MARCO Botti is plotting a tilt at the rescheduled Greenham with smart prospect Malotru.
The Group 3 contest, which is a trial for the 2000 Guineas, is slated for the weekend of 23 May – if racing gets the green light to resume.
It is unconfirmed which course will host the Greenham, with Newmarket, Newcastle and Lingfield mooted as potential staging grounds during the early part of the restart.
But Botti is eager to target the race with Malotru, who had classy form as a juvenile and impressed on his only run this year when winning the Spring Cup at Lingfield.
Botti said: “The original plan had been the Greenham and then the German Guineas, but those races would be very close together now as the dates have obviously changed.
“I would say that we will maybe go for the Greenham, as seven furlongs also seems to be his best trip.
“The horse has been fine since his last run, we’ve kept him fit enough to be ready whenever we get the green light to start racing.”
However, Botti is plotting an audacious trip across the Atlantic with the colt – pandemic permitting – and is not considering the Guineas at this stage.
He said: “I would think the Guineas would be unlikely as going straight on a stiff mile at Newmarket would not be ideal for him.
“We had in mind to run him in America, in something like the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington in August, so that might be the idea rather than running him in Classics in Europe.”
Malotru could be joined on the plane to Chicago by Felix, who won three of his four starts for Botti since joining from the Sir Michael Stoute yard.
Botti continued: “At the moment we are not quite sure where we would go with him – the plan was to go for the Classic on Finals Day at Lingfield.
“He’s high enough in the handicap now, over 100, so we will look to step him up and see where we are with him.
“He could maybe go for a Group 3 in Italy and we might also look at America for him, maybe something like the Arlington Million.”
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.sportingexcitement.com/horse-racing/war-of-words-between-trainer-ralph-beckett-and-bha-takes-latest-twist-following-leaked-emails
