A Group 1 winner who has run at the top level eight times and at the Dubai World Cup meeting on three previous occasions, Giavellotto is a high-class performer by anyone’s standards.
It’s somewhat bizarre, then, to learn that the Marco Botti-trained seven-year-old goes by the nickname ‘chicken.’ Why?
No-one, it seems, can remember. “It’s just a name that Andrew [Morris, Head Lad] gave him,” says Lucie Botti, but Morris says, “he’s always been called that, ever since he was a youngster.”
The origins of the chicken nickname may have to remain a mystery, but it’s testament to Giavellotto’s durability that he makes his fourth World Cup night start on Saturday. First up came two goes at the G2 Gold Cup, finishing ninth and fifth, in 2023 and 2024, before a revelatory drop in trip and a fifth in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic last year. Prior to that was his career highlight, a superb win in the 2024 G1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.
For Morris, who has ridden Giavellotto since he was three, that was the pinnacle of his career so far.
“We are very proud of him – he’s just been a superstar,” he says. “The highlight was when he won the Hong Kong Vase and when he was second last year. He tried but just didn’t quite get there – it would have been a fairytale if he had.
“He’s been unlucky too, especially here. In the Gold Cup in 2024 his rein came undone, and he still wasn’t beaten very far. Then last year Oisin [Murphy, jockey] said he was too far back, but he still ran to a high level of form.”
Morris and Giavellotto have a seamless partnership, but the rider says he’s not as easy a ride as he appears.
“Now and again he has a bit of a wobble but he’s basically very straightforward if you leave him alone. He’s his own man.
“As he’s got older he’s got easier but as a youngster he was a handful. He travels so well because he likes the one-to-one attention.
“He’s soft. He thinks he’s Mr Tough Guy but really he likes the attention. He loves people.”
Another omnipresent on Giavellotto’s many travels is Lucie Botti, who makes no attempt to hide her love for the son of Mastercraftsman.
“Giavellotto has been a very special horse for us,” she says. “To come back to Dubai for the fourth time, to travel internationally and perform at this level year after year – and now at seven – says everything about his class, his soundness, and his attitude.”
The Botti team are no strangers to big-race success, having struck at the top level in the US and in Europe. However, a Dubai World Cup day winner has eluded them so far.
“We’ve had some strong results here, third in the Sheema Classic, second in the Dubai Turf, second in the Gold Cup, and twice third in the Dubai World Cup, so to keep coming back and being competitive is something we’re very proud of,” says Botti.
“Nights like this are always a privilege, and winning one of these races would be exceptional. For me, Dubai feels like a second home, so to finally add that one missing result would be incredibly special.”
They might have the World’s Best Horse Calandagan to beat, but Giavellotto is no chicken – despite his nickname.