Classic Bid On The Cards For Fred Darling Winner Folgaria

The G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches is likely to be the next port of call for Folgaria (Ire) (Due Diligence) following her victory in the G3 Fred Darling S. at Newbury on Saturday, her sixth victory from as many starts following an unbeaten two-year-old campaign in Italy when trained by Stefano Botti.

Now in the care of Stefano's brother, Marco Botti, Folgaria was a welcome winner for the team at Prestige Place which has been mourning the death of the stable's former apprentice, Stefano Cherchi, following a fall in Australia last month.

Botti himself was not at Newbury on Saturday as he attended his compatriot's funeral in Sardinia, but he was understandably encouraged by the way Folgaria performed on her first start in Britain.

“It was a nice performance and she did everything right in Italy, won all her races, but you never know what to expect to be honest,” said Botti.

“I thought she won in good style despite the race not panning out how we were hoping. We were in stall one and, although it wasn't a big field, Hollie had plenty of daylight and we wanted to take her back a little bit and then she had to manoeuvre a little bit on the left and battled on. You could say the runner-up was a touch unlucky but, at the same time, Folgaria won with a little bit left in hand.

“I think she will come on for the run and she hasn't had a racecourse gallop or anything. That was a performance on what we have been able to do in the mornings.”

Turning his attention to future plans, Botti added, “I expect she will come on a fair bit and there is no reason why a mile will not suit her, especially if we went to France where she will race round a bend.

“There is plenty to look forward to throughout the season and at the moment the French Guineas is the plan. We always thought we would aim there rather than the English Guineas as simply a mile with a bend is what we think will suit her better.

“It's been a tough time the last few weeks and when you get a three-year-old of that calibre and everything goes to plan, it is just a boost for the yard and for everyone involved.

“It just gives everyone a little bit of confidence and our horses have been running well during the winter but these are the races you want to be thereabouts in and we know we have a filly like her with lots of potential.”