Giavellotto not out of Arc equation just yet

Marco Botti has not ruled out the possibility of allowing Giavellotto to line up in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, provided ground conditions are ParisLongchamp are deemed suitable.

Last year’s Hong Kong Vase hero opened his account for the current campaign when inflicting a surprise defeat on leading Arc contender Kalpana in the Group Three September Stakes on the all-weather at Kempton earlier this month.

At the time Botti deemed a tilt at Europe’s premier middle-distance contest as unlikely for a horse who needs fast ground to be seen at his best, but he is leaving the door ajar with the prestigious contest now less than two weeks away.

“We are training him for the race, but we won’t make any decision until a few days beforehand,” said the Newmarket-based Italian.

“I’ve always said that if the ground is on the soft side I definitely won’t run him because we know he’s not going to show his best and it’s probably pointless to waste a run.

“I know the Arc is a big race and an important race, but if we decide to run it’s only because we think he’s going to run a respectable race rather than just being a number.

“Having said that, you never know as once every 20 years you can get good ground. I said to the owners don’t get too excited and don’t plan anything yet, but we’ll keep the horse fit and well, he’s come out of his race at Kempton in good shape and we’ll just watch the forecast and see what happens.”

Botti added: “To have a runner in a race like the Arc is something that only happens once in a long time, especially for us and the owners.

“He was put in the race at an early stage. It wasn’t my decision, it was the racing manager for the owners, so give him credit. He said we should put him in as you never know.

“I always thought he was very unlikely to find good ground as everyone knows the ground in the Arc tends to be soft and I didn’t give it much thought until after Kempton when I had the chat with the owners and we said ‘what are we going to do next?’.

“We have the option of keeping him fresh for Hong Kong, which has been the plan, or we could think about running in early October and see what happens with the forecast.

“There is a Group Three at Ascot the day before the Arc (Cumberland Lodge Stakes), so if it was going to be good ground in England and soft in France and we decided to give him one more run before Hong Kong, it would probably make sense to run him at Ascot on the Saturday.

“Hong Kong is our priority and at the moment I’m not getting carried away with the Arc until closer to the time.”