Begg-trained colt Il Divo heading to town

Winning a recent maiden at Geelong with a colt owned and bred by his father was all the more satisfying for trainer Grahame Begg because it came on Father’s Day.

That colt, Il Divo, has his next start in town on Saturday at Caulfield and Begg believes the three-year-old has a promising future.

Neville Begg owns and bred Il Divo who is by 2003 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Dalakhani out of the mare Yau Chin who won a Newcastle maiden from her 10 starts.

“He loved the French influence of Dalakhani,” Grahame Begg said.

“He’s only got two or three mares. He’s still actively involved (in the racing industry), buying and selling and breeding.”

A former top trainer, Neville Begg was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame last year.

Grahame Begg is looking forward to running Il Divo in Saturday’s the Sportsbet Supports Mirabel Foundation Handicap (1600m) but said the question mark will be how he handles the Caulfield circuit the first time.

“We’ve always liked the horse,” Begg said.

“He’s bred to run a mile and a half.”

Begg said they had taken Il Divo along carefully as a young horse and is convinced he has improved again since winning the Geelong maiden over 1421m on soft ground on September 3.

That was his fifth start and second this preparation.

“I expect him to run very well, the only thing might be Caulfield,” Begg said.

“I think he’ll be better suited when he’s on a bigger track but I certainly think he has gone on from last start and I would be disappointed if he wasn’t hitting the line hard.”

Stakes races against his own age over 1800m and then 2000m are on the radar for Il Divo after Saturday if things go to plan but Begg said he would not be stretching Il Divo to the Derby distance this spring.

While Il Divo is likely to hold a nomination, Begg believes the Victoria Derby distance of 2500m is too taxing on spring three-year-olds.

“We just think that the attrition rate over the years is too great,” he said.

“Horses running at 2500 metres as spring three-year-olds, they fail to train on.”

Begg believes Il Divo could be a Derby horse next autumn.