless, but it is a small point to remember when considering this form. The pair had 10 lengths between themselves and the rest, even with the error from the 2nd and as 4-year-old hurdle form goes, this was one of the strongest debut performances that we have seen so far in 2026. The Pilarski team would not be renowned for selling their better prospects and so it is significant that they have been persuaded to part with Magnifico Conti. I have no idea when or where Willie Mullins will choose to place him and it seems highly unlikely that we will see him before the autumn now, but the fact that they moved to make this purchase in March is highly significant and he is a name to note.

I would also like to make a case for the runner-up, DARBY O’GILL. He is a 4-year-old Colt owned by Coolmore and is part of the their well-publicised project to get a son of Walk in the Park to stud. Ridden by Felix De Giles, he traveled at least as well as the winner and had he not made a bad error at the last, would have been within a couple of lengths of the winner at worst. Felix de Giles did well to stay in the saddle and he recovered to extend the gap back to the 3rd placed Teen Spirit. He is the first foal out of the G1 winning chaser Shattered Love (Gordon Elliott) and with a page like that, it was no surprise to see the ability the he showed. He is a winner in waiting and the fact that he was sent off at the same price as Magnifico Conti would suggest that the yard found it hard to split them. He will clearly be staying in France for longer than the winner, but it’s not impossible to think that he could be the son of Walk in the Park that his connections have been looking for and he would at least appear to be the most promising of those progeny so far.