Skalleti looks for first Group 1 in Prix d'Ispahan

Six-year-old Skalleti is a gelding, meaning there is no stud value to enhance by winning a Group 1 race, but to put proper order to the racing universe, Sklaletti should become a Group 1 winner.

As of Friday, he was solidly favored in antepost wagering to do just that Sunday at Longchamp in the Prix d’Ispahan. Six others are entered in this 1 3/16-mile contest, including The Revenant, who should feel right at home over a course that was labeled “very soft” on Friday. But Skalleti gets over soft going, too, has stronger 2021 form than The Revenant, and is sitting on the first top-level triumph of his very unusual career.

:: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more.

Jerome Reynier, hardly a household name in European racing circles, trains Skalleti, who began his career racing close to Reynier’s training yard, located near Marseilles. Skalleti debuted in a turf race before taking to the French all-weather circuit before going back to grass during the second part of 2019 and winning there, too. After shipping to Italy in November 2019 to win the Group 2 Prix Campanelle, Skalleti had 10 wins from his first 11 starts, much too good for provincial racing, and since that time he has raced only at major venues.

After winning the Group 2 Prix Dollar last fall for the second year in a row, Skalleti made his Group 1 debut in the Champion Stakes at Ascot, where he finished a good second behind Addeybb. A trip to Hong Kong yielded a rare flat performance in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase, but Skalleti got back on track this spring in France, adding two more facile group stakes scores, most recently in the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt, to his ledger. Gerald Mosse, aboard for the last win, has a return call Sunday.

The Revenant also has won prolifically, with 10 victories in his 15 starts. He has done all his best running on courses ranging from soft to heavy, including a win last October at Ascot in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, but is unproven at distances longer than one mile.

Third choice in early wagering is Victor Ludorum, who won the 2020 French 2000 Guineas before ending his 3-year-old campaign with two lesser showings and starting his 2021 season with a similar effort.

Post time for the Ispahan is 10:15 a.m. Eastern. You can watch live video and wager a DRFBets.com.