From Palio to Chantilly: Maurizio Guarnieri's journey to becoming Big Rock's new trainer

Maurizio Guarnieri was not quite plucked from obscurity when Yeguada Centurion decided to move half of their French-based team from Christopher Head in January, although it is fair to say that his name was not widely known on an international level.

At the time he received dual Classic heroine Blue Rose Cen, as well as Mr Melbourne and eight two-year-olds. On April 25 the decision was taken to move the rest of the Yeguada horses from Christopher Head, meaning Guarnieri took charge of Big Rock less than a month before his intended comeback in the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes.

Guarnieri served his apprenticehip at the historic Dormello-Olgiata farms founded by the great Federico Tesio, and which produced Europe's 'horse of the century' in the undefeated dual Arc winner Ribot.

During more than 25 years as a licence holder in Italy, Guarnieri's biggest successes came in the 2001 Premio Roma with Shibuni's Falcon, and then in 2010 when Umberto Rispoli guided Aoife Alainn to victory in the Premio Lydia Tesio.

Trainer Maurizio Guarnieri has done well with inexpensively-purchased horses since moving to FranceCredit: Racing Post/Burton

In 2017 he moved to France, setting up in La Teste de Buch on the Atlantic coast. He quickly showed an aptitude for turning inexpensively acquired horses into Pattern winners, saddling Plainchant to win the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte in 2020, and producing another speedy juvenile two years later when Wed landed the Prix du Calvados at Deauville.

In late 2022 he moved yards to Chantilly with a team of around 40 horses and scored another important success during his first season at his new base, sending out Asymmetric, formerly with Alan King, to win the Listed Prix du Cercle at Deauville on his first start since returning from a spell in the US with Wesley Ward.

When Blue Rose Cen was sent to him by Yeguada Centurion principal Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals, Guarnieri declared that it was "to work for just such an owner that I originally moved to Chantilly". This season he has sent out five winners from 95 runners.

Guarnieri hails originally from Siena, home of the world famous Palio race around the cobbles of the city, and trained a winner of that storied event in July 2000 for the porcupine district (Contrada Sovrana dell'Istrice).

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