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Skalleti (foaled 25 February 2015) is a French
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racehorse. He is a
gelding A gelding is a castration, castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven horse behavior, behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer a ...
who shows his best form on soft ground and usually races over distances from 1600 metres to 2000 metres. He has raced in France, England, Italy, Germany and Hong Kong. He did not race until the autumn of his three-year-old season when he won two minor races on provincial tracks. As a four-year-old in 2019 he made steady improvement, winning eight races including the
Prix Quincey The Prix Quincey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to t ...
, Prix Dollar and
Premio Roma The Premio Roma is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Capannelle over a distance 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in November. History The e ...
. He was even better in the following year when he won the
Prix Gontaut-Biron The Prix Gontaut-Biron is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled ...
and a second Prix Dollar as well as finishing second in the
Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlon ...
. In 2021 he won his first four races, namely the
Prix Exbury The Prix Exbury is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in March. H ...
,
Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in Apr ...
,
Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), and i ...
and Bayerisches Zuchtrennen.


Background

Skalleti is a grey horse bred in France by Guy Pariente Holding. As a
yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...
in 2016 he was consigned to the Arqana Deauville August sale and was bought by Alain Decrion for €85,000. He entered the ownership of Jean-Claude Seroul and was sent into training with Jerome Reynier. He was from the sixth crop of foals sired by Kendargent who won two minor races and finished fourth in the
Prix Jean Prat The Prix Jean Prat is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is sch ...
. His other foals have included Jimmy Two Times ( Prix du Muguet), Tokyo Gold (
Derby Italiano The Derby Italiano is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Capannelle over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in ...
), Morando (
Ormonde Stakes The Ormonde Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile, 5 furlongs and 84 yards () at Ches ...
) and Goken (
Prix du Bois The Prix du Bois is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,000 metres (about 5 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each yea ...
). Skalleti's dam Skallet showed good racing ability, winning a
Listed race Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as, in Europe, the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'A ...
and being placed three times at
Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...
level. She was descended from the French broodmare Le Mirambule (foaled 1949) who was the ancestor of many major winners including Nasram,
Sagamix Sagamix (foaled 15 March 1995) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1998 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Background Sagamix is a grey horse bred by his first owner Jean-Luc Lagardère. He inherited his grey coat from his sir ...
, Le Glorieux, Mogul and
Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio ( , ; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literatu ...
.


Racing career


2018: three-year-old season

Skalleti began his racing career on 7 October 2018 when he won a minor race over 1900 metres on soft ground at Nimes. On his only other start of the year he won a 2000 metre race on the synthetic
polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: * Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common tra ...
surface at Marseille Pont-de-Vivaux on 23 November.


2019: four-year-old season

On his first start of 2019 Skalleti won a minor race at Marseille Pont-de-Vivaux on 11 January but when moved up in class for a Listed race at
Cagnes-sur-Mer Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a French Riviera town in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern ...
in February he finished unplaced behind Pump Pump Palace. Skalleti was ridden in his next four races by
Maxime Guyon Maxime Guyon (born 7 May 1989) is a French flat racing jockey, who debuted at 2005. In 2008, he received a professional license and won first group one at the Grand Prix de Paris. In 2010, he won races in the United Kingdom, Japan and Hong Kong. ...
and won all of them. He took the Prix du Carrefour du Duc d'Enghien over 1600 metres on the polytrack at
Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main ...
on 28 March, the Prix du Pont au Change on turf at
Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...
on 4 May and the Grand Prix de Marseille-Vivaux over 2000 metres on 22 June. On 19 July he started 0.9/1 favourite when returned to Listed class for the Prix Jacques de Bremond on soft turf at Vichy and won by half a
length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inte ...
from Wagram after taking the lead inside the last 200 metres.
Pierre-Charles Boudot Pierre-Charles Boudot (born 21 December 1992) is a French flat racing jockey. He was French flat racing Champion Jockey in 2015, 2016 and 2020. Boudot rode Waldgeist to win Europe's biggest race the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2019. In May 2 ...
rode Skalleti in his last three runs of the season. On 25 August the gelding was stepped up to
Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...
class for the first time and started the 3.1/1 second favourite for the
Prix Quincey The Prix Quincey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to t ...
over the straight 1600 metre course at
Deauville Racecourse Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Normandy '' région'' of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques Rive ...
. After being restrained towards the rear of the nine-runner field he took the lead 200 metres from the finish and stayed on well in the closing stages to win by a length from the five-year-old Stunning Spirit. At Longchamp on 5 October Skalleti started second choice in the betting for the Group 2 Prix Dollar over 1950 metres on very soft ground. He came from the rear of the field with a strong late run, took the lead in the closing stages and won by three quarters of a length from the British-trained gelding with the favourite Line of Duty, the winner of the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses, run on a grass course at a distance of one mile. It is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North ...
, taking third place. Boudot said "My horse was relaxed, he was very comfortable on this ground. I found a gap and he pushed along courageously. Today, we see that he runs over this distance without a problem. He's a great horse." For his final run of the season Skalleti was sent to Italy to contest the Group 2
Premio Roma The Premio Roma is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Capannelle over a distance 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in November. History The e ...
over 2000 metres at
Capannelle Racecourse Capannelle Racecourse ( it, Ippodromo delle Capannelle) is a horse racing venue in Rome, Italy. The course was constructed in 1881, and it was rebuilt in 1926 to a design by Paolo Vietti-Violi. It was recently the venue of two Group 1 flat ...
on 3 November. He started odds-on favourite and took his winning streak to seven as he won "comfortably" by two lengths from Presley after producing his customary late run.


2020: five-year-old season

In 2020, racing in Europe was disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
with many races being cancelled, postponed or run at alternative venues. Skalleti began his campaign on 18 May and sustained his first defeat in well over a year as he came home third behind Pretreville and Plumatic in the Group 3
Prix Bertrand du Breuil The Prix Bertrand du Breuil is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is schedul ...
at
Chantilly Racecourse Chantilly Racecourse (In French: "Hippodrome de Chantilly") is a Thoroughbred turf racecourse for flat racing in Chantilly, Oise, France, about north of the centre of the city of Paris. Chantilly Racecourse is located in the country's main ...
. On 28 June at
Saint-Cloud Racecourse Hippodrome de Saint-Cloud is a grass race course for Thoroughbred flat horse racing opened in 1901 at 1 rue du Camp Canadien in Saint-Cloud near Paris, France. During World War 1, the race course site housed the No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospit ...
he finished third again, beaten one and a quarter lengths and three quarters of a length by
Persian King This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...
and Pretreville in the Group 2 Prix du Muguet. At Deauville on 15 August Skalleti was partnered by Boudot when he started 2/1 second favourite behind Sottsass in the
Prix Gontaut-Biron The Prix Gontaut-Biron is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles), and it is scheduled ...
over 2000 metres on heavy ground. He settled towards the rear before overtaking Sottsass approaching the last 200 metres and held off a renewed challenge from the four-year-old favourite to win by a neck, with the pair finishing four lengths clear of the other five runners. After the race Reynier commented "Obviously he handles these conditions but he's not limited to running well on soft ground and has won on good. I'm sure Sottsass wasn't at 100 per cent today but I can assure you my horse was well below being fully tuned up as well. He is complicated at home but he has an unbelievable record." At Longchamp on 3 October, with Guyon in the saddle, Skalleti started 1.2/1 favourite as he attempted to repeat his 2019 success in the Prix Dollar. After racing towards the rear of the field as usual he struggled to obtain a clear run in the straight but gained the advantage in the last 100 metres and won by one and three quarter lengths from the Irish-trained four-year-old Patrick Sarsfield. Guyon commented "We won so easily there, he loves that ground. He really is an incredibly classy horse... When I started to make a move through the field I really had a lot of horse. His trainer told me to try and come as late as I can because he only does what he needs to beat the rest.. It was very easy and I even eased up 20m from the line." Two weeks after his second win in the Prix Dollar, Skalleti was sent to England to contest the Group 1
Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlon ...
over ten
furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...
at
Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...
. He raced closer to the lead than usual and kept on well in the straight to run second to
Addeybb Addeybb (foaled 9 February 2014) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He excels over distances of around 2000 metres (ten furlongs) and is noted for his toughness, consistency and aptitude for racing on soft ground. He did ...
with Magical, Serpentine, Pyledriver, Japan, Mishriff and
Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most ...
finishing behind. He ended his campaign in Hong Kong on 13 December when he started 4.3/1 third favourite for the
Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...
at
Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports Ins ...
but never looked likely to win and came home seventh of the eight starters behind the Japanese mare Normcore. In the
2020 World's Best Racehorse Rankings The 2020 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, sponsored by Longines was the 2020 edition of the World's Best Racehorse Rankings. It was an assessment of Thoroughbred racehorses issued by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities The Long ...
, Skalleti was rated on 121, making him the thirty-fourth best racehorse in the world and the fourth-best horse in France.


2021: six-year-old season

Skalleti began his 2021 campaign in the Group 3
Prix Exbury The Prix Exbury is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Saint-Cloud in March. H ...
over 2000 metres at Saint-Cloud on 21 March when he was ridden by Boudot. Racing on his preferred heavy ground he started the 1/2 favourite and won "easily" by three and a half lengths from Grand Glory after gaining the advantage 400 metres from the finish.
Gerald Mosse Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and ...
took the ride when Skalleti started odds-on favourite for the Group 2
Prix d'Harcourt The Prix d'Harcourt is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) at Longchamp in Apr ...
over the same distance at Longchamp three weeks later. He was restrained towards the rear as usual before producing a strong late run, taking the lead 50 metres from the finish and winning by a length from
Mare Australis Mare Australis (foaled 11 March 2017) is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Originally trained in Germany, he won his only race as a two-year-old in 2019. In the following year he was transferred to race in France where he won the Listed ...
. Mosse retained the ride when the gelding started 0.7/1 favourite for the Group 1
Prix d'Ispahan The Prix d'Ispahan is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres (about 1 mile and 1¼ furlongs), and i ...
over 1900 metres at Longchamp on 30 May. His five opponents were Victor Ludorum, Wally (
Prix Edmond Blanc The Prix Edmond Blanc is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Saint-Cloud in late March or early April. History The event ...
), Tilsit ( Thoroughbred Stakes), Ecrivain (
Prix des Chenes Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell (American ...
) and My Oberon (
Earl of Sefton Stakes The Earl of Sefton Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong (1,811 metres) on the Rowley Mile ...
). Skalleti produced a strong late run on the outside and took the lead in the final strides to take his first Group 1 victory in a blanket finish, beating Tilsit and My Oberon by a head and a short neck. Reynier commented "In different conditions he has shown himself one of the best older horses in Europe and he has proved himself on ground other than soft. Everyone has been hung up on him winning a group 1 but that was never the sole priority—we really wanted to build a career with this horse... His main target for the year is to take his revenge in the Champion Stakes so we'll let him down for a while." Despite Reynier's prediction that the horse would be rested, Skalleti was sent to Germany on 25 July and started odds-on favourite for the Group 1 Bayerisches Zuchtrennen over 2000 metres at Munich. With Mosse in the saddle he took the lead 200 metres and drew away to win "comfortably" by five lengths from Grocer Jack.


Pedigree


References

{{Reflist 2015 racehorse births Racehorses bred in France Racehorses trained in France Thoroughbred family 11-d