'You couldn't write this' - Folgaria strikes for Italy on day of Stefano Cherchi's funeral

Italian racing was given a monumental lift on the day it remembered the life of Stefano Cherchi as Folgaria made a brilliant start to her career in Britain with victory in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes.

The three-year-old was the champion juvenile in Italy after being unbeaten in six starts for Stefano Botti, and made a perfect start since moving to his Newmarket-based brother Marco when winning by a head in the Classic trial, registered as the Fred Darling.

It will be Longchamp for the Due Diligence filly with Paddy Power cutting her to 12-1 (from 20) to land the French 1,000 Guineas on May 12.

Yet excitement for the future was paused in the immediate post-race reaction as the trainer’s wife Lucie paid tribute to the late jockey on the day of his funeral in his Sardinian hometown of Sassari.

Her husband, for whom Cherchi rode 38 winners as a apprentice, was at the funeral and had described him as "part of the family" after his death at the start of the month from race-riding injuries sustained two weeks earlier.

She said: "You couldn't write this – Andrea [Atzeni] winning the Sydney Cup with Stefano's parents there and now this filly bringing Italian racing to life again, it's quite special. It's great for Italian racing. 

"Marco went to Stefano's funeral and obviously his brother trained this filly in Italy. Everyone is going to be so pleased, especially in the yard. The winter can be so hard for everyone, so it's always so good to have such beautiful horses and those animals just bring us to life."

Folgaria: held off Regal Jubilee (left) to claim the Fred DarlingCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Folgaria didn't make the brightest of starts, coming out slowly from the gate and racing keenly in the opening stages. Hollie Doyle kept the 5-1 chance behind and alongside 7-4 favourite Relief Rally as the Gosden’s potential 1,000 Guineas hope Regal Jubilee and Star Music jostled for the lead. 

Taking a wider path from the stands' rail, the Doyle drive was delivered approaching two out and Folgaria stayed on strongly to press ahead of her challengers with Regal Jubilee putting up a courageous effort. That filly made one final dive for victory, joined by the once-raced Elmalka, as runners hit the line, but Folgaria had done enough.

This was a seventh straight win for the filly who shares her name with a northern Italian commune with a famous ski resort, and Folgaria looks set to hit some considerable heights herself.

Botti added: “It's very hard to translate the form into English form, but she did nothing wrong in Italy and won all her races fairly easily last year. She's been pleasing us at home since she joined us and is very straightforward. We absolutely love her and hopefully she can do much better things in the future.

"The immediate plan is likely to be the French Guineas and after that the sky is the limit. She could be an international filly and hopefully she’s not sold too soon for us. She's very talented, she's the champion Italian filly and she has shown now she’s good enough everywhere else."

Chris Richardson, for Regal Jubilee's owners Cheveley Park, suggested the 1,000 Guineas could still be on the agenda after her narrow defeat. "She ran well and I think we'll go to Newmarket," he said. "She's not overly big but she's got a good heart and she was tough last season."

Read more:

'He was a lovely lad with a lovely personality' - Newmarket racing community reacts to death of Stefano Cherchi 

'It's amazing to see his family here' - emotional Andrea Atzeni dedicates Sydney Cup success to Stefano Cherchi 

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