If there is to be a surprise outcome to the King George on Saturday, Andrea Atzeni will surely have something to do with it.
Flat racing’s midsummer highlight will be billed as a clash between the dual Arc winner Enable and the doughty Crystal Ocean, but only the foolhardy will fail to consider the claims of Atzeni aboard one of this season’s surprise packages, Defoe.
“He’s definitely improved,” the jockey says as we mull over the grey’s prospects in the Newmarket weighing room. He praises the trainer Roger Varian and work rider Korrie Hall for the progress they have wrought from Defoe. But more will be needed if Atzeni is to get the better of Enable’s rider, his friend and compatriot Frankie Dettori.
There is something approaching reverence in Atzeni’s voice when he discusses the older man, for all that they have been riding against each other for a dozen years. “I’ve been looking up to Frankie since I was a kid,” he says. “I still do it now.”
This does not mean any quarter is given on the track. Dettori can seem to cast a spell over other riders, as in the Irish Oaks on Saturday, which was run in a way that suited only his horse. But perhaps Atzeni is as well placed as anyone to recognise Dettori’s tactics and counter them.
In the buildup to this King George, part of the Qipco British Champions Series, he can draw upon the happy memory of Postponed’s success in the race four years ago, when he held off a Dettori‑ridden favourite, Eagle Top. Atzeni tracked the pace and got the rail in the straight; his rival had to come around the field and was beaten an inch. “That was one of the best days of my life,” the 28-year-old says, grinning broadly.
Evidently there is some sort of bond between the pair. Both were given whip-related suspensions of a few days for their efforts in that finish and spent the time on holiday at Dettori’s home in Sardinia.
Three weeks ago both were in Siena to watch the latest running of the Palio, an ancient and dangerous race around the Tuscan city’s main square. Atzeni’s cousin, Giovanni, was the winning jockey.
“I wouldn’t ride in it if you give me all the money in the world,” he says. “But it’s a great thing to go and watch. The atmosphere is unbelievable.”
Though the jockeyship gene evidently runs in the family, Atzeni had no early connection to racing and had to beg his father, Giuliano, a Sardinian farmer, for four years before a pony was allowed on the premises. These days, Giuliano’s attitude towards the sport has softened.
“He follows racing, 24-seven. On a Sunday they go for lunch with friends, he would bring his laptop so he can watch all my races. If you ask me how many winners I’ve ridden this year, I probably couldn’t tell you. My dad’ll tell you. It’s weird, because he was so anti horses.” Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, Atzeni’s main employer, has occasionally gifted horses to the jockey’s parents and they race in Italy in the colours of his mother, Rita.
Win or lose on Saturday, Atzeni is very happy with his current situation but at some stage he would like to try basing himself in the US. “England is great, got the best racing in the world, the best horses, I’ve been lucky enough to ride all over the world and I couldn’t change England for anywhere else. But I do think, if I didn’t have the job I have and I wasn’t riding for Roger, I probably wouldn’t be here. The prize money’s terrible and we travel too much.
“I could see myself one day finishing my career in America. I love American racing. I spent two months in Santa Anita in California and loved it. My weight is good, ’cos I’m quite small. It’s a very similar riding style. Money’s good, the life’s good. The only thing that puts me off at the moment is it’s too far away from my family. One day …”
Ayr 1.30 Dick Datchery 2.00 Tadaany 2.30 Dream House 3.05 Cameo Star 3.35 Duhallow Noelie (nb) 4.10 Betty Grable 4.45 Asian Angel 5.15 Burn Some Dust
Cartmel 2.15 Mistiroc 2.45 Justatenner 3.20 Black Anthem 3.50 No Hassle Hoff 4.25 Ink Master 5.00 Winter Lion 5.30 Snowed In
Windsor 5.45 Junior Rip 6.15 Mild Illusion 6.50 Elizabeth Bennet 7.20 Leo Minor 7.50 Gallic (nap) 8.20 Two Bids 8.50 I’lletyougonow
Beverley 5.55 Whims Of Desire 6.25 Up To Speed 7.00 Ginger Jam 7.30 Detachment 8.00 I Am A Dreamer 8.30 Fard 9.00 Jimmy Krankyar
