Argentinian Star On Song For Ascot

He's South America's top turf 3-year-old and Sixties Song (Arg) (Sixties Icon {GB}) wanders around his temporary home in Newmarket with a swagger to suggest that he knows it. With rock-star looks to match the talent that has propelled him to Grade 1 victories in Argentina and Chile, Santa Elena's colt will make history on Saturday when he becomes the first Argentinian-trained runner to race at Ascot.

The magnitude of competing at Britain's premier racecourse in the G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S., with its roll call boasting such legendary names as Ribot (GB), Nijinsky, Shergar (GB), Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard (GB) and Montjeu (Ire), is not lost on Alfredo Gaitan Dassie. The trainer of 30 years, who hasn't lost the ex-jockey's twinkle in his eye, says via his son, assistant trainer and interpreter Nikolas, “We know we are racing against the very best horses in Europe. We know it won't be easy but we also know that we have a very good horse.”

That good horse has already helped his trainer to another slice of history when being one of three Grade I winners on one day in his native country. That momentous occasion came last December 17 at San Isidro, the early Christmas present being delivered by Nashville Texan (Arg) (Forestry) in the Gran Premio Felix de Alzaga Unzue, Le Ken (Arg) (Easing Along) in in the Gran Premio Joaquin S de Anchorena, with Sixties Song's Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini victory bringing up the unprecedented hat-trick. It was Gaitan Dassie's fifth victory in the Carlos Pellegrini, the race described by Nikolas as Argentina's King George. His first win came in his debut season with a training licence and the most recent secured an invitation from Ascot to bring Sixties Song out of South America for the first time.

The 20-hour journey from his stable at San Isidro racecourse in Buenos Aires to Newmarket's Abington Place, which has housed many international visitors over the years, doesn't seem to have perturbed the colt who will race as a 4-year-old in the northern hemisphere. Having arrived on Sunday morning, Sixties Song steps off the scales on Tuesday at 498 kilos, just two kilos below the weight he registered on leaving Argentina on Friday.

“We're very excited about the race and about being here in England,” says Nikolas Gaitan Dassie. “After he won the Carlos Pellegrini last December we thought that there would be a possibility to come and then we were 100 per cent sure after he won the Gran Premio Latinoamericano in Chile in March.

“He flew directly from Argentina to London Stansted and we're very happy with how he took the trip. Dad came over in June to see where we would stable the horse in England and he decided that he would like to come to Newmarket–we're very comfortable here in Abington Place.”

One of the great advantages of the stable shared by Jane Chapple-Hyam and Mike de Kock, which recently had American Royal Ascot runners American Patriot (War Front) and Long On Value (Value Plus) as tenants, is that the horses have immediate access to a variety of turf and Polytrack canters and gallops across the 2,500 acres of Newmarket Heath. It is, however, an unusual environment for thoroughbreds more accustomed to being trained on the track.

“We train on grass and dirt at san Isidro and Palermo and we run on flat tracks so it's very different here in Britain,” explains Gaitan Dassie, whose father's stable is one of the biggest in Argentina with around 140 horses under their care.

“Sixties Song did all his strong work before he left Argentina. Since he's been here we've just been trotting in the indoor ride and tomorrow we will go out to the Heath for an easy canter.”

Thursday morning will see jockey Jamie Spencer team up with his intended King George mount for the first time as the pair have an easy spin together in Newmarket. The town has endured its fair share of rain since the weekend, with conditions on the easy side both on the Heath and at Ascot racecourse, and the unsettled weather looks set to continue for much of the week.

Gaitan Dassie says, “We'd prefer a fast track but he has won on a soft track in Argentina and finished third in his last race on a very soft track at San Isidro, so I think that it's not a problem for him if it's soft on Saturday.”

Despite the fact that he hails from a country whose racing will be largely unfamiliar to British fans, Sixties Song has a pedigree which will pique the interest of Europeans and Americans alike. His sire Sixties Icon is the impeccably-bred St Leger winner, by Galileo (Ire) out of the Oaks winner Love Divine (GB) (Diesis). Furthermore, Sixties Song's dam, Blissful Song, proved to be a shrewd purchase by the colt's breeder Haras Firmamento, who picked up the daughter of Unbridled's Song at the 2009 Keeneland November Sale for $30,000. Since then, her half-sister Celestial Woods (Forestry) has produced GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Bobby's Kitten (Kitten's Joy), who also won a Listed race on heavy turf in Ireland before retiring to Lanwades Stud, as well as that young stallion's full-brother, the Grade II winner Camelot Kitten. The family also includes the top-class turf performers Theatrical (Nureyev) and David Junior (Plesant Tap).

Although cautiously advising that no decision will be made until after the weekend, there is a chance that Sixties Song could stay in Europe until the autumn, with the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe a possible target.

“We'll see how things go on Saturday and take things step by step. Maybe we'll send him to France to go for the Arc or maybe we'll go back home,” says the assistant trainer.

“We've had winners in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay and my father had a runner one time at Hollywood Park but this is the first time we've brought a horse to Europe. His owners are already in London and we're all ready for the race. It's very exciting for all of us.”