By Emma Berry
In Newmarket the rain is pouring and the sun, if it still exists, is being defiantly reclusive. But just one small click on a Zoom link and suddenly there is a backdrop of endless blue sky, and in the foreground the smiling face of Lucie Botti, back in Dubai for her umpteenth winter and looking understandably pleased to have escaped the English weather.
Botti is of course married to Newmarket trainer Marco Botti, and for years their stable has had runners all over the world, but most often in Dubai for the Carnival. Now, with the rules changed to allow international participants throughout the racing season in Dubai, unsurprisingly the enterprising Bottis have been among the first to seize this opportunity, with Lucie Botti now licensed to train under her own name and at the helm of the stable's burgeoning dual presence in the UK and the UAE.
“I think that we are going to call this adventure Botti International,” she says, and in many respects that global outlook has been at the heart of the family's operation since she and Marco set up their own operation at Green Ridge Stables in Newmarket in 2006. Some years later, they built their own 100-box yard, Prestige Place, which remains their primary base.
Botti continues, “We have always had runners in Dubai since we set up and we are very privileged to own the yard in Newmarket. It was purpose-built and it's working really well. Now what we are able to offer to our clients is to have horses trained here too. Again we are lucky to have some locally-based owners who want to have horses in Dubai in the winter, and we can also offer them the opportunity to have horses with us in the UK.
“We hope this new set-up will be a base for the Middle East in general, so we can run horses from here in Saudi, Bahrain, etc. Hopefully we can expand slowly and have a nice setting here for the winter. From a horse's point of view this time of the year is the best out here.”
Soneva became the first winner for the Botti team in Dubai in the G3 Cape Verdi in 2010, but Lucie Botti's association with the emirate stretches back further, some 20 years or more, to the days of Endless Hall (GB), who was fourth in the Dubai Sheema Classic, when it was still a Group 2, in 2001.
“When I first came to England I worked for Luca Cumani and I accompanied the first horse that he sent to Dubai, Endless Hall,” says the Czech-born former jockey. “After the Sheema Classic he went to Singapore and won the Singapore Cup.
“Later I worked for David Loder as one of his assistants for a couple of seasons and was still going to Dubai in the winter with the International horses.
“When we set up training we had runners in Dubai as soon as we could. Soneva was our first winner here, and I've been every year.”
The stable's success during that time has included victory for Jakkalberry (Ire) in the G2 City of Gold. He was also third in the Sheema Classic, while Euro Charline (GB) was runner-up in both the G1 Dubai Turf and G2 Balanchine, and Planteur (Ire) was third in the G1 Dubai World Cup. Felix (GB), too, has been placed in the Dubai Turf, while Lazzam (GB) was runner-up in the UAE 2,000 Guineas. And the international roll call has not been restricted to Dubai, for Marco Botti has trained group/graded winners in America, Canada, France, Germany, and of course his native Italy as well.
While Lucie Botti, as familiar with Meydan as she is with Newmarket Heath, stresses that it's very much business as usual, she does admit that next week will see two major landmarks for her personally. On December 20 she graduates in anthroposophic psychology. The following day she is set to have a first runner in her own name, the two-year-old Onigiri (GB) (Expert Eye {GB}), who is owned by Ahmed Bintouq and partner.
“It has always been in our mind and now obviously racing in the Middle East has really expanded over the last few years, which is great,” she says. “Dubai has always been a second home for us, so to have a base here was always a dream in my mind, and now that they have opened the season, that was the key. We can run at the other racecourses and in all the races at Meydan, and that is what has prompted us to make this decision this year. We are going to keep the base running all year round. If they are suitable horses to go back to the UK they will, and if they are suitable horses to go somewhere else, they can go there, or stay in Dubai for the summer.”
In addition to Onigiri, Botti also has another juvenile, the Patrick Doyle-owned Drink Dry (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), and Saeed Sultan Al Rahoomi's Royal Dubai (Fr) (Seahenge) under her care at the moment, and she is assisted by a local rider and a groom.
“The other two are set to run on 5 January. It's all building up and going fine so far,” she says. “We have another couple of horses arriving on 20 December and then Giavellotto will come out at the beginning of February.”
Scuderia La Tesa's homebred Giavellotto (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) currently holds stable-star status in the Botti yard. The winner of the G2 Yorkshire Cup in May, he was also third in the G2 Lonsdale Cup and he will return to Dubai for another crack at the country's major staying contest, the G2 Dubai Gold Cup, in which he was ninth last season. His first intended start is a prep race in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy.
“The Emirates Racing Authority has been super helpful and the BHA has also been very good,” says Botti.”It's a huge privilege to be here in Dubai and at Meydan. Over the years here the racing has been very good to us and we are lucky to have clients supporting us.”
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