You may have heard of Gallic Chieftain during the spring, or perhaps seen a photo of him at the beach with Melbourne Cup hopeful, Grey Lion, being ridden by the beautiful Francesca Cumani. This fiery little chestnut has now stepped out from Grey Lion’s shadow and people are taking notice.
He accompanied Grey Lion to Australia and the two spent their time in quarantine working together. A young three-year-old working in such company must have been an advantage, as the two horses couldn’t be more different.
Grey Lion, the calm, gentle giant and his side-kick, Gallic –constantly on his toes, looking wary with his white eye. Although small – he is very strong. Since arriving to Australia, Gallic has gone from strength to strength. His Australian debut on Geelong Cup day, was very promising. Although green, he made up 4 lengths over the last 300m. His 2nd up run was similar. After getting too far back in the run, he finished off the race very strongly, showing a great turn of foot. He finished 4th in both races.
On Pakenham Cup day, Gallic Chieftain was dominant, winning running away by 3 lengths. This was despite him being distracted in the straight by the crowd. Craig Williams was very impressed with the horse’s effort and said post-race ‘once he gets it all together, he’s going to be a very exciting horse for you all’. The most pleasing aspect of this run was how much the horse still has to learn and the further improvement still to come. The horse is still very raw.
This Saturday he will be stepping up to city class at Flemington over 2000m in a BM84. This will be his toughest challenge to date. Luke Nolan takes the ride again, after riding him in his Aust debut at Geelong. He currently tops the betting markets, despite the challenging wide barrier draw of 15. If he puts in a similar performance to Pakenham, we should see him in the finish. Click here to view the field.
