Brioni rarin’ to go as he kick-starts his season at Newmarket tomorrow

April 16

We are virtually a 50-50 stable at Barbury these days, with almost as many Flat horses as jumpers in the yard, and the focus swings back to the level at Newmarket on Thursday with Brioni making his seasonal debut in the Japan Racing Handicap.
Alan said:”Brioni wintered very well, and we hope that he might continue to improve so we can aim him at one of the big handicaps at Royal Ascot, and we are looking forward to getting him started here.”

Dropping back to a mile will be sharp enough for Brioni, but he did win over the trip for tomorrow’s pilot, Rossa Ryan, at Kempton first time out last year, and Alan feels this is an ideal starting point.

Following mid-season disappointments at Newbury and Sandown, Brioni was gelded, and the operation seemed to do the trick as he was only beaten a neck at  Glorious Goodwood next time and then bolted up in soft ground at Ascot in September.

Alan puts the back-end disappointment at Newmarket firmly down to a lack of stamina – “we tried him at a mile and a half and he clearly did not stay” – and, having seen Brioni look very sharp on the gallops recently, I can assure you the four-year-old is in great form.

I accept that a mile and a quarter is Brioni’s optimum distance, but the 14mm of rain which fell at Headquarters on Tuesday will make this more of a test for specialist milers, so our fellow goes to Newmarket with a solid each-way chance.