Roger Varian planning to keep Barsanti and Defoe apart
Barsanti is likely to step back up in grade after his Listed success at Ascot on Saturday, but his trainer Roger Varian expects to keep him apart from stablemate Defoe.
BARSANTI will take a jump back up in grade after he returned with a win in Listed class at Ascot on Saturday.
Roger Varian's six-year-old is relatively lightly race and justified odds-on favouritism with a hard-fought win in the Buckhounds Stakes on his seasonal reappearance.
Barsanti placed in each of his three outings in 2017, most notably in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last June, and a rise in class is on the cards again.
Varian said: “He is a lovely horse and ran great last year without winning. I thought his run against Idaho in the Hardwicke was a great run and he didn’t get much luck off the home bend that day.
“He will improve for for his run on Saturday but he toughed it out well.
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“He is not getting any younger (six) and this is his year to win some big races if he has got them in him. He is in the Coronation Cup and the Hardwicke and we will see how he comes out of it.”
Barsanti is owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid and Varian owns another high-class middle-distance performance in the same colours, the other being last weekend's Jockey Club Stakes hero Defoe.
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The Newmarket-based trainer does not expect to have any trouble splitting his pair of aces during the remainder of the campaign.
He went on: “I think they will dovetail well. Barsanti loves fast ground, while Defoe can handle good ground, as he showed at Newmarket, but he’d be happy if there is a bit of give. Barsanti would not want soft ground.”
Asked whether Defoe could return to Group One level in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on May 27, Varian said: “I’m not sure. He’s in great form but we’ll confirm plans in the next week to 10 days.”