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Delzangles dreaming of Prix du Jockey Club glory with Ridari

3 minute read

Mikel Delzangles is looking forward to saddling his talented three-year-old Ridari in this Sunday’s Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.

Mikel Delzangles.
Mikel Delzangles. Picture: ENG/IRE

An Aga Khan Studs' homebred son of Churchill, Ridari has won two of his four outings to date. A victory in the one-mile Prix de Fontainebleau set up a run in the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp last month, with Ridari performing creditably, staying on strongly in the closing stages to finish fifth despite suffering some late interference before crossing the line.

Mikel Delzangles' colt is now set for a rematch against the likes of Aidan O'Brien's Poule d'Essai des Poulains third Camille Pissarro, Luther and Detain, with the Chantilly Classic next on the agenda.

Delzangles said: "He seems in great form and has recovered very well from his last race, which was obviously very tough as they broke the track record. Physically he has improved from it.

"I couldn't fault his last run. He was a little bit outpaced at the start, but he was very good up the final straight before being hindered about 20m from the winning post. That probably cost him fourth place or maybe even third, but I couldn't fault the horse.

"We have all seen that since the Prix du Jockey Club has been brought back to 2100m, that the Poule d'Essai des Poulains is a good prep race.

"He was a little bit tense early on, so we didn't want to test him over longer but that's not been an issue this year.

"You do need a horse that has to be a little precocious and has to have a certain level of maturity to run in this race."

Having trained the dam Ridasiyna to win four of her seven starts, which included a special success in the 2012 Prix de l'Opéra Longines (Gr.1), Ridari comes from a family that Mikel Delzangles knows well.

When asked if training a son of Ridasiyna makes this weekend's Prix du Jockey Club any more special, he added: "Yes, of course. Especially because they have a lot of similarities. Physically they actually look a lot like each other."


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