Gianluca Bietolini: 'We've had five horses run in the Classics in only ten years and I'm not buying Galileos or Dubawis at the sales'

There are certain small- to mid-sized stables that seem to have an unhappy knack of turning up Group 1 performers with a regularity which would be the envy of much larger operations. 

So it is with Gianluca Bietolini, who was among the the first trainers from the Italian diaspora to settle in France a decade ago and, who has since sent out horses to regularly contest the best races from his charming yard on Avenue Lesage in Maisons-Laffitte. 

Standing next to Bietolini on the training tracks or in the parade ring, you might easily be struck by his self-deprecating nature; he is not a trainer who will shout about his achievements from the rooftops. 

But when he lists the good horses he has trained since moving fulltime from Rome in 2015 – most of whom were acquired for very reasonable money – there is a relentless rhythm in the way he manages to mine for gold.

Grand Glory was the horse that really put Bietolini on the map, her career taking the team far beyond the Classics to a hatful of important engagements around the world stretching from Longchamp and Deauville to Ascot and Tokyo.

Grand Glory and Cristian Demuro just gets the better of Audarya in the 2021 Prix Jean RomanetCredit: Scoop Dyga / France Galop

"Frankly I'm astonished at how it has developed since 2015, and in just the second year I was lucky enough to have a horse who could run really well in the Poule d’Essai and the Jockey Club in Dicton.

"Then we had Grand Glory in the Diane, Colosseo was second in the Poule and we’ve also had horses like Ribaltagaia to run in some top races."

Spend a morning with Bietolini and what strikes you is his attention to detail, as he criss-crosses the spider's web of Second-Empire avenues that make up Maisons-Laffitte, adopting a route to and from the gallops which ensures he sees his horses walk in front of him as often as possible. 

Bietolini's list of achievements is arguably less obvious than some of his contemporaries – his Group 1 horses have often found one too good in the biggest races – though Grand Glory certainly new where the winning post was, never more so than when short-heading Audarya in the Prix Jean Romanet. 

Grand Glory with Cristian Demuro and Gianluca Bietolini after winning the Prix Allez France at LongchampCredit: Racing Post/Burton

His latest star, Zia Agnese, showed a remarkable attitude to hold off the cavalry in the Prix Penelope and earn the right to follow in Grand Glory's wake to contest the Prix de Diane Longines at Chantilly. 

"Now Zia Agnese has come along and when I stand back and think about it all, I’ve had five horses to run in the Classics across ten years. It’s a miracle.

"And virtually every Classic runner has finished in the money, in the first five. It’s not easy because I’m not buying yearlings by Galileo or Dubawi, or training for the big operations like Godolphin or Coolmore."

The common link between Grand Glory and the filly that now occupies her corner box is the family of Italian-American John D'Amato, who shares Zia Agnese with Richard Marini. 

"Mr D’Amato is someone I’ve known since 1993, having met him at Ocala in Florida," says Bietolini. "We are really very good friends and to have a new adventure with him is a dream.

"Already we were so fortunate to share in Grand Glory, who we bought after her first race. We bought Zia Agnese as a yearling. She really hit me between the eyes when I saw her and the fact that she could win the Prix Cleopatre was already very important.

"She showed an amazing will to win that day and was extremely brave. We’d always entertained this dream which is why she was entered in the Prix de Diane but she needed to win that race to justify running."

Bietolini is the first to admit that Zia Agnese – Italian slang for Aunt Agnes – doesn't possess the same lightning turn of foot as Grand Glory, but says she makes up for that in other ways.

"Grand Glory’s acceleration was a thing of beauty, something to make you go ‘wow’," says Bietolini. "What Zia Agnese has going for her is that she loves a battle and she is so brave. 

"And this filly is much more versatile tactically, and can make her own running or tuck in depending on how a race unfolds."

Zia Agnese has earned her place in the line-up for the Classic and will perhaps be seen to even better effect over a mile and a half. 

Meanwhile, her trainer can be relied upon to keep on hitting the target when the right material is sent his way. 

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