Soccer

Impressive Skalleti could head for Prix Ganay

A second win in the Prix d’Harcourt has trained Jerome Reynier considering a tilt at the Prix Ganay for Skalleti.

The even-year-old produced a visually impressive effort to land the Group 2 event at ParisLongchamp, surging clear of Champion Stakes scorer Sealiway for a decisive success in the 1m2f contest.
Skalleti had taken last year's renewal, edging out Andre Fabre's Mare Australis, who could this time finish only third when renewing rivalries.
The seven-year-old has been a real stalwart, winning 18 times for his connections and has only been out of the frame three times in 25 starts.
He gets on particularly well with pilot Maxime Guyon, who on Sunday ride him to a sixth win from just eight attempts.
"We were really pleased with him, it wasn't easy to win the Prix d'Harcourt for the second time in a row," said Reynier.
"He came back safe and sound, we were so happy with him."
The late lunge for the line was a deliberate tactic employed by Guyon, who Reynier felt was a little too eager to ride for home when Skalleti finished third on his seasonal debut in the Prix Exbury in March.
"We wanted to come at the end, Maxime went a bit too early on his reappearance in the Prix Exbury at Saint-Cloud," he said.
"I just wanted to make sure he was going follow them and then go for the line in the final furlong and that's what he did.
"He switched on the outside and came very easily towards the end, he won only by three-quarters of a length but it was pretty easily."
Runner-up to Addeybb in the 2020 running of the Champion Stakes, Skalleti is known to be particularly effective on testing ground but the track at ParisLongchamp at the weekend was riding faster than the very soft going description would suggest.
"He's just amazing because I thought the ground was not going to be soft enough," Reynier explained.
"Race times were pretty fast, 121 (seconds) for seven furlongs down the hill so I thought the ground was soft but horses were going pretty quick on it.
"He won the Prix d'Ispahan on better ground though so he is able to quicken things up on any ground, but he's better on soft to heavy.
"We were not lucky enough to get that ground this year, but he's done it anyway and we are really happy with him."
Provided conditions are favourable for the horse, the Group 1 Prix Ganay is next on Skalleti's agenda.
Reynier added: "He'll be entered in the Ganay in three weeks' time and depending on the weather and how he feels, that will be the target."

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