Giavellotto could return to Sha Tin for a third consecutive Hong Kong Vase campaign as Marco Botti considers another international end-of-year programme for his stable star.
The seven-year-old won the Group 1 feature in 2024 before finishing three-quarters of a length behind Sosie when attempting to defend his title last December.
Botti has identified the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden on September 6 as Giavellotto’s next target, with the Breeders’ Cup Turf and another Hong Kong Vase tilt then under consideration.
Those plans have been given further encouragement by Kalpana’s victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Giavellotto defeated Kalpana in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, the second time he had finished in front of Andrew Balding’s mare.
“The horse is training well and we’ve been unfortunate that when we made our plan earlier in the season we said he had been busy overseas and we would give him a gap after Royal Ascot,” Botti told the PA news agency.
“We are aiming to run in Germany at Baden-Baden in early September and that will give us plenty of time since Royal Ascot to freshen up. Baden-Baden should be next given it’s not too soft ground.
“We will give the Breeders’ Cup Turf plenty of thought after Germany and then there is also Hong Kong in December so both of those races will be considered.
“He had been kept busy and he ran in the Arc, then Hong Kong, Qatar and Meydan, so we wanted him to have some time off after Royal Ascot.”
Giavellotto’s planned mid-season break meant he was not entered for the King George, where Kalpana subsequently delivered a major boost to the Hardwicke form.
Botti said Giavellotto’s later-season targets had already shaped the decision.
“The entries for the King George closed before Royal Ascot and it is just one of those things where we already had our plan and we were even considering missing Royal Ascot knowing we wanted to campaign him later in the season.”
Giavellotto has become a familiar presence on the international circuit, but another trip to Hong Kong would carry particular significance.
He overcame interference in the straight to win the 2024 Hong Kong Vase by two and a half lengths under Oisin Murphy before returning a year later and chasing home Sosie under Andrea Atzeni.
A December return would give him the chance to become only the second dual winner of the race after Glory Vase, although the decision will depend on how he performs in Germany and whether connections add a Breeders’ Cup trip to an already ambitious schedule.
