Mikel Delzangles, born in 1971 in Biarritz, grew up in a world deeply connected to horse racing.Among his greatest successes are the 2,000 Guineas (England) with Makfi, the Melbourne Cup (Australia) with Dunaden, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (USA) and the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (France) with Flotilla, then that same French classic again in 2022 with Mangoustine.

On Alam, he mentioned, “Alam is a big horse who was fairly backward. That is why he made his debut quite late in his two-year-old season. He ran on the all-weather [fibresand track], showing himself to be a little immature. For his second race, he was already much better. He produced a fine turn of foot, and it was at that point that we thought he could become interesting, perhaps for the good races. He had a fairly quiet time at the start of the winter because it is difficult to begin in December and continue through to June. He made his seasonal reappearance at Saint-Cloud in April. I was a little disappointed to be beaten, but the horse had come out of the race very well. He had progressed nicely. That is why we then ran him in the Prix Greffulhe.

Since his last run, I think he has progressed a little further. He is becoming very straightforward. In his first two races, we were careful not to ride him too aggressively because he could confuse speed with rushing. But now, if the pace [race rhythm] is not very even, he can be ridden close to the lead or, conversely, be held up if they go fast. Good ground will suit him.

He will be ridden, as usual, by Antoine Hamelin, with whom I have been working since he returned from Hong Kong. He has already won the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club [in 2012 with Saônois], which is an advantage!”

He said, "Dolmalan comes into the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club unbeaten. He made his debut quite late at two, and I was a little surprised that he won, because he was still immature. He won again on his seasonal reappearance in early April. We were expecting that, because the horse had been working well and he confirmed his good morning gallops. He then ran in the Prix de Suresnes, a Listed race which came a little over three weeks later. It is a good prep race for the Jockey Club. He had to overcome a race with no pace, coming from behind. He was able to quicken well to win. He is an easy horse to train, one who is progressing, is very straightforward, and should find the 2,100-metre distance ideal. Since his last run, he has continued to progress and strengthen. He will be ridden by Clément Lecœuvre.”

Photo: ENG/IRE