Atzeni hopeful Defoe can add new chapter to his Town Moor fairytale
Julian Muscat meets the jockey with an astonishing record at Doncaster
It’s a forlorn Andrea Atzeni who looks out of the window from his house on the outskirts of Newmarket. “Look at it,” he says of the rain tumbling freely from leaden skies. “You’d think it was the middle of winter.”
In every other respect, however, the Italian-born jockey is right at home. This is his 11th year in Britain, where he says the racing is different class. The best horses, the best jockeys, the best trainers in the world. As for Atzeni, this has the makings of the best season he has ever had.
It is also the week when the 26-year-old could be forgiven for letting his mind run riot. On Wednesday he will set his compass for Doncaster and the start of the four-day St Leger meeting. Yes, he has a fancied big-race mount in Defoe, but when his professional obituaries are written they will all start with Town Moor. For Dettori and Ascot, read Atzeni and Doncaster.
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Published on 9 September 2017inFeatures
Last updated 12:18, 9 September 2017
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