If you’re one of our Tara Talks Racing podcast listeners you’ll be wanting to know more about the two Northern Hemisphere raiders we spoke about as being the horses to beat in the $10million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) this Saturday, so who are they?
She was the Champion 2YO Filly of Japan last year and Daiwa Major filly Ascoli Piceno is a short priced favourite given we know exactly how good the Japanese horses are with Obamburumai (Jpn) winning the race last year and we just saw Prognosis (Jpn) run a massive race for second behind a rampaging Via Sistina (IRE) in the Cox Plate.
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Ascoli Piceno has the impressive record of four wins and two seconds from six starts and it should be five wins if you watch this video where she is a tragedy beaten in the Group I Tokyo NHK Mile Cup.
The other foreign entry that comes into the race as a last start Group I winner in France is Lazzat, who has had six starts for six wins! Unraced at two and then gelded, he started off with a maiden win in January and has won every start since rising in grade right through to his first G1 in the Prix Maurice de Gheest over 1300m when he bolted in by three lengths.
By Invincible Spirit stallion Territories, who shuttled to Australia for Darley for a few seasons and has now been sold to India, Lazzat was offered at the Goffs London Sale this year for elite tried horses ahead of Royal Ascot after winning his first five starts. He was bought back at 2.25million pounds by his owner Nurlan Bizakov, who backed his judgement to keep the horse.
Lazzat came out and won a Group I at his next start and if he wins the Golden Eagle will bank the sort of money his owner would have got had he sold him.
