Marco Botti says Tac De Boistron is in good form ahead of the Sky Bet Yorkshire Cup.

By Simon Jackson.

Marco Botti believes that Sky Bet Yorkshire Cup favourite Tac De Boistron has continued to thrive since his impressive victory in the £60,000 Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in April.

The five length victory in last month’s Group 3 came at his first start since landing the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in October.  The success was his third in five starts since joining Botti and the seven-year-old grey has yet to finished unplaced since transferring to the Newmarket trainer last year.

“Tac de Boistron is in good form and we are very happy with him,” Botti said of the 7-2 favourite, ahead of the £140,000 contest on the Knavesmire on Friday.

“The Sagaro was an impressive performance as I thought that it would be a tough task for him to carry a penalty over two miles.

“How much he has improved since then is difficult to say as he is a clean-winded horse who keeps himself fit. He also tries very hard and always does his best.

“The ground is important to him – ‘good to soft’ is fine but I would probably not want to run him on anything quicker. Touch wood we have had no issues with him since we got him last year but you have to be careful with these older horses, particularly with their joints.

“I spoke to his owners after the Sagaro and explained that we could wait for the Ascot Gold Cup but that the ground could be fast by then. So we all agreed to let him take his chance in the Sky Bet Yorkshire Cup.

“Tac de Boistron has really blossomed since he returned to Europe from Australia. I don’t know the reason why but he is very happy and well.

“Tac de Boistron has already been a fantastic horse for us but to win would mean a lot.”

Read ‘Horse Talk with Simon Jackson’ at London24 for the latest horse racing news.