Ascot a dream come true for former petrol pump attendant Gaitan
Connections of Argentina’s King George runner Sixties Song are under no illusions concerning the task the colt faces at Ascot on Saturday, but the four-year-old is already established as the best middle-distance horse in South America and his team believe he should not be underestimated despite his odds of 66-1.
Trainer Alfredo Gaitan was a petrol pump attendant before he got into racing on the advice of friends who suggested he had the build of a jockey, but while he admits he was “not very good” as a rider he has certainly made up for it since he switched to training.
He won the Group 1 Carlos Pellegrini – Argentina’s closest approximation to the King George – in his first season and has won it four more times since, most recently in December with Sixties Song, who then went on to win Chile’s Gran Premio Latinoamericano at Valparaiso, which led to his participation in Saturday’s event.
Assistant trainer Nico Gaitan, translating for his father and also offering some of his own thoughts, said: “If you compared this to football it would be like a guy who plays in an average team in Argentina and goes straight to play in the final of the Champions League.
“European horses are possibly the best in the world, but ours are very good too. Anything from third to fifth would feel like a win to us, but we’re hoping for better and are here to win.”
Sixties Song was an outsider when he won the Pellegrini, but there was no fluke about his success or his continued improvement, which has been attributed to a change in tactics.
Gaitan said: “He used to race from the front and could be a bit keen, so we decided to drop him in in the Pellegrini and he settled really well. That’s when we realised he had a lot more to give and was a serious horse.
“He ran on bad ground afterwards, but there was no choice as he had to have a race before he came here. He arrived at Stansted on Sunday, and he travelled very well.
“We know the King George is a tough race, but we know too we have a very tough horse and a very good one. Coming here is like a dream come true.”The prospect of ground as soft as Sixties Song encountered last time is receding, and that is good news not only for the Gaitans but for connections of last year’s winner Highland Reel and Ulysses.
Clerk of the course Chris Stickels said: “We had 18mm of rain between Friday night and Monday, but since then we’ve been dry, and this morning we had a mixture of good to soft and soft, with a nice drying day in prospect.
“There’s less rain forecast for Wednesday than there was – between 1-5mm – and with a bit of luck we should be mainly good ground by Saturday, although there’s a possibility of another rain bank on Saturday.”
Reacting to that news, Coolmore representative Kevin Buckley said: “We are very mindful of the weather, but it’s highly likely that we will have two runners, Highland Reel and Idaho.
“Highland Reel prefers good ground or better but he’s tough, durable and gives his all every time. He likes Ascot too.”
Alan Cooper, representing the Niarchos family, owners of Ulysses, said: “I checked in with Sir Michael Stoute this morning and all is well.
“We hope there is not too much rain, as Ulysses wouldn’t want it too testing, but we are hoping to run and the weather forecast is improving and the plan is to run.”
Charlie Appleby has two entries and the trainer said: “Given the conditions at Ascot I would say Hawkbill is our likeliest runner as he likes to get his toe in.
“Frontiersman is perhaps better on a sounder surface so we may save him for the Glorious Stakes at Goodwood next week.”
Read about the King George greats:
2000: Imperious Montjeu a fitting 50th King George hero
1997: Battling Swain grinds it out against firmament of stars
1992: St Jovite routs his rivals with awesome display
fonte : RacingPost
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