The horse that proves Golden Eagle is becoming a true international race

If you wanted proof the Golden Eagle is becoming a truly international race, look no further than Lazzat, the horse with a French trainer, Italian jockey and a Kazakhstani owner.

Lazzat is unbeaten in six career starts and is the $6 second favourite behind Japanese filly Ascoli Piceno for Saturday’s $10m Rosehill feature.

The French have tasted success Down Under on several notable occasions, with jockey Alain de Royer-Dupre winning the 2010 Melbourne Cup on Americain and the Mikel Delzangles-trained Dunaden saluting at Flemington the following year. Now 39-year-old trainer Jerome Reynier is eyeing another excellente victoire for his countrymen in Sydney.

Reynier, who spent several months in Sydney in 2007 as part of Darley’s Flying Start program – a two-year course for budding trainers which takes in 12 students from around the world – has been eyeing off of a return to the Harbour City since Lazzat won the Prix Djebel at Deauville in April.

Italian rider Antonio Orani will make the hit-and-run trip to ride Lazzat, as will owner Nurlan Bizakov, who made his fortune through oil and is now looking at expanding his growing breeding operation in Australia.

“Lazzat is a gelding, he’s unbeaten in six starts, and we don’t have such races in Europe – it’s big prizemoney and against horses the same age,” Reynier said.

French raider Lazzat in his quarantine digs at Canterbury racecourse on Tuesday evening.Credit: James Brickwood

“He has a lot of natural speed, and his owner has always been looking forward to having a runner in Australia.

“We thought about this race in April. He had never run on fast ground before then, but came out and won his next start on fast ground. He can handle any conditions, and ticks so many boxes.

“He did his two weeks of quarantine in Newmarket [England], which was a different training environment, and now he’s settled into Canterbury the past couple of weeks. Antonio flies out the day before the race. He’s unbeaten on him, and we wanted to keep the same team.

“It’s hard to keep horses unbeaten. If he doesn’t win in Australia, we can excuse him for this long journey and big change of environment. If he wins, he could go to the Hong Kong because he’s been invited into the Hong Kong Mile.

French trainer Jerome Reynier has high hopes for Lazzat in Saturday’s Golden Eagle.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images

“We’ve taken a lot of big gambles internationally. We won the Dubai Turf with Facteur Cheval [in March], and placed many times throughout Europe. Australia is another [notch] on the world map.”

Reynier has enjoyed plenty of success back home, and Bizakov has been a strong supporter in recent years. Lazzat has early speed and will race on the pace, which means he is likely to look the winner at some stage at the top of the straight on the weekend, when the forecast is dry and 24 degrees.

Meanwhile, connections of Ascoli Piceno were hoping to draw somewhere between barrier eight and 12 before Tuesday night’s official draw at The Star.

The Japanese galloper is the best horse in the race, but there are concerns an inside alley could mean jockey Joao Moreira runs into traffic halfway up the straight. Moreira will put the filly through her main piece of work at Canterbury on Wednesday morning.

The Golden Eagle’s second Japanese runner, Corazon Beat, is trained by Shizuya Kato, whose father, Kazuhiro Kato, prepared Hana’s Goal to win the 2014 group 1 All Aged Stakes at Randwick.

Lake Forest completes the Golden Eagle’s international flavour, with the English four-year-old trained by William Haggas, to be ridden by Cieren Fallon – the son of famous Irish jockey Kieran Fallon – and owned by Tony Bloom, the multi-billionaire owner of English Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion.

Joliestar ready to peak, says track rider

The track rider for Joliestar said the Chris Waller-trained mare was working as well as she had leading into the Everest.

“The gallop before the Everest was the best she has ever galloped in her career – Monday’s gallop was identical to that, so she definitely hasn’t taken a backward step,” Chris Harwood said.

“We just need to get her there on Saturday in one piece, and if she draws well, she’ll produce a peak performance.

“Chris is still learning if she’s a sprinter or miler, but she relaxes well, she breathes well, and that will give her every chance at this level to run a strong 1500m.

“My confidence levels are quite high. You need so much to go right in those high-pressure races like the Everest, but had that been run over 1500m the other day, she’s probably getting home and finishing over the top of them.”

Joliestar’s first-up win in the Show County was arrogant but she struggled second-up in the Sheraco when an odds-on favourite. In The Everest earlier this month, with James McDonald aboard, she appeared to find another gear about 75m before the line when rattling home back towards the rail for seventh.

With McDonald in Melbourne, this weekend, Kerrin McEvoy takes the ride on Joliestar at the mare’s home track.

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