Stable lad who gambled £70k to run rags-to-riches horse starts recovery mission

A stable lad who gambled £70,000 to run his rags-to-riches horse in the biggest race of his life sets out on a recovery mission at Newbury on Saturday.

Italian Amedeo Dal Pas not only works as head lad to Newmarket trainer Dylan Cunha, he also owns the best horse in the stable. He bought the former Aidan O’Brien-trained unraced colt Prague after seeing him at the 2023 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-in-training sale. As a son of super sire Galileo, previously owned by the Coolmore partners, Dal Pas expected Prague to be way over his budget yet managed to buy Prague for a bid of 10,000gns.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Prague made a 40-1 winning debut in June and in September captured the Group 2 Joel Stakes at Newmarket to take his career earnings past £114,000.

In October Dal Pos took an even bigger punt by spending all of the £70,000 first prize-money from his victory to pay the supplementary fee to add him to the field for the £1.1 million Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, one of the highlights of Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot.

Although soft ground conditions would have suited, Prague produced the worst performance of his career. He was kept apart from the field during the race and trailed in last but one, 40 lengths behind the winner Charyn.

Cunha said: “It was very frustrating because all the money he won in the Joel Stakes got wasted on an entry at Ascot. What was frustrating was he just didn’t get any cover. He didn’t really settle at all or even try to settle.”

Prague meets eight rivals in the first Group 1 race for older horses of the year in Britain, the Boylesports Lockinge Stakes, which is headed by Rosallion, Dancing and Notable Speech. The first prize is £226,000.

Cunha continued: “I don’t think there has been a stronger renewal since Frankel’s renewal. It looks like a really good race.

“Jim Crowley has come in and ridden him and got him settled beautifully so I hope he can do the same on Saturday.”

He added: “The money is gone now. He paid for his run at Ascot in the Joel Stakes. I would be happy if he ran in the first four. Amedeo rides him every day and doesn’t want to hear of him getting beat. He goes in great order. He shouldn’t really need a run.”