Mickael Barzalona to ride Mandaean in the Betfred Dante Stakes at York on 17th May, 2012
In order to prepare for the Investec Derby at Epsom, Mahmood Al Zarooni will test his runner Mandaean’s stamina by running him in the Betfred Dante Stakes at York, which is due to take place on 17th May, 2012.
The son of Manduro, out of mare Summertime Legacy, is in extremely good shape, and looks like he could easily land the victory in this event at York.
His success in his only two starts of his career has given his connections confidence in his ability to win.
The bay colt has been tested on different surfaces, and it seems that he can comfortably beat the odds.
To the press, the trainer stated that:
"He has done well and is ready to go. Hopefully, this run can get him ready for the Derby if he is good enough. I don't really know how good he is yet. He won his Group One as a two-year-old so he is a nice horse and he is in good form. It was very
soft when he won his Group One, but I think good ground might be even better for him."
The Godolphin owned colt delivered an exceptional performance in his maiden at Longchamp, where he maintained his composure throughout the Prix De Belleville (Maiden) in October, 2011, and finished 3 lengths ahead of, Mortga.
On 12th November, 2011, Mandaean raced in the Criterium De Saint-Cloud, and despite the heavy surface, he managed to succeed over, Brocottes, by 2 ½ lengths.
Mandaean will be mounted by jockey, Mickael Barzalona in this event instead of Frankie Dettori, the best Godolphin jockey.
Regarding this, Mahmood Al Zarooni commented that Barzalona is used to the French style of racing, which is different from the English style.
This would be a good opportunity for him to learn new things and prepare for the event at Dante, and meanwhile Barzalona can pick up some useful tips by running at York.
The runner is still young, but has all the potential in the world to land some victories in the future. The mega-event at Epsom will give him a great opportunity to demonstrate his full capability.
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