Excelebration up for the Ascot or the Breeders’ Cup after winning the Moulin
Newmarket trainer Marco Botti added the most significant victory of a career to his record when hurtling down the fast lane Excelebration landed the Group One Prix du Moulin under Jamie Spencer.
Marco Botti was really concerned about the weather conditions which in effect impacted the ground conditions. The three year old has won twice from four starts this season and gave an outstanding performance in the Germany 2000 Guineas coupled by two highly
credible runs behind unbeaten wonder horse Frankel
Excelebration’s victory proved to be really frustrating for Rio De La Plata as it yet again turned into a chasing ground for him as he was forced to settle for a second place for the second successive year. He did put in a lot of effort but could not out
run Excelebration under the expert guidance of Jamie Spencer.
Rio De La Plata was representing Godolphin.
The wet conditions at Longchamp did not bother Excelebration, he was soon settled, he allowed Handsome Maestro to set the pace that was later a good four lengths from the pack being led by Rio De La Plata. Before anyone else could take leadership of the
pack, he asserted his authority and then did not lose his grip on it.
From that moment on his was declared the undisputed winner with Rio De La Plata second and Richard Hannon’s Dubawi Gold third in pursuit.
"I was a bit worried about the ground, but he got away with it," Botti said. "He's got two options now, either going to Ascot [for the QEII] or to the Breeders' Cup and it's up to the owners to decide. He'll either have to face Frankel or Goldikova, but
he deserves the chance to step up to another level".
There is a possibility that the two, Frankel and Excelebration will confront each other next month if they do end up in Queen Elizabeth 2 Stakes at Ascot. Frankel has already beaten the horse twice. However, Excelebration has only improved and grown stronger
with time.
If the fate ends up taking him to the Breeders’ Cup then he will have to come ‘nose to nose’ with Goldikova. Whichever race his connections opt for, Excelebration will have to face top class horses.
It now depends on the owners to choose a viable future course for him and the favourable part for both the races is that there is no uncertainty in either. This has given the connections enough time to prepare accordingly.
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